Equity Research vs. Asset Management

Water Cooler Careers
#1

Hi All,

Long time lurker here; I’ve posted a few times but have strayed away from the careers board for the most part. I’m looking to get some insight from industry professionals.

Ideally I’m looking to break into asset/investment management industry as an analyst generating invest ideas and doing fundamental analysis. However, some of the folks that I work with previously spent time on both the buy and sell-side. They informed me that going directly there will be exceptually difficult (which I’m aware).

So my question(s) are:

-When do I cowboy up and endure the sell-side lifestyle (After 1 year of being unsuccessful in breaking into a buy-side analyst role, longer, shorter)?

-If my all in comp is the same for an ER role and a noninvestment role at an investment manager which would you take. Obvious lifestyle differences here.

**3 years out of school with a unique background; current role lends itself well with placement into a variety of highly desireable roles. Spend a good amount of time studying Graham and Buffet’s principles on value investing, creating my own investment theses, and managing my personal account.**

Thanks in advance for everyones insight!

#2

Side note- I’ve read most of numi’s posts on M&I which have been exceptionally helpful.

#3

You should explain more about why your background is ‘unique.’ Impossible to answer this question without more context on your skills and qualifications. Also, even better would be to post an example of a write-up and then I can see how close or how far you are to landing a decent buy-side role. Thanks as well for referencing my M&I articles - glad you have found them helpful!

www.linkedin.com/in/numicareerconsulting

#4

Numi- thanks for your response. I’ll connect with you with you so it’s more clear.

Current experience is at a data provider in a role that: has exposure to product (fixed income, equity, insert security) fundamentals, involves deciphering sell-side models, and allows one to attend industry events/speak with IR from public companies.

I will have a snapshot write up posted one here within the next day, or so; don’t want to fall too far behind with everything else in the middle of earnings season.