College Rising Senior Interested in Asset Management

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

Hi,
I am a current rising senior studying Math and Econ. I am currently working at an Asset Management company that specializes in the insurance industry (both P & C and Life & Health). I am not in the asset managementteam though; I am working in their insurance research team where we forecast and analyze the insurance sectors in great details. My school is affiliated with Columbia University for their Combined Plan program. This program allows me to obtain a B.S. in Operations Research for two years at Columbia (so I spend 6 years for dual degrees). I am wondering if I can leverage the experience for summer internship in the Asset Management field.
I am also pursuing the actuarial fields. I’ve passed two exams (Probability and Financial Mathematics) so far, and I am planning to take the third one (Models for Financial Economics) in November. Assuming that I pass the exam in November, I am going to study for the CFA Level 1 and take the exam in the summer (this would be the summer right before the first year at Columbia).
Would it be a great advantage for me to have three actuarial exams (Statistics and quantitative finance related),CFA level 1, and my current internship to break into the AM summer internship? Would it be a disadvantage to have 6 years for Bachelors? Would the recruiters think that it’s weird to spend 6 years for Bachelors?

Thank you very much.

2

Passing CFA level 1 will clearly separate you from everyone else who is merely very interested in investment management; it shows actual commitment and some brainpower. Note there is a December Level 1 exam, which I suspect would do more to differentiate you than the 3rd actuarial exam; you’d have scores in time for summer internships.

Separately, my sense from talking with a few of the professors is that Columbia OR has great Wall Street connections.

3

I work in asset management. Having completed actuarial exams should impress the heck out of any firms you interview with for a UG internship. Having passed CFA-1 would just be gravy. I don’t think anyone would hold against you being in a 6-year dual degree program.