Advice for somebody going to college towards BA in finance… Where did you guys start out? degrees? entry level positions? mistakes you made? Level of math skills actually required in the real world of finance? A typical day? What is the best track for me to head down within finance to make good money?
Don’t be a financial advisor after graduating. I fell for Ameriprise.
What is it like working at Ameriprise? What did you “fall” for? would appreciate some candid perspectives out of curiosity
If you can, take a few computer science courses (C++,etc) as electives…Someone told me this once and I laughed, now I wish I had…
I’ll finish up the Ameriprise trap at lunch. Take Access/Excel courses likewise. Those are very applicable in the real world.
just get good grades, and work internships. Take on leadership roles in student organizations… Just old fashion hard work…
Here are some tips: -Postpone your partying until after you graduate and focus on getting excellent grades -Join student clubs like Econ or Finance if you haven’t already; these look good on a resume. -Start your job search 1 year in advance (seriously) you should be an expert in this process by the time you actually find your dream job. -Pass at least one level of the CFA exam. This will make you more marketable than the next job candidate with an otherwise identical resume. -Learn as much as you can about where you think you may want to be in 10 years and then plan your entry level and next job accordingly. For instance, don’t pigeon-hole yourself and go for the top jobs out there…WHEREVER they may be. -Make sacrifices when you’re young like your work/life balance, geographic location, etc; this will make your life easier in the future. -Some lucrative career tracks are: 1) Hedge Fund managers ($1mil+), 2) mutual fund managers ($1mil+), 3) MD of an I-bank ($1mil+), 4) commodities/prop trader (potentially $1mil+), 5) Treasurer (ave $300k), and 6) Portfolio manager for HNWIs at a bank ($120k+ base). You will have to start at the bottom for these jobs so work your but off to get the good analyst jobs that lead to these. -As for your math question, unless you are a quant, you will probably only need to know up to basic calculus at the most. Just to give you an example of my background, I attended a no-name university and got my BS in Finance with excellent grades, extra-curriculars, and CFA level I under my belt. I started as a analyst at BofA’s private bank (now US trust) and 10 months later was promoted to AVP and Portfolio manager (because I worked hard). The pay and work/life balance are excellent.
KJH Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’ll finish up the Ameriprise trap at lunch. Take > Access/Excel courses likewise. Those are very > applicable in the real world. OK cool
AVP after 10 months? How many AVP’s are there in that division?? bryant Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Here are some tips: > -Postpone your partying until after you graduate > and focus on getting excellent grades > -Join student clubs like Econ or Finance if you > haven’t already; these look good on a resume. > -Start your job search 1 year in advance > (seriously) you should be an expert in this > process by the time you actually find your dream > job. > -Pass at least one level of the CFA exam. This > will make you more marketable than the next job > candidate with an otherwise identical resume. > -Learn as much as you can about where you think > you may want to be in 10 years and then plan your > entry level and next job accordingly. For > instance, don’t pigeon-hole yourself and go for > the top jobs out there…WHEREVER they may be. > -Make sacrifices when you’re young like your > work/life balance, geographic location, etc; this > will make your life easier in the future. > -Some lucrative career tracks are: 1) Hedge Fund > managers ($1mil+), 2) mutual fund managers > ($1mil+), 3) MD of an I-bank ($1mil+), 4) > commodities/prop trader (potentially $1mil+), 5) > Treasurer (ave $300k), and 6) Portfolio manager > for HNWIs at a bank ($120k+ base). You will have > to start at the bottom for these jobs so work your > but off to get the good analyst jobs that lead to > these. > -As for your math question, unless you are a > quant, you will probably only need to know up to > basic calculus at the most. > > Just to give you an example of my background, I > attended a no-name university and got my BS in > Finance with excellent grades, extra-curriculars, > and CFA level I under my belt. I started as a > analyst at BofA’s private bank (now US trust) and > 10 months later was promoted to AVP and Portfolio > manager (because I worked hard). The pay and > work/life balance are excellent.
read the vault guides.
