I found an investment analyst position open at Watson Wyatt in their investment consulting group. I know its one of the more well known investmen consultancies, but I am wondering if anybody has heard anything about what its like to work there. Also, does if I am called for an interview I am wondering if anyone has any investment consulting interview tips. Lastly I am a bit concerned about my resume getting lost in the stacks and would appreciate any thoughts on how to infiltrate the company. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any Watson Wyatt people in my school’s alumni database. Any thoughts would be most appreciated.
find someone on linked in who works there and ask if you can call them for 10 minutes to get their expertise and advice as you are fervently interested in their line of work.
Although don’t use the word “fervently”, it’ll make you sound like a sad wanker.
I worked at one of Wyatt’s biggest competitors, but as an actuary. I had the option to transfer into the investment consulting group at my old company but ended up leaving for a better offer. In general, analysts at consulting firms work longer hours and make less than folks at asset management shops, with less upward mobility. If you’re into consulting, one place I would recommend trying to get a foot in the door at is Towers Perrin. I got an offer from them and must say the pay/vacation/benefits were pretty good, but I was pretty tired of the consulting life - billable hours, etc. Towers also has the reputation of taking good care of their employees in the long term, which is something to think about. Don’t know much about Wyatt’s investment guys, but their actuaries were taking a lot of clients from my old gig when I jumped ship. As far as getting noticed by Wyatt, you could always try a recruiter.
If this is an entry level role …most likely your role will involve performance measurement and manager due diligence etc . I agree that you will be putting in the hours however the expereince will definitely be well worth it . I can’t really say much about the firm specifically but it shd’nt be much different from Towers , Mercer etc in terms of pay etc for entry level gigs .
Thanks a lot for the comments. Btw what kind of pay could I expect at the entry level and higher in investment consulting?
Depends on the firm and your experience. Fresh out of school, probably mid 50s with small bonus potential. Not to plug too much for Towers, but (at least in their actuarial dept) they also give an overtime bonus that I was told would amount to ~10k your first year. Going higher up the chain, I’m not really sure.
Hi Pox, Any chance you could send me an email so that I can ask you a few questions? michael.cambeses@gmail.com Cheers, Mike
edmund_lord Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I found an investment analyst position open at > Watson Wyatt in their investment consulting group. > I know its one of the more well known investmen > consultancies, but I am wondering if anybody has > heard anything about what its like to work there. > Also, does if I am called for an interview I am > wondering if anyone has any investment consulting > interview tips. Lastly I am a bit concerned about > my resume getting lost in the stacks and would > appreciate any thoughts on how to infiltrate the > company. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any Watson > Wyatt people in my school’s alumni database. Any > thoughts would be most appreciated. I have a colleague who left Wyatt last year (he’s currently at <> w/ me). I’m not exactly sure about the culture there (I heard some bad things from him). Then again, it depends per office and the people you work with. Overall, the firm as a whole, is one of the top 3 or 4 consultancy firm (based on # of clients, and asset based). As an investment consulting analyst, what you mainly do is produce performance reports for DC and DB clients (which is pretty boring and dry). I mainly work w/ DB client (because of my actuarial background), so I get to do more fun stuff like asset allocation and portfolio structuring studies. Other cool things include market research and side projects like work on white papers and such. If your path is in consultancy, then I would highly recommend it to get exposed to the consultancy world. I’m only a senior analyst here, but I travel about 2 times on average per quarter to client/committee meetings and i already feel the burden of traveling. I don’t exactly like the travel (some consultants here travel at least 15 times per quarter – it just gets too tiring). The pay and bonuses aren’t as glamorous as what you’ll get working in an inv management firm, but it is pretty decent. Especially when you become a consultant, you can easily bank in $200k. For entry level, I would say the current market place is low $50 + a 5-10% bonus. Associates can achieve up to 80-90 while senior associates low to mid 100s. That’s just my guestimate. Most interviews are split up into two parts: one technical session and one “get-to-know-you” session. Overall I don’t think it’s too intimidating, but the only advice I have for you is get to know the industry. Try these 3 websites: Global Pensions, Institutional Investor, and Pensions & Investments. Good luck.
BTW edmund_lord, what Wyatt location is this for?
adalfu, any chance you could email? seems like there are a number of actuaries on this board. I’d ask the questions on this forum, but I am not sure that I’d like to risk losing anonymity. michael.cambeses@gmail.com Thanks, Mike
Sent. Probably have to wait till tonight to get back to you, since I have some stuff later this afternoon.
thanks! sent you an email already.
adalfu, this position is located in Atlanta. Also, where can I find good free reports on mutual funds? I want to write an analysis to have for a potential IC employer.