There is an open position for an Investor Associate in my area, and I’m thinking of applying. Couple of things I’m trying to find out. 1. What are the typical backgrounds for the front office roles for the PB? Do you need an MBA to move into more senior roles, or is CFA enough? 2. What are typical salaries for the associate level jobs? What’s the payout structure? Obviously, if you’re bringing in business you get a commission, but if you are on the investment side, how is it based? Is most of the compensation salary or bonus? 3. Any info. on the interview process? Lots of technical/market questions, or more fit questions? Appreciate any info.
- High-net worth network is key. No MBA required at all. A CFA would help you as a marketing tool to prove your credibility in complex financial instruments. 2. Typical base pay at around $80k with bonus depending on how much you business you bring in the bank, typically 0.2% of incremental business. 3. Who is your target network from day 1? How much can you bring in? What is your track record?
I can answer these questions directly - 1. Most associates have an MBA; but there are a fair number who came through the analyst program or were hired from outside directly as an associate. CFA/MBA is not really required to move up in the ranks - lots of senior management and guys running the investment desks (Investor MD’s) don’t have either. Its a sales role, and then a management role, at senior levels, so if you can do the operational work at the associate level, build rapport with clients, kill it with clients, and show some initiative, neither is required. 2. Wrong on the commission point - JPM is a salary and bonus structure. Depending on if you have an MBA, you can look at 85-105k as a base. Your bonus will entirely be at management’s discretion, as it will be tied to your overall team (desk) metrics. This year, Investors have a primary focus on driving revenue for exisiting clients, so if your desk kills it, and the senior people on your desk appreciate your work, you should do well… typically %% of salary (you make multiple of salary at VP and MD level). Its very opaque though, and you can’t draw a direct line between incremental revenue you generate and bonus (also b/c the comp structure goes: Business Line-> Business Unit -> Region -> Market -> Team -> Personal Performance). Think more of an investment banking structure. 3. Youll have some technical questions, and some fit questions. JPMPB is big on teamwork and fit, so the people will want to have to want to work with you. But be prepared to talk about the market, equity and debt markets, your views, etc… Hope this helps, let me/us know if you have any other questions
[original post removed]
This one will add value - http://online.barrons.com/article/SB125393082414743023.html#articleTabs_panel_article%3D1 Article in Barrons that may help delineate financial advisors/brokers and private bankers.
Thanks for the responses. Really helpful. It seems like the payout structure is largely based on the business you bring in. From what I understand, the Investor is more responsible for investment and allocation decisions, and the Banker focuses on getting the business. Is this wrong? What’s the difference between the Investor/Banker and any other front office roles that work with clients? As an investor, are you expected to go out and find clients, or are you expected to help more once the client’s foot is in the door?
The payout structure is less ‘business YOU bring in’ and more ‘how well the firm/region/desk does,’ especially at the associate level. Banker is primarily responsible for new clients and new assets, while the Investor is responsible for presenting the JPM investment platform and driving incremental revenue delta. Typically the Investor is not expected to bring in new clients; but as a client advisor, obviously you should always be looking for opportunities to help your banker grow their business. A way to think about the difference is if you took a typical broker and split them into two roles - asset gatherer/new relationship builder (Banker) and trusted investment advisor (Investor). Other front office roles similar to Investor deal with particular business practices within the PB - capital advisor (banking/lending specialist), wealth advisor (wealth planning specialits), etc… One thing to keep in mind- JPM will be different than a brokerage or wirehouse in terms of making investment decisions. The firm/PB investment teams will be making the asset allocation and portfolio decisions, and the Investor is responsible for implementing them in client accounts. Additionally, the Product Specialists provide asset class level solutions (equities, fixed income, FX, commodities) which you pitch to your clients. ON the one hand, having specialists focus on each product, and having an investment team make asset allocation and tactical decisions, allows the Investor to focus on providing the best firm advice to their client. On the other hand, it takes some of the ‘fun’ out of the traditional broker role because you are no longer responsbile for or expected to make most of the investment decisions. Some people love it, some people hate it, but its something to consider. Let me know if you have more questions
i dont work for a private bank, but for a high net worth manager. in my experience, associates bring in new business only to the extent that they prepare materials for portfolio managers to utilize in prospective client meetings. no network has been needed at all at the associate level, though im sure if existing it would be rewarded.
