Read books such as Mutual Funds For Dummies (For Dummies, 2018), by Eric Tyson, to obtain a good introduction to the types of funds, investment strategies, and related topics. As a high school student, take as many marketing, sales, business, and economics classes as possible. Join a high school or college chapter of DECA (https://www.deca.org), a nonprofit organization that hosts competitions, leadership training programs, and educational conferences for students who are interested in careers in marketing, finance, management, and hospitality. If you’re in college, consider attending the American Marketing Association (AMA) International Collegiate Conference to participate in professional development opportunities, networking events, and competitions. Visit https://www.ama.org/events/conference/2020-ama-international-collegiate-conference for more information. Information interviews with wholesalers and other marketing and advertising professionals are another good way to learn more about the field and make industry contacts.  

Wholesalers play an important role in marketing the nearly 9,600 mutual funds to brokerage firms, financial advisors, and other entities that sell funds. Their duties vary based on the size of their employer, its products, and other factors. They also have different job titles based on their duties. Internal wholesalers spend the majority of their work days “inside” at mutual fund companies. Their responsibilities include: 

• working closely with external wholesalers to develop marketing strategies to manage and grow their assigned sales territory
• placing phone calls (up to 80 a day) to investment advisors and other potential clients to provide information about portfolio composition, relative performance, and product design
• supporting external wholesalers by following up on meetings, scheduling additional meetings, performing other support tasks, and occasionally providing analysis to advisors
• following up with investment advisors who have established new business and continually educating them about current products and upcoming new products
• maintaining sales representative tracking systems

External wholesalers spend 50 to 60 percent of their work days on the road, meeting with investment advisors and other prospective clients. Their duties include: 

• following up on sales leads generated by internal wholesalers
• developing and maintaining relationships with registered representatives
• providing information about the funds or fund families at meetings or other events
• taking clients out to dinner, drinks, sport events, concerts, and golf outings to build relationships and convince them to carry their funds
• creating and/or managing continuing education classes or seminars to provide “extra value” to current and potential clients

Both internal and external wholesalers:

• create fund prospectuses, brochures, fact sheets, Web site content, e-mails, articles, white papers, mailers, infographics, and other marketing materials
• conduct competitor and market research to understand industry and competitive trends
• create and manage databases of current and potential investors and use customer relationship management software to interact with these groups