How Will Future Professionals Land a Job in Investment Management?

This is taken from a chapter in the book: INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: A SCIENCE TO TEACH OR AN ART TO LEARN? By Frank J. Fabozzi, CFA; Sergio M. Focardi; Caroline Jonas. The chapter titled “How Will Future Professionals Land a Job in Investment Management?”begins on page 91 of the book.

Jobs in investment management are much sought after and hard to come by. Many candidates pursue the relatively few openings, so employers can be choosy. In addition, at least in the United States, the number of people directly employed in asset management firms at year-end 2012 (159,000) was still below the peak employed at year-end 2007 (168,000), according to the Investment Company Institute’s most recent fact book (2013). The authors of the aforementioned book asked human resources managers at asset management firms what they look for in terms of profiles when hiring recent graduates. They also asked them whether there is a best path to landing a job in their firms.

Is There an Ideal Candidate for a Job in Investment Management?

The easy answer to this question is “no.” The ideal candidate depends on the firm that is hiring and the position being filled, and it is time dependent. However, here is a short summary of the wanted traits for most jobs in investment management:

• Analytical ability
• Broad knowledge
• Ability to communicate effectively
• Ability to reason
• Creative or out-of-the-box thinking
• Strong interest in financial markets
• Humility
• Strong work ethic

Do you have these traits? If so, then you might have what it takes to work as an analyst or portfolio manager in the asset management industry. And did I mention it - possessing a CFA charter is essential for advancement within the industry!

For those of you familiar with the Ins and Outs of Wall Street offered by the AIM program at Marquette University, the items listed above should look quite similar to the advice from our alumni.