Want to be a fund manager

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#1

Hi Everyone,

I am currently a financial analyst working in a company but I want to be a fund manager one day ( hopefully in the next 3-5 years). I’ve been working in this position for 10 months (this is my first finance job) and I learn a lot from the job. But I do know that this is not the kind of finance I want to be in. I want to be in investment field and I am feeling like I am not moving towards my goals. I would like to ask for advice from you.

Which route do I have to take so I can be a fund manager one day. What kind of job titles and companies will give me the right experience? What kind of skills that I should possess? I talked to someone working at Russell Investment lately and he recommended that I switch soon.

What do you think? Anything would be appreciated.

Thanks

#2

Switch soon and very fast. You need to start off as an entry level investment analyst and graduate to senior analyst then maybe assistant PM then PM. That typically takes 5-10 years, shorter time at smaller shops and longer time at larger shops. But like the guy at Russell said, switch fast!!

#3

You are 10 months into your first finance job that is NOT investment related and you want to be an investment fund manager in 3-5 years??? Why not just buy the powerball lottery

#4

^ he passed L1 isnt that enough?

#5

You can switch it now, its only 10 months now,if you continue with this then posiblity to change is very low.

#6

Thanks everyone for the advice

#7

Just wait, three years from now, I will tell you how I become an investment fund manager.

#8

I’ve seen it happen… with some luck and connection. But might be hard in the US.

#9
#10

@ Lalada - if you are in seattle, switch over to Russell Investments. Even if you start from operations at Russell, such as portfolio analyst or index analyst, you will be able to transfer to front office roles. Either finish your CFA and/or get a masters degree from one of many of the unis in and around Seattle. I have seen many many operations folks move into front offfice at Russell (all internal).

From searching through Linkedin profiles, surprisingly, you will find people who started in ops jobs at Russell and became a PM in ~8-10 years. That is a 300k a year job in Seattle which is probably close to 500k in NYC. But before they landed a PM job, they began their front office journey as a research associate. If i may offer any direction to you, moving to Russell (even for ops job) may give you a better chance of one day becoming a PM.

Grow up kid, you will not be an investment fund manager in 3 years unless you are running your own firm.