What is it like working at Ameriprise. Example of what to beware of. Let me just say I wish I would have seen this site prior to graduating. I also wish I would have networked a lot more in college. Network all you can. As the saying goes, “…it’s who you know.” Working at Ameriprise was really worthless experience in my opinion. The few positives were I became licensed and I learned what goes on behind the curtain in a financial advisory firm. One can visit this link for a full/humors’ take on working at Ameriprise. http://www.amexsux.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1141154590 The interview process was that of Boiler Room. There were 12 of us in a room with the field vice president explaining what large demand exists for financial advisors. Social Security is a failure and now millions need retirement guidance. The rest of the speech went into how much money a financial advisor can make; $60k first year is attainable he explained! Next one sits with a manager for the second interview. This one is all about handling objectives and the like. Last interview with the FVP is a piece of cake. However this is where the danger lights should have been flashing. He asks specifically about one’s acquaintances, how much money they make, if they would become a client, etc. I did not know if these were even appropriate interview questions. An offer was presented, I thought for a day and obtained feedback, and then accepted. I passed the securities exams no problem before graduating my senior year of college. Now the part of working at Ameriprise. It can be broken down into you are taught all you ever want to know about Life/Disability insurance, annuities, and VUL’s. Mutual funds were often not pushed to clients. Individual stocks could not be sold to clients either. The commissions only came from insurance products. The job was essentially sales. Selling: You were expected to call your friends and family to persuade them into becoming your client. Selling to relatives was something I did NOT want to do. The leads they give you to call have been recycled several times so they are essentially worthless. Cold calling these people was very rough. One could obtain more leads through networking events and the like and even these were sub par. The ‘good leads’ were all of those in your cell phone book. The hair that broke the camels back for me was watching the seasoned advisors with 3+ years experience. They were still cold calling and working 80 hour weeks for what looked like a possibly $80k practice. What ever happened to $60k in the first year? Often the manager would say after a year its easy because then you get a referral based business. You’re clients do your work for you. I did not see this at all. Overall I was greatly misinformed as to what this job was. I thought it demanded research more over sales. Many firms have this same layout. Ameriprise is simply the most well known.
Why B.A. instead of B.S.? Maybe that was a typo but do B.S. Get good grades but more importantly get EXPERIENCE. Start out anywhere doing anything you can, as long as it is at a financial institution. Join Investment and Finance clubs- take an officer role after Freshman year. Make fellow finance students your friends but even more importantly make the finance teachers your friends. So far you’re doing the right thing, analystforum is a good place to learn. Learn about the field of Finance and the different careers. You’d be suprised how many people graduate with a Finance degree and don’t know much if not ANYTHING about real world finance opps. Lastly, when starting out, take great experience over great pay.
bryant Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Here are some tips: > -Postpone your partying until after you graduate > and focus on getting excellent grades > -Join student clubs like Econ or Finance if you > haven’t already; these look good on a resume. > -Start your job search 1 year in advance > (seriously) you should be an expert in this > process by the time you actually find your dream > job. > -Pass at least one level of the CFA exam. This > will make you more marketable than the next job > candidate with an otherwise identical resume. > -Learn as much as you can about where you think > you may want to be in 10 years and then plan your > entry level and next job accordingly. For > instance, don’t pigeon-hole yourself and go for > the top jobs out there…WHEREVER they may be. > -Make sacrifices when you’re young like your > work/life balance, geographic location, etc; this > will make your life easier in the future. > -Some lucrative career tracks are: 1) Hedge Fund > managers ($1mil+), 2) mutual fund managers > ($1mil+), 3) MD of an I-bank ($1mil+), 4) > commodities/prop trader (potentially $1mil+), 5) > Treasurer (ave $300k), and 6) Portfolio manager > for HNWIs at a bank ($120k+ base). You will have > to start at the bottom for these jobs so work your > but off to get the good analyst jobs that lead to > these. > -As for your math question, unless you are a > quant, you will probably only need to know up to > basic calculus at the most. > > Just to give you an example of my background, I > attended a no-name university and got my BS in > Finance with excellent grades, extra-curriculars, > and CFA level I under my belt. I started as a > analyst at BofA’s private bank (now US trust) and > 10 months later was promoted to AVP and Portfolio > manager (because I worked hard). The pay and > work/life balance are excellent. First of all, you can still get “excellent” grades and have a good time in college. You don’t want to be THAT guy who is in the library on saturday nights. They think they are getting ahead in life only to realize too late that they missed out on the social skills needed in the real world. Also, you don’t “need” the CFA level 1 coming out of college. Sure, it can be helpful but it is certainly not necessary. It will get you a few extra interviews, but thats it. You’re not going to appear any more intelligent…what it will show is that your willing to put in a ,ot of hard work to achieve a goal. It shoes that you are ambitious. However, there are other ways to show this. One more thing. For the type of jobs that I am assuming you are applying for, you’re not going to impress anybody. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer… Remember, its ultimately the charter…and not passing level 1…thats more important. So why not enjoy college and use your extra time to learn about the things that interest you the most, and while you still have the extra time. Sure, you may like the material for the CFA - but you have the rest of your life to dive into it. Getting your charter at 25 is really no different than 26 in the long run. Don’t find yourself at the bar with nothing else to talk about except work. Nobody likes that guy.
