Overview
If money makes the world go ’round, the Earth would grind to a screeching halt without the asset management industry. Asset management is the business of making money with money—or at least trying to. When we say “money,” we’re not talking about salaries and bonuses (which can indeed be significant), but the gains you endeavor to make for investors who have forked over their cash in hopes that you, through your market savvy and keen instincts, can turn their nest egg into a fancy omelet with toast and hash browns on the side.

What You'll Do
Asset managers manage money—other people's money, and gobs of it. Generally, they convert that money into assets—stocks, bonds, derivatives, and other types of investments—and try to make that money make more money as fast as possible. Mutual funds, for instance, hire asset managers; so do corporations with lots of money sitting around, banks, and high-net-worth individuals.

Asset managers have one simple goal: to invest other people's money wisely and profitably. Asset managers use a combination of investment theory, quantitative tools, market experience, research, and plain dumb luck to pick investments for their portfolios, ranging from high-risk stocks to commercial real estate to cash accounts.

Who Does Well

As an asset manager, you can't just bet your hunches. The profession requires excellent quantitative and analytical skills—if you hated statistics, you may want to look for a career elsewhere. But asset management isn't just a matter of adding up the numbers. It requires the organizational skills—and nerve—to make split-second decisions with millions of dollars riding on the line. The profession is notoriously tough to break into, especially for those who only have an undergraduate degree. MBAs most often start as analysts to prove they have the right combination of caution and chutzpah to make a great asset manager.

Competition for jobs is fierce at all levels, but if you have strong quantitative and analytical skills, good nerves, and can consistently beat the market, there's probably a place for you. Networking and a single-minded pursuit of your goal are big helps, too.

(Source: WetFeet)

Print Resources

bschooljobs.com Flash Cards—investment banking interview preparation flashcards. 

Careers in Financial Services

Fast Track: The Insider's Guide to Winning Jobs in Management Consulting, Investment Banking & Securities Trading 

Harvard Business School Career Guide: Finance - career opportunities, company profiles, position descriptions and recruiting process. 

Hedge Me

Nelson's Directory of Investment Managers - profiles of over 2,600 organizations involved in investment management. 

Plunkett's Financial Services Industry Almanac - information on leading firms in Investments, Insurance, Banking and Finanical Information.

WetFeet Guides

Online Resources

Thedeal.com
www.thedeal.com

Investor Dealers Digest                  http://www.iddmagazine.com/idd/weeklyheadlines.cfm

Institutional Investor                       http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/default.asp

WetFeet                           http://www.wetfeet.com/cb/schools/yalesom/toc.asp

Vault.com                        http://www.vault.com/cb/careerlib/careerlib_main.jsp?parrefer=702

Bloomberg Terminal                      http://www.som.yale.edu/ssl/bloombergbasics.asp

Wall Street Journal                        http://online.wsj.com/public/us

More Resources              www.som.yale.edu/careers/resources/career_sectors.asp

Investment Management Career Preparation
Investment management opportunities, especially at the internship level, are intensely competitive. You must keep up with the markets or your area of investing interest/expertise as school is generally not a good excuse. In order to successfully navigate the investment management recruiting process, research, discipline and focus are required. The timing of internships and full-time positions occur throughout the academic year with a distinct barbell effect – some firms are very early in the fall while others don’t even think about hiring until the spring.  Internship positions tend to be scarce; if you are not successful in landing an investment management summer internship, you should not feel discouraged. Many of our graduates who have successfully received full-time investment management offers pursued various types of internships that provided them with the analytical and personal skills that helped make them receive their final offer.  Remember to think in terms of what value you can bring to that firms’ investment decision making process.  Is it an industry expertise, contact network, capital structure experience, modeling skills, strategic analysis or something else?