I am looking for some clues on how work (and life) in an institutional relationship management role is like. Specifically how you deal with conflicts arising from new asset targets and ethical advice, how much of the market action your are exposed to and how much analysis you are allowed to do. I heard of private banking firms that group HNWI RMs in groups of 5 and the worst performing RM based on new assets is fired every four months. I also know that RMs in wealth management rarely get to do any analysis, but frequently double as secretary for their clients; read: lots of dull admin work. How does institutional relationship management compare? How much sales is in it vs. how much advisory? Some background: I am currently practice head at a boutique IT consulting firm in Europe with about an aggregate of 5 years work experience in consulting. I quickly rose to my current position and usually get to be responsible for the tough new products and services. Our CEO clearly believes in me. Which feels good, but he can be complicated at times too. A particular service I wanted to develop however never got enough backing, so I am considering my options. I am 32, have a Computer Science PhD, passed FRM-full exam last November and CFA level 2 this year. I produce about 10x my salary in revenue from fees and am probably the only person to successfully target new accounts at our firm, beside our CEO. I head 4 accounts, three of which are recent acquisitions. I feel good about my track record. It seems I may get offered to become a partner next year. The thing is, I want to be closer to the market. Not the IT, but the financial market. I took career counseling and came up with either investment consulting or portfolio management for the moment and a sales position later on. I am aware that my track record does not transfer to these roles directly and am ok with an initial pay cut, I just don’t want to move into the most junior role. I do believe my consulting, sales and to some degree IT market experience in combination with solid financial knowledge is an attractive package at a reasonable price. But in my search an opportunity in an institutional RM position came up. I am not sure if I should consider this now. I rather though I do this in 1-2 years time. Should I stick with my original target positions in investment advisory and portfolio management? Are these positions even attainable? How much analysis work will I usually get in an institutional RM position and how close to the market can such a position be? How much should I worry about conflict of interest and how to deal with them in an RM position? How much admin stuff does an institutional RM position entail? I appreciate any information what sheds some light on how institutional relationship management is like.
After researching the topic I came up with some answers regarding II RM positions I am happy to share: 1. Admin work: same as PB RM 2. Analysis: very little 3. PM tasks: very little 4. Sales: lots, but may not be accountable to new asset acquisition 5. Conflicts of interest: less of a problem as PB RM, more often compliance handles the details Bonus, career steps after II RM: gigs at pension funds. Bonus, work-life-balance: quite ok Bonus, travel: generally, little, may depend on clients Bonus, shark factor: low Bonus, pay: Good, the more you want the more AuM you need to bring, and the higher the shark factor gets.