commstudent Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > AVP after 10 months? How many AVP’s are there in > that division?? > > bryant Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Here are some tips: > > -Postpone your partying until after you > graduate > > and focus on getting excellent grades > > -Join student clubs like Econ or Finance if you > > haven’t already; these look good on a resume. > > -Start your job search 1 year in advance > > (seriously) you should be an expert in this > > process by the time you actually find your > dream > > job. > > -Pass at least one level of the CFA exam. This > > will make you more marketable than the next job > > candidate with an otherwise identical resume. > > -Learn as much as you can about where you think > > you may want to be in 10 years and then plan > your > > entry level and next job accordingly. For > > instance, don’t pigeon-hole yourself and go for > > the top jobs out there…WHEREVER they may be. > > -Make sacrifices when you’re young like your > > work/life balance, geographic location, etc; > this > > will make your life easier in the future. > > -Some lucrative career tracks are: 1) Hedge > Fund > > managers ($1mil+), 2) mutual fund managers > > ($1mil+), 3) MD of an I-bank ($1mil+), 4) > > commodities/prop trader (potentially $1mil+), > 5) > > Treasurer (ave $300k), and 6) Portfolio manager > > for HNWIs at a bank ($120k+ base). You will > have > > to start at the bottom for these jobs so work > your > > but off to get the good analyst jobs that lead > to > > these. > > -As for your math question, unless you are a > > quant, you will probably only need to know up > to > > basic calculus at the most. > > > > Just to give you an example of my background, I > > attended a no-name university and got my BS in > > Finance with excellent grades, > extra-curriculars, > > and CFA level I under my belt. I started as a > > analyst at BofA’s private bank (now US trust) > and > > 10 months later was promoted to AVP and > Portfolio > > manager (because I worked hard). The pay and > > work/life balance are excellent. There are several. Making AVP was due to various circumstances all working in my favor, such as passing level II, working hard, etc.
jalmy8 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > bryant Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Here are some tips: > > -Postpone your partying until after you graduate > > > and focus on getting excellent grades > > -Join student clubs like Econ or Finance if you > > > haven’t already; these look good on a resume. > > -Start your job search 1 year in advance > > (seriously) you should be an expert in this > > process by the time you actually find your dream > > > job. > > -Pass at least one level of the CFA exam. This > > will make you more marketable than the next job > > > candidate with an otherwise identical resume. > > -Learn as much as you can about where you think > > > you may want to be in 10 years and then plan > your > > entry level and next job accordingly. For > > instance, don’t pigeon-hole yourself and go for > > > the top jobs out there…WHEREVER they may be. > > -Make sacrifices when you’re young like your > > work/life balance, geographic location, etc; > this > > will make your life easier in the future. > > -Some lucrative career tracks are: 1) Hedge Fund > > > managers ($1mil+), 2) mutual fund managers > > ($1mil+), 3) MD of an I-bank ($1mil+), 4) > > commodities/prop trader (potentially $1mil+), 5) > > > Treasurer (ave $300k), and 6) Portfolio manager > > > for HNWIs at a bank ($120k+ base). You will have > > > to start at the bottom for these jobs so work > your > > but off to get the good analyst jobs that lead > to > > these. > > -As for your math question, unless you are a > > quant, you will probably only need to know up to > > > basic calculus at the most. > > > > Just to give you an example of my background, I > > > attended a no-name university and got my BS in > > Finance with excellent grades, > extra-curriculars, > > and CFA level I under my belt. I started as a > > analyst at BofA’s private bank (now US trust) > and > > 10 months later was promoted to AVP and > Portfolio > > manager (because I worked hard). The pay and > > work/life balance are excellent. > > > First of all, you can still get “excellent” grades > and have a good time in college. You don’t want > to be THAT guy who is in the library on saturday > nights. They think they are getting ahead in life > only