I landed my dream role 4 years ago (Long-only AM at a large fund) after doing sell-side equity research post-college. While initially everything seemed great, I have become disillusioned with outflows (money continues to move to passive), politics (performance seems to matter a lot less than I thought) and compensation appears low relative to the work we have to do (hours not very different from sell-side research with some work on weekends, but significantly more work & stress than FP&A, Tech, other traditional roles).
What appeared to me as a long term stable career with good compensation turns out to be an industry in decline where comp is coming down (even some funds-of-funds gigs pay far more with lot less stress & much less hours).
I’m in credit risk and couldn’t be happier. Good pay, mostly 40 hour weeks, interesting cases, limited stress as long as you do your job and pretty autonomous. I think that in general risk is often overlooked in the industry. It’s definitely not the sexiest of roles and you can be viewed as a cost rather than a money maker.
Thanks for sharing this—your experience really resonates. AM used to feel like a solid endgame for many of us, but the shifting dynamics (passive inflows, comp compression, internal politics) are hard to ignore. It’s disheartening when the passion and hard work don’t align with the rewards or long-term outlook. You’re definitely not alone in feeling this way—figuring out the next step is tough, but it’s also an opportunity to pivot into something more fulfilling and sustainable. Wishing you clarity and a path that feels worth it.
lol yea I used to be in investment research, went to pe. Now I’m considering getting a cfp.
Cfp > Cfa since many boomers need help. Getting aum is an easier path to easy money.
Plan is to retire in a few years and just cfp with my personal network that can do 100k by itself. I’ll use my social media presence to get clients too.
Worst case I’m too lazy and just depend on my passive investment. In the last 3 yrs, have made between 150k to 300k per year so I have a hedge.
I starting to have a pretty big portfolio and I’ve been thinking about retiring at around 50, so in a little more than 10 years. But relying on passive income kinda scares me because the volatility capital markets in the 20-30 year term could be insane, if things keep going this way. Mega trends like global indebtedness, global warming and geopolitics could really throw a wrench in growth figures.
When I was in grad school (at a very good, very expensive US school), I briefly dated a townie whose father was a plumber. His house was nicer than that of any of my professors.
To be honest, I don’t believe in AI becoming some all encompassing tool that takes over white collar jobs. Might be totally wrong in that assessment. What I’ve learned is that the downsides to using AI can be quite significant: if you use it the wrong way, you essentially outsource your thinking and your brain’s “muscle” to a robot. And a muscle that isn’t used leads to muscle atrophy.
I’ve scaled back my AI use quite a bit. Now I only use it to comment on my work/analyses and for brainstorming. I’m kind of scared of the “known unknowns” of how the use of AI could hamper one’s intellectual abilities.
