Asset Management Career Stuff

Before coming back to business school, I used to think that nearly all of the post-MBA careers in investment management revolved around picking stocks. My experiences at Cornell and the exposure I've gotten to the industry have greatly expanded my view of the many different opportunities available for someone interested in asset management. Let me talk about the 3 biggest insights I've gained over the past year and a half...

1. There is an enormous amount of money invested in asset classes other than equities. Although the majority of the on-campus job postings in asset management are for "equity analysts" (which is true for Cornell as well as any other top school), there are many opportunities to do research in other asset classes. Domestic equities actually represent a small piece of the pie when you consider all of the global investment opportunities in commodities, derivatives, fixed income, real estate, etc.
2. There are multiple levels of career paths within the asset management world. Picking individual investments (whether it be stocks, bonds, options, or office buildings) is definitely an exciting, intellectually challenging, and financially rewarding career path. But if you're interested in looking at the bigger picture, you might want to work for a foundation, endowment, or pension fund where you make decisions regarding asset allocation. An equity anlayst, for example, decides if they should buy EBAY or GOOG, while an asset allocator decides if they should be buying Japanase real estate or agricultural commodities. It's two very different levels of investing. If you enjoy relationships and more personal interaction, private wealth management might be a good career fit. There is a whole spectrum of jobs in asset management that range from portfolio analytics to direct investing to institutional consulting.
3. There is more than one way to pick stocks. Even if you come back to school with a clear goal of picking stocks , fundamental research isn't the only path. Quantitative investing has an enormous following especially in the hedge fund world. A lot of the "quant" funds will prefer to hire someone with a PhD in physics or stats compared to a less technical degree like an MBA, but I've still seen a number of job postings come through campus for quant positions.

One Semester Left...

It's amazing how fast 2007 passed me by. It seems like yesterday that I was kicking off the school year with my immersion cohorts during Week on Wall St. We had just finished the first semester (the heralded "core") and were starting our hunt for internships. After the blur of my summer internship and the fall semester, it's hard to believe I've only got four months of class left before my MBA experience is over!

One of the best perks of being a student again is the long winter breaks. It's really a month-long vacation. You only have about 4 weeks off during your first year since final exams are done after the first week of December and you have to be back at school around the first week of January when the immersions start up. (Those 4 weeks aren't entirely free since most immesions load you up with a bunch of readings/projects to complete over the break). But the second year gets better. You get a solid 6-week break since elective courses don't start until the third week of January, you don't have to worry about doing any assignments, and there's a good chance you'll already have your full-time job offer in hand which relieves the stress of preparing for interviews. Many of my second-year classmates are using the time off to travel: I have friends going to China, India, Hawaii, Vegas, and Africa. I'm using part of my time to hang out with family in Salt Lake City and then I'll be in Ithaca until classes start. My daughter is in kindergarten, and it's funny that she doesn't get as much time off from school as I do.

I couldn't be more excited about my last semester at Cornell. In addition to the Cayuga Fund, I'll also be taking Behavioral Finance, Search for Alpha, Intermediate Accounting, and a self-study course to prepare for the third level of the CFA exam. You're probably thinking how anyone could be "excited" over that line up, but it's easy to develop a passion for the capital markets when you're so intensely immersed in studying them. My plan is to soak up as much learning and experience as I can over the last semester since this is the last opportunity I'll have to be unemployed (at least I hope it's the last opportunity...)