Hi everyone I just got a job offer at a large buy-side firm in their equity research group as a junior analyst. I think this is pretty much the lowest level you can start at with this form…I interviewed with about 11 PMs and all of them started in some variation of this job. I have a couple of questions: 1. Can any of you give me an idea of what the pay is usually for these jobs? I have never worked in Finance before and have very little idea of the pay. I am moving from a staff position in the High tech industry and expect to take a good sized cut from what i can tell. 2. How long can one realistically expect to work in such a position before moving on to a more senior role at the same firm/different firm? Thanks
Depends on: 1) city 2) your qualifications and experience 3) reputation of the research dept 4) the industry you will be covering-if it is a big revenue generator for the firm or not… Not sure how the promotions work on buy side research. On sell side there is no set path. You can get coverage of your own company(s) as fast as two years or in some extreme cases it can take even five to six years.
Look for the following topics using the search function. You can grab some useful information: - buy side credit analyst position evaluation - Road to a portfolio mananger - Job stability and exit opp’s : Buyside versus sellside From what I know, bonus for junior is between 15% and 40% of base salary, BS analysts can move to PM roles but it’s usually easier internally and it’s the toughest step. Or else you can stay BS analyst and optimize you earnings / workload ratio.
CFA_prep, Do you mind sharing your interview experience ? What kind of questions were asked and any advice you can share for others trying to get a break in the industry. Thanks.
CFAin2009 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Look for the following topics using the search > function. You can grab some useful information: > > - buy side credit analyst position evaluation > - Road to a portfolio mananger > - Job stability and exit opp’s : Buyside versus > sellside > > From what I know, bonus for junior is between 15% > and 40% of base salary, BS analysts can move to PM > roles but it’s usually easier internally and it’s > the toughest step. Or else you can stay BS analyst > and optimize you earnings / workload ratio. nice.
Hi Taz Here is a summary of my interview process: Phone screen 3 rounds of interviews Met 4 PMs and 2 Equity analysts in first round 8 People in second round: 5 PMS and rest analysts 3 PMs in 2 sectors in last round PMs were from all sort of funds: Value, growth, emerging, international, sector specific Analysts covered Biotech, Banking and REITS, Tech, Semi, CPG, Industrials I think I got a lot out of the interviews. I was really excited about meeting all these brilliant people with these great backgrounds and asking them about their investment philosophies. One guy had a CPA,CFA, MBA and a JD!! from 2 Ivy league schools!! All of them were gracious enough to share their picks and walked me thru examples of their process. Some of them asked me to value companies on the fly or describe a biotech B/S, Hightech B/S or I/S. Some of them went into specifics of my previous investment picks or research reports from school. I think they are really looking to see how you think thru issues and in my case as I have lot of industry experience they would throw in a question about margins for a particular sector or for a company in that sector. A common question was why investment management and why now? Hope this helps.
Sid, thanks for you reply. Some more info below: sid3699 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Depends on: > > 1) city BOSTON > > 2) your qualifications and experience > 3) reputation of the research dept From what I am told one of the better one’s in the industry. about 260B in AUM > 4) the industry you will be covering-if it is a > big revenue generator for the firm or not… Starting with High tech and probably moving to CPG and other sectors for a rotation over 2 years > Not sure how the promotions work on buy side > research. > > On sell side there is no set path. You can get > coverage of your own company(s) as fast as two > years or in some extreme cases it can take even > five to six years.
CFA_Prep, Thanks a lot for your response. What industry do you currently work in ?? Thanks.
Hi Taz, My background is in Consumer Product Goods followed by an Internet Startup that catered to that space followed by Semiconductor Capital Equipment manufacturer. CFAin2009, thanks for the info.
Who gets pais more- buy or sell side. How are the working hours in either side. S
Putnam?
Give your offer to HotCFABabe
"One guy had a CPA,CFA, MBA and a JD!! from 2 Ivy league schools!! " That doesn’t mean he’s any good at what he does. Trust me on this. Pick your tongue up off the floor. Junior analysts are probably going to make $55K - $100K (lower end with less experience) with a 15% to 40% bonus, as someone above mentioned. Some shops promote junior analysts/research associates up to analyst level, but some insist on an MBA and won’t promote. Sounds like this shop will promote without insisting on the MBA? A lot of places keep you in that role for 2 - 4 years. At the end of that time, you should either be promoted, leave for grad school or be ushered out if you don’t meet the standards for the next level.
StateStreet/Wellington?
whats so bad about statestreet?
saurya_s Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Who gets pais more- buy or sell side. How are the > working hours in either side. > S In terms of risk reward. On the research side: BS more risk than SS as at BS you have more accountability. BS job security is lower than SS. Thus, more money on BS. Hours on both sides are subjective and depends on the PM/Senior Analyst. From the people I know BS guys work as much as SS guys.
ancientmtk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > whats so bad about statestreet? Nothing…it is a nice company to work for.
so why don’t you tell us what your comp package is and then we can tell you whether or not it’s in-line? there’s a huge spread depending on a variety of factors as stated by others, and it would be helpful to know what those factors are in your situation
sid3699 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > saurya_s Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Who gets pais more- buy or sell side. How are > the > > working hours in either side. > > S > > > In terms of risk reward. On the research side: > > BS more risk than SS as at BS you have more > accountability. > > BS job security is lower than SS. > > Thus, more money on BS. > > Hours on both sides are subjective and depends on > the PM/Senior Analyst. From the people I know BS > guys work as much as SS guys. Sid, What are the end or exit routes in either case. I have heard most SS join BS later. What options does BS guys have- do they end up as Career analyst and or PM? Assume the BS are Fidelity and SS are BB? Thanks mate
From what I have heard, it is true that most SS go to BS because the transition is smoother as opposed to directly moving to BS. Have limited info here, but BS analysts pretty much would try to become PM’s either by staying at one firm or trying to skip from one BS to another. Given your example, am quite sure that a PM at fidelity would make more than a senior analyst at a BB-given that many factors go into compensation, PM’s generally make more money than Senior Analysts at SS. But I also know quite a few BS guys who switched SS research. It really depends on what each individual likes. On the SS life is not as demanding as at BS (again it depends-there are some really obnoxious senior analysts). Also, on SS once you get co-coverage (may take from two-five years) you make decent money. Its all about choice, if there is such a thing:) As the Merovingian said in Matrix Reloaded-Choice is an illusion, created between those with power, and those without.