to realize too late that they missed out on > the social skills needed in the real world. Also, > you don’t “need” the CFA level 1 coming out of > college. Sure, it can be helpful but it is > certainly not necessary. It will get you a few > extra interviews, but thats it. You’re not going > to appear any more intelligent…what it will show > is that your willing to put in a ,ot of hard work > to achieve a goal. It shoes that you are > ambitious. However, there are other ways to show > this. One more thing. For the type of jobs that > I am assuming you are applying for, you’re not > going to impress anybody. Try to put yourself in > the shoes of the interviewer… > Remember, its ultimately the charter…and not > passing level 1…thats more important. So why > not enjoy college and use your extra time to learn > about the things that interest you the most, and > while you still have the extra time. Sure, you > may like the material for the CFA - but you have > the rest of your life to dive into it. Getting > your charter at 25 is really no different than 26 > in the long run. > Don’t find yourself at the bar with nothing else > to talk about except work. Nobody likes that guy. Clearly I’m not advocating the he become anti-social. Is it really necessary for me to spell out the degree of partying that I’m referring to? I also love how you refer to “social skills” in the context of partying/bars to make a point, as if you’re going to communicate with a director/MD the same way you would a drunk college punk…funny. Did I say he “needs” the CFA 1 right out of college? I’m trying to provide advice that may help him land a better entry level position. While my suggestions aren’t necessary, they may increase his chances of a better post-college start. Yes someone who has passed the CFA 1, ceteris paribus, will “appear” more intelligent (to a degree–maybe even a very minor one), at least on paper, than someone who has not passed the exam. Now it may be a different story when that person opens up their mouth. Yes, the charter carries more weight than only having passed one or two levels, but progress towards the charter looks better than no progress. Wouldn’t you agree? I’m not saying he should be totally miserable in college, as if doing all that I suggested and enjoying college are mutually exclusive events…maybe for some. The original question was very open-ended and can be applied to dozens of scenarios, so there is no absolute right or wrong answer.
"I also love how you refer to “social skills” in the context of partying/bars to make a point, as if you’re going to communicate with a director/MD the same way you would a drunk college punk…funny. " I find that’s precisely what it’s like…or perhaps worse. I’ve certainly lost count of the number of times I’ve been at the ballet or some other fine establishment with a “director/MD” and he’s been 'faced.
Those beer pong skills ARE crucial… Turkish Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "I also love how you refer to “social skills” in > the context of partying/bars to make a point, as > if you’re going to communicate with a director/MD > the same way you would a drunk college > punk…funny. " > > I find that’s precisely what it’s like…or > perhaps worse. I’ve certainly lost count of the > number of times I’ve been at the ballet or some > other fine establishment with a “director/MD” and > he’s been 'faced.
It’s reasonable to assume that you will be spending much more time at work with your director/MD than outside of work at a bar or something. And how many “ballets or fine establishments” have you been drunk with your college buddies at? Different context.
have you ever been to the ballet, bryant?
The one thing I regret is not becoming more involved in the major finance club at my university. I don’t know what your options are at your school, but mine had a few finance clubs and one of these consisted of the most motivated students. Many alumni from this club went on to work at major banks and would come back for recruiting, and those that were very active in the club had good relationships with these alumni and were in turned placed at these major banks (and so on and so forth). The club was one of the more serious types and ran a mock portfolio which later turned into a real portfolio (funded by alumni). I never got much out of the “join a club so you can put it on your resume” idea, but the internal recruiting aspect is an easy avenue that I missed out on. Just my two cents.