Transition to portfolio management

How easy would it be to transfer to portfolio management if I gained the CFA charter through work experience as a private banker instead of an investment analyst role?

The private banking role is more of an advisory role so I am not sure why the CFAI says this type of work experience can be enough to get charter status.

I know you influence the investment process with this but it doesn’t show you have the analytical skills to become a portfolio manager, or does it?

Sorry buddy. Not going to happen.

You still have to measure risk and create appropriate portfolios using asset allocation. So it’s not completely hopeless.

But it’s hard to get into the security selection part of things unless you are already on that track, and that’s what most of the hotshot portfolio managers find themselves doing… selecting securities, constructing portfolios out of them (meaning figuring out how much of each to have), etc.

It can happen…i have seen it first hand where someone without a real background got into a buyside firm…however, the role is normally very junior (updating comps, printing out reports, updating industry stats etc)…

Yea anything can happen, but each person has different circumstances and the odds overall are just not that high.

i wouldn’t bet on it for sure…but odds may be better than you think…not everybody who joins the buyside are experts are even fluent in security analysis…they got a lot of mundane things that need to be done too on the buyside…

I think one of the big problems is that there are too many people looking to get the foot in the same door, so you can easily get people with experience willing to do those menial tasks

Agree with the others – it could happen, but it’s unlikely, and it would be a long track. Certainly you will not be ushered to the front of the line merely by passing the CFA exams.

did not mention classy babes!!! oh boy…

Working on the buyside is hard enough as it is to become a portfolio manager given the limited opportunity. That said, probably more difficult to transition with your background given you lack the buyside experience. Personally, there’s no way I would entrust someone to be a portfolio manager without the track record or experience. The security analysis is the basic part of the buyside job and there’s more to it than just that, such as knowing the players in the industry (especially if you’re specialized and not a generalist) and having the relationships with the brokers/researchers/management teams/etc. which are all developed through time. You probably need to learn to walk before you run by transitioning to an analyst role on the buyside before you can even think about a portfolio management role. Either way, good luck.

I never said I was working in private banking. I was just wondering whether this would be possible at all.

Thanks anyway

It’s possible, but if you become a successful private banker then you may not want to switch…it’s a pretty cushy lifestyle with much less stress and very good comp if you are successful. Success is relative, so it also depends what private bank and what type of portfolio management role. Example, UHNW private banker versus small regional RIA you may be taking a pay cut and adding hours to move to the PM role.