Job Responsibilities
For an analyst in Asset Management, Private Wealth Mgmt:
- Data Entry (25%);
- Making pitch books & monthly investment account updates for
prospective clients and current clients respectively (50%);
- Researching prospective clients (15%);
- Attending team meetings, reading (self-educating) about the
products offered (5%);
- Handling calls (from clients and from portfolio managers) (5%).
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Job Requirements
- Good undergraduate GPA required (They hire from most schools,
not only Ivies)
- No major is emphasized, have a greater number of humanities
hires than other entry-level positions in the bank.
Career Path: Many analysts leave after 3 years to go to Business
School or to work somewhere else(about 75%). A few others
transfer to Investment Banking positions (and other areas in the
bank) (20%). Though quite unnatural, a few stay and are promoted
to investment professionals or some other capacity in a team (5%)
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Uppers
- Loads of client contact: if you have a salesman personality you can quickly
rise up the ranks in the Investment Mgmt world, get your own clients (or steal
your bosses' clients!) & watch your career take off.
- Better hours than I-Banking. The average is about 7am - 7pm with occasional
weekends (esp heavy around Dec - Feb, light in the summers)
- You get a very good understanding of all the investment products available and
a very good knack for markets.
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Downers
- Not particularly quantitative and thus does not prepare you
well for a career in other aspects of finance e.g. portfolio
management, trading. This is important because as an entry-level
employee, there is no structure for you to rise up in your
division, rather the portfolio managers are all brought in from
other bank divisions esp trading, research and I-banking.
- Furthermore, you become pigeonholed and only receive job
offers in sales and marketing since you are seen to have limited
analytical skills.
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Lifestyle
On average 12 hours a day. About 15 in the winters and 10 in the summer.
Occasional weekend work.
Not much travel. Great perks (e.g. dinners, charity events, major entertainment
& sports events) in the name of scouting prospective clients. Good area for those
that like to hob-nob with the rich & famous.
Dress code is business formal when meeting with clients and business casual
otherwise.
Diversity valued since clients & prospectives are very diverse. Higher ratios of
women:men relative to other areas in the bank.
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Compensation
Base: 45K - 50 K (1st year analyst), about 85K (as a 3rd year
analyst)
Bonuses: 10% - 15% of base. (Lowest percentage in the bank
relative to S&T and I-Banking)
Benefits: Goldman Sachs has great benefits in general.
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Advice to Jobseekers
- If you have the personality for sales & marketing (including
great phone skills), and if you are interested in gaining a
broad knowledge about investment products & financial markets,
and if you know you have / will have the potential to attract
high net worth clients - Private Wealth Mgmt is the career for
you.
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