Anybody here who wants to get into private banking?
I do. I’d love to work for JPM, do solid investment work without ridiculous hours.
Financial advisors have a bad rep, especially here in Canada. I’m not so sure about the States but I’m guessing Financial advisors are as pushy as a salesman can get there as much as here. Often I think people confuse FA’s and IA’s with Private Bankers. Do you agree with those people who do? I am very curious to know what people think of peeps in PWM. If they have the same impression of them as FA’s and IA’s.
People seem to have strong opinions about certain shops. Some are known as very pushy and aggressive with proprietary products. JPM has 40% of the Fortune 400 because they have their clients’ interest in mind, they work in teams, they pay salary instead of commission etc… It’s definitely different from your average FA.
From what I have seen, the average FA is a moron. I think you will find the private banking crowd to be a little more educated and sophisticated.
Awsome, that’s what I wanted to hear, aspiringhealthcarebanker =) I’ve been very IB-driven (finishing off undergrad in 2009) but because of the market, I’ve been looking for other options to get into right after for a couple years, before hitting up the IBD. That is, if it doesn’t work out for me in getting into an IB after grad. I never considered PWM before but am more interested in it, as they are actively looking to recruit. Also, a hedgefund manager from CS I talked to today said that big banks like UBS and CS are looking to sell their IBD and focus more heavily on PB, so it might be a good option. aldford, you are wise in wanting to go into this field.
From my experience with a few FA’s they lazy, dumb, and unmotivated.
“From my experience with a few FA’s they lazy, dumb, and unmotivated” and private bankers are what exactly, PMs with CFA. Dude…PBers are just as lazy and incompitant. They have to know this much a fraction of what a PORTFOLIO MANAGER does. Willy
HAHA… Irony = Incompitant
Well in my experience (which includes being a FA as well as working for a PWM shop (not a private banker however but on the investment team)) is that the FA are not lazy or unmotivated, but they are typically dumb. They sell, that takes motivation. In the PWM group, there is no sales (at least where I am), its just straight up port mgmt. Yep there are products, but if you are at a shop with open architecture it isnt like you are plugging in prop crap, you are finding whatever fits the need. Bottom line is there are other positions in PWM other than a PB, I would look for them.
I know many people who work in private banking and it can be a good career option. You can be a PM for high net worth clients and run private portfolios. You aren’t going to make much money, though, unless you can land high-net worth clients. The people I know who just run money but have no sales responsibilities really don’t make much money at all (in a relative sense). The relationship managers who bring in clients and are the QB for the private banking relationship are the ones who have the real value and make the real money. A lot of the PM’s value is communicating the investment message to the client and building trust, we all know it’s not rocket science to put an asset allocation together. A lot of private banks use their own proprietary funds too, so you may not even select the investment managers. JP Morgan is the best of the well-known private banks and Bank of America is a serious player now that they bought US Trust. Obviously the big banks like Goldman are great too. Good luck!
I do not think he is mentioning becoming a FA. Private banking is a good option for someone looking to get a lot of duties early. BA = make about 100k first year MBA = 200k first year JP, CS , State Street, ML, Wells Fargo have some of the better known shops
PWM is easier to get into with an MBA, but ironically, what you learn in B school of the CFA program will not be used. your first 5 years you are building a book, typically calling on CEO teams of companies and getting referrals. the base fee is pretty darn good, though, so people are attracted to it. but the attrition numbers are high as people realize you are not plotting optimal portfolios or breaking into 10KS. you are essentially a glorified sales man. the food chain is the same, its just that as you go up a rung, the suits get more expensive lowest – stock broker middle terrian - private wealth at tier 2 shop high ground - “private banker” or PWM at a bulge bracket if you are gonna do it all, do it at a bulge, since you will get paid on a fee % and if you know the right guys, can get tossed into a team that already has a large asset base. the base fee @ a shop like MS post MBA can beridiculous, like 140K. and that’s before you even bring in one client!!! obviously, to get this job, the best route is to show that you know the markets, can sell anyone, and have contacts you can bring into the fold within a month. you’ll get your series 7 right away, but never will you be calculating a short put strategy for a client. once the client says yes, your long term goal is to get all the assets, not just a portion of em. not rocket science. in the end, PWM people can sometimes make some crazy money, simply b/c be definition they are bringing assets into the bank, ands the closer one is to the money, the more they make.