<p>Investment banking has more perks in terms of income and opportunities, but you won't have a social life. With mutual funds you'll have more leisure time, but you will not be paid as much.</p>
<p>Six sigma is trying to fix problems and defects in a company.</p>
<p>What is the starting pay usually? And does it increase as fast as ibanking?</p>
<p>For where I live (Dallas), a typical analyst out of undergrad earns around 50k (base), and if and when an opportunity for fund manager arrives typically the salary range goes from 90-110k (base) depending on where you work. Of course with commissions, fees, and other bonuses salaries can range much higher if you are good enough.</p>
<p>U dont go from analyst to fund manager do u? And Im sure there are nice benefits.</p>
<p>no you dont, and there are many other positions than analyst when working at mutual funds. Most dont start as analyst, that would be one of the hardest positions to actually get along with assistant portfolio managers etc etc. And typical salary for fund managers ranges in the high six figures and seven figures. They are paid just like hedge funds, but with their lower expense fees, they dont earn as much. No it doesnt increase as fast as ibanking and no typical for dallas is not 50k. Look at the starting average pay for a place like vangaurd, hartford, janus etc, it is around 36-37k with small bonuses. The analyst and ass port managers and other highly sought after positions are the ones that bring in high 40's to 50's.</p>
<p>What is the name of the position for the 36-37K job? And is it difficult to move up to more sought after positions?</p>
<p>That would include positions such as admin assistants, accountants (i think?), client relationship associates etc. They are a lot of different positions available, obvioiusly the analyst positions being the hardest to get. How hard is it to move up, i have no clue</p>
<p>I worked in HR for a very large mutual fund company. At this firm, entry analyst jobs were given to MBAs from top schools (like Wharton and Harvard) and paid in the low six figures. Most of these folks had at least two years exp in addition to the MBA. Many had internships with the firm in prior years.The really good analysts would get a shot at becoming junior portfolio managers after a few years. Top portfolio managers could make 7 figures - these are the stars that you see on mag covers.
For the regular BA/BS folks, we had Client Account Mgr and Fund Accounting jobs, paying around 50-60K. It was very hard for these folks to break into the analyst roles but it did happen for those who were exceptional. More likley, the good ones would rise in the ranks and become managers on the operations side. There, they could make in the mid 100s or even 200K.<br>
Bottom line, it's very hard to become a research analyst. Some firms (like the one I worked for) are VERY picky about the schools they select from. Only those that come from the elite schools are given a chance - not fair - just reality.</p>
<p>Did the BA/BS folks ever have anything to do with the funds? What was their role in the company?</p>
<p>Yes, the BA/BS folks DO work with the funds - on the operations and reporting side. The client acct mgrs work with institutional clients (like pension funds) ensuring their needs are met (for reporting etc). Fund accting folks are doing NAVs and compliance reporting on the funds. They don't get involved in deciding what investments are made - that's the role of the PMs (with help from the analysts). These firms also have marketing folks. If it's a retail firm - the focus would be on individual investors (magazine ads, promotional materials). If it's an institutional firm - it's signing up new clients (for example a university with an endowment to manage). An entry level job might involve helping to writing proposals for these potential clients. There are lots of opportunities in a MF firm - not just analyst and PM jobs. But the analyst and PM certainly pay the most!</p>
<p>All right thanks for your help. And do these fund companies actively recruit at top business schools?</p>
<p>Depends on the fund company. Check with each school. The firm I worked for only recruited at the elite schools (Ivy and others in top 10 -not just business programs). Others have a much broader reach I believe.</p>
<p>Well then Im in luck....Texas is in top 10. Also, back to ur other post, what are NAVs and compliance reporting?</p>
<p>NAV = Net Asset Value. It is measured and posted after the trading day closes for every mutual fund. Mutual Funds are subject to a HUGE number of regulations (unlike hedge funds) - that's where the compliance reporting comes in. Companies have to provide proof that they are living within the rules. Seems like you are really interested in this business. Maybe you could ask for an informational interview at a company near your location. And try for internships - they're a great way to get a foot in the door and learn about the company.</p>
<p>Just graduated HS, dont think they'll take me. Thanks for ur posts though.</p>
<p>you never know. we had a few kids do 4 week internships at Vanguard from my son's high school this year (free of course..)
Try for an internship next summer if you can.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks toneranger.</p>
<p>realize when you go look at a company like vanguard there are many kinds of analyst, from due diligence, account, compensation, financial etc etc. Yes you can get anaylyst jobs out of undergrad, but your not going to be a full blown anaylyst, your going to merely be an assisstant anaylyst or assisstant porfolio manager. It takes a few years to work up from there. Every company is different, some with assistant positions others with known, only positions ranging from anaylyst, senior analyst etc.</p>
<p>A company such as american funds will not have any assistants, rather their analysts etc will be hired straight from top b schools</p>
<p>Pimco will hire undergrad as presentation groups, BDS or accounting managing associates. Then you have vanguard who will hire everything from database to client rep etc. It all depends on size of fund and company. Mutual funds arent prestige whores like investment banking or consulting (there is consulting at mutual funds as well). Mutual funds are usually regional for undergrad, grad is a little different and will vary depending on company. such as PIMCO, it is practically the most well respected bond fund with 610 billion in assestts from i forgot how many institutional investors. They are hq in newport beach, CA and recruit from sdsu, ucsd, uci, cal fullerton-long beach-poly pomona, usc, ucla, ucsb (also michigan, columbia, harvard etc, but for the new york offices) All regional schools. But then you look at grad schools and see Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, LSE etc. You see the picture</p>
<p>I see, so it just depends on what company Im lookin at.</p>
<p>Toneranger: You started talking about the marketing branch that mutual funds have. Do you have any knowledge of what qualifications are necessary to get one of these marketing positions? Would it be better to major in marketing and not finance? Is it difficult to move from this marketing branch to become an actual fund manager?</p>