Hey Rusty, this is very helpful. So it sounds like it’s really a team approach, payout might differ slightly based on your different role (and probably differs a lot based on seniority), but for the most part, bonus is based on how well the group does. A couple of other questions: If you had to estimate the average take home pay (bonus included) of an Investor who has been at the firm for a few years, what would it be? Is 200K on the low end? What’s the high end? 500K, 1mil? What about an associate? What’s the quality of life like? Typical hours for associates? How much of the job involves entertaining/dinners/games etc.? How much travel is involved (for example do the front office roles go to NY a lot for training/conferences)? Also, would you say most people at the PB enjoy working at JPM? Thanks for all the info.
^^Are these numbers (500k, 1m) at all realistic? Seems pretty high to me. I was recently contacted about a senior investor role for one of these sorts of outfits. The entire thing wasn’t really what I was looking for, but if I could pull in $1m in a couple of years I’d definitely take it and cash out.
They might not be realistic. I’m just trying to get an idea of what the potential is. Is there a cap, or is the sky the limit? If someone is largely responsible for bringing in $250 mil one year, you’d think they’d get a nice bonus.
Top bankers make well north of 1MM, some make high single digits (for a bang out year). Top investors can make in that range, though Bankers tend to get paid more (think of a relationship banker vs. ECM/DCM in the IB). In theory there is no cap, but because its also based on busienss unit performance, and there’s no direct dollar-for-dolalr correlation, its hard to say the max one could get paid. An associate will easily top 100k, depending on prior experience. Post MBA’s are going to make ~150-200k, and then that will go up depending on team performance, responsibility, tenure, and title. Also something to consider is that the more senior you get, the greater proportion of your comp will be equity grants (so, eureka, to your point, its not that easy to just ‘cash out’). Quality of life is fantastic in PB vs. most of finance. If this facet is a priority for you, Private Banking is better than Investment Banking. From my PB experience, it wasn’t uncommon to get in around 7:45 and leave around 6:30/7 every day. If you support a big client book or have a big meeting you might pull a lot of hours in a given week. QoL also depends on the team you work for, the size of that team, and the maturity of your market. Teams in the outer offices (i.e., not NY) have better hours, but less exposure, less upward mobility, and potentially less comp vs. other markets. Outer office FO roles do travel to New York occassionaly, but it won’t be that frequent. Most of your travel will be concentrated in your market. I would say that most people at the PB enjoy JPM. Its a premium name in the market, and at the senior levels you have a lot of exposure to super wealthy people, as well as great hours. If you know you want to do wealth management, and are ok with losing some of the autonomy of the broker model, JPM PB is a great place to be. On my end, I realized that private client work is not where I want to focus my career, and I’m heading off to business school to switch over to the asset management side of the business. But Private Banking is definitely a great place to work.
Once I take LII in a month, I’m going to reach out to someone I know at the PB, and see where it takes me. I definitely feel more prepared now. All the info. you gave is very much appreciated. Where you headed to B-school?
Hey Rusty, this 1 million figure - is it true for private bankers ?? i mean then even the targets must also be to get minimum 200 million worth of assets to the bank ? also are you in favour of a opening wealth management suite of your own once someone has that kind of assets with him ? Thanks a lot
1MM yes, even more for senior bankers. Typical annual target for a banker is ~200MM+ in new assets per year; a senior banker has a higher target. One of the other differences between brokerage shops and private banking is that at a brokerage, once you have $X in revenue from your business, you don’t necessarily need to keep growing, because that asset base will continue to pay you. In private banking, you only get paid if you hit your metrics every year - growing the business in assets, revenue, and new clients. I’m not sure re: your second question, but if you’re asking if I would either open my own shop or take my clients and start my own practice, the answer is no to both. While the personal aspect of PB is interesting, in the end I don’t find it that challenging and sometimes clients can be annoying. I’m more inclined to open an asset management or investment management firm in the future. As to taking your clients and starting your own shop, or taking them elsewhere - probably very hard to do. While PB is a very entrepeneurial environment, bankers for the most part view themselves as JPM employees first and foremost; therefore, the attitude is that these clients are bank clients not RustyRudder’s clients. So, that kind of transition rarely happens, especially when you get to teh upper echelons of the PB clientele. Hope this helps