Lifestyle Q

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What's the lifestyle like in the Investment Management business, especially for an entry level position? I think the work will be interesting but if it means a lot of hours, I'm not up for that. Any thoughts?
 
sydneybound - No need to be nasty to prove your point. You, moron.
 
He's just telling you how it is. If you want an easy life look elsewhere.
 
For the entry level you might slip by with regular+some additional hours. But if you are looking to get promoted (which pretty much is your only option since the field is so competitive) you better be prepared for some long hours.
 
you can work for a bank and do portfolio managment of small time individual accounts. It's almost more of a compliance role where you pretty much only make trades when a client needs cash or the asset allocation gets slightly out of whack. You could probably get a standard 40 hour work week. Entry level pays about 45-50k salary with about a 10-25% bonus. Mid-level after a couple years may be about $65k-$75k with similar percentage bonus. You could make a bit more if you earn a supervisory position. If you have kids and are more interested in family than career it's a great lifestyle choice since the salary's not that bad for the hours you put in. However, if you're young you might as well work hard at the beginning of your career, so you can build your experience and value and earn more over a lifetime. That way if you want to cut back your hours later in life, you could and wouldn't take such a big paycut if your resume is more impressive.
 
It all depends...if you work for a Trust Co. or a Investment Advisory Firm you will likely have reasonable hours. The problem is the Trust Co. don't pay as much and it is more difficutl to get hired at an Investment Advisory if you don't have much experience.
 
Comparted to IB its all easy. AM hours can vary firm to firm, also depends on your job function. BOM, sales, client management all tend to have more predictable hours. Investment Analysts can get crushed when markets are volatile and during earnings season. All in all I have never heard of someone in AM working more than a 70 hour week.
 
Thanks all for your inputs. I appreciate it. It is apparent that AM is not an option for me. I'm in consulting, doing valuation and M&A. I used to work for McKinsey for some time and now with a smaller/regional consulting firm. I used to put in 70+ hours in my early years but now I have cut down my hours significantly after a kid. I'm in a comfort zone at what I do but sometimes I can't help but wonder what if...

Well, more hours at less money - definitely not it.
 
One thing to always keep into account is this is no contract. You can get into institutional management/research, put 60h weeks, then leave for some place else with less hours but where your experience will be highly valued.

Long hours does not only equate large pay, it also equates valuable experience. If you wanna do more with less, more hours is often the solution. Also keep in mind that you're not working 60h+ weaving clothes like a slave at 10cents/h. You're doing high finance. Restaurants, going out with sales (they'll be the ones paying), reading and researching on a lot of interesting subjects, travelling (sometimes), etc. If you're good at what you do, tell me how exactly can 60h/w be all heavy workload.

Family probably is the only opportunity cost to that. That's why it's a good thing to put a *lot* of hours when you're young, trying to learn as much as possible, making contacts, and building experience twice as fast as someone with 40h work weeks would. That way, within a few years, you may even get to go your own way, at your own speed.
 
Cosine - I agree with you.

As for me, I've been working part time for a little less than two years, you see - putting in about 35 hrs per week. This way, I get to spend at least one full weekday with my son in addition to weekends. As you pointed out, spending time with my family is great opportunity cost to me. You can't simply have it all. You gotta make choices - I think I made the right one.
 
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