looking for some career advice. I am really hoping someone can assist! I have been offered two job opportunities which I am extremely grateful for! Both are internal wholesaler roles. Here is some more info:
Opportunity 1: Large AM shop (think BlackRock/American Funds/JP). Internal wholesaler covering one state on the the east coast. Benefits: relatively attractive salary/benefits, great training, name recognition, career mobility. This opportunity will require me to relocate
Opportunity 2: Smaller boutique backed by a larger firm. Selling only one product in alternative space. Benefits: smaller team could possibly lead to quicker upward mobility. People I have met with are extremely intelligent. Culture seems decent. I would not need to relocate for this opportunity (relocation isn’t a con, just mentioning).
I was hoping someone could share their opinions. Also, if anyone has had experience working as an internal or external for a BlackRock/American Funds/JP type shop, your insights would be invaluable. This is a major decision for my family and I and I want to get as much decision useful information as possible! Thank you!
What job level are you at? I don’t know about Wholesale jobs specifically, but generally, if you’re very young, having a big name firm on your resume can be valuable. Big firms also tend to be more optimized and can teach you some best practices. If you’re mid career, then immediate benefits and near term trajectory matter more.
I’d go for the big name, this sounds like no brainer to me. At this point, the products are bought more than sold by the wholesalers so the benefit of working at a large brand names where money usually go to first will make your job much easier. And you will also have more opportunities like ohai mentioned with a big brand on your resume.
Thanks for the response Ohai. I have about 3 years of industry experience. I have worked at some other AM’s and I think I have ramped up pretty quickly. I have some other large firms on my resume which I think have helped, but I think the larger shop on the table is the pinnacle in my field. It’s hard to turn that down.
The smaller shop is a division of a big name; however, the one major sticking point that worries me is that it is just a singular product. So if that product falls out of favor I have nothing else to pivot to.
not sure in the sales space so idk how exactly to respond but to play devils advocate - selling only 1 product can limit your growth in some ways but it can also push you to become an expert in that space and learn more than someone selling a ton of products.
as someone who deals with sales guys at my firm i much appreciate the ones who arent complete idiots that sell anything that moves and actually understand how our products work in depth.
that said jack of all trades at a big shop is likely the safer route
OP is a CFA candidate so he probably knows what he’s talking about for the most part (most of my firm’s sales guys are complete idiots without any clue on how to sell the product or it’s unique selling points), rest is just read up on the fact sheets and stuff for the product tbh.
I am definitely all too familiar with the average sales guy walking into the office with the fact sheet memorized. Any question off script severely throws him for a loop. I have done everything in my power not to be that person.
Yayyywork: I definitely understand the thought. I tend to delve deep when it comes to my products. I do like the idea of becoming an expert on one product. However, if the product falls out of favor, which the smaller firms type has in the past…I’m kinda out of luck.
I really appreciate everyone’s insights. It’s always great to hear others opinions and advice from a trusted community.
This is why I wouldn’t do the smaller shop. It may sound like a good product, but you are betting your career on one product then. If you understand it thoroughly and have 100% confidence in it, then go for it.
But I would not, I’d go with the big shop.
Full disclosure, I hate salesmen (no offense). Always feel like track record is all you need. Well, a track record and a phone if people are interested.
Much like advisors, about 75% of wholesalers suck at their job so I don’t disagree with your attitude towards salespeople. But, saying all you need is track record is…absurd. That’s one of the last things you need when constructing a portfolio. Assuming you use active funds, do you really put your clients’ money in funds before talking to someone at that fund family? I believe the DOL/SEC would like to have a word with you…
@OP - I mentioned the downside of working for a one product shop in my PM response to you. One positive thing to consider is the smaller firm’s willingness to develop new product. If it’s a really small firm, they’ll likely seek your input (after you’ve been there for a while and have talked to a bunch of advisors). That can be pretty fun.
I’m talking about running a fund man, not being a RIA and constructing a portfolio.
In that case I’d agree with you, that most RIA’s will simply look at good track records in asset classes and load them into a balanced portfolio. They’ll claim “oh we don’t just look at track records” when really its 95% of what they look at. Choosing the hot funds and then getting burned.
I’m saying if you are managing a mutual fund, and you want to sell the fund, if you can outperform and have a good track record the money will flow in. I’ve seen it. Without any salesmen/marketing at all. Morningstar does the work for you. Probably due to what I just said above. lol.
Just speculating, but couldn’t sales help target specific types of investors you’d want in your fund? Investor behavior seems like it would be very different from one fund to the next if it’s solely based on what’s been hot, no?
Ah, gotcha. However, working in sales at a mutual fund company I can tell you while flows definitely do follow performance (and M* ratings to a lesser extent) sales and distribution drive most of the sales. That’s why every small fund/SMA manager, say $5B total AUM, working at a shop with <10 people eventually builds out their distribution team. You can survive without a sales team, but thrive? No, probably not.
Agree to disagree then. Place I was at was thriving like there was no tomorrow. No sales team, just a COO who would pick up the phone when investors called and when needed hand them them to us, the research team.
Fantastic margins because we kept costs low. 15 man shop, 8 back office employees. Got bought out and destroyed by a bigger/less competent firm that focused intensely on having a huge sales/distribution team. Now everyone is making far less $$$, flows are no better, but at least those salespeople have nice jobs, right? (you see where my disdain for salespeople comes from)
Lol I think its case by case. I’ve seen firms with a shit product but somehow managed to get billions in assets from a wide distribution network and good sales pitch. I’ve also seen firms with a good product but no assets, really depends on the person running the firm since most of the boutiques are small so personnel matters. It’s also true performance ultimately matters because currently funds are often selected by some young analyst using screens to filter down the fund universe, my firm has seen this shift in recent years.
There are outliers for sure. Yacktman, for instance, didn’t have much if any distribution before they sold out to AMG. But, Yacktman is a pretty unique case of outstanding performance, receiving several awards over the years (free marketing), and having a very well respected PM.