Guides / Career guides / Asset management
Asset management: invest other people’s money for a living.
Asset managers run portfolios for pension funds, insurers and individuals. It is one of the most stable careers in finance, and the CFA charter is close to essential.
Investment roles
Research analysts and portfolio managers who decide what to buy and sell.
Client and product roles
Client portfolio managers and sales teams who explain strategies to investors.
Banking or asset management?
| Compare | Investment banking | Asset management |
|---|---|---|
| Career shape | Two-year analyst programmes, often followed by an exit | A long career ladder: analyst, research analyst or junior PM, then portfolio manager |
| Entry pay | About $110,000 base in New York | Investment analysts about $60,000–$100,000 |
| Senior pay | Rises with deals and seniority | Senior active portfolio managers about $300,000 to $2 million or more |
| Key credential | Not required | The CFA charter is close to mandatory |
Figures from published guides; they vary by firm, region and fund performance.
A typical day in asset management.
A realistic junior day on a normal week. Live deals, results seasons and market shocks make it longer.
- 8:00
Read the news and check how the portfolio moved overnight.
- 9:00
Team meeting: market moves, ideas and any changes to positions.
- 10:00
Meet a company’s management team, or join its results call.
- 13:00
Research: update models and read industry reports on companies you follow.
- 15:00
Write up a recommendation for the portfolio manager.
- 18:00
Leave at a reasonable hour most days. This is one of the more balanced careers in finance.
The career ladder and pay.
| Level | Typical years | What you do | All-in pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate or analyst | 0 to 3 years | Supports senior analysts, builds models, follows a sector | $100k to $175k |
| Investment analyst | 3 to 7 years | Recommends stocks or bonds to portfolio managers | $175k to $350k |
| Senior analyst or co-portfolio manager | 7 to 12 years | Covers a large sector or helps run a fund | $300k to $700k |
| Portfolio manager | 10+ years | Makes the final decisions for a fund and is judged on its returns | $500k to several million |
Approximate all-in pay (base plus bonus) in US dollars at large firms in New York in recent years. London is usually 20 to 30% lower; smaller firms and other cities pay less. Bonuses swing with the market.
How recruiting works.
Large asset managers run graduate schemes with rotations through investment, distribution and operations. Many investment teams also hire analysts with a few years in research, banking or consulting.
Interviews focus on how you think about investing. Expect to pitch a stock or a bond, discuss a market trend, and explain how you would build a portfolio. The CFA programme is common and valued, but not required to start.
Who hires.
| Type | Examples | What it’s like |
|---|---|---|
| Global asset managers | BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, State Street, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Amundi | Huge index and active businesses with graduate programmes. |
| Active managers | Capital Group, T. Rowe Price, Wellington, Schroders, Baillie Gifford | Known for fundamental research and long investment horizons. |
| Sovereign wealth and pension funds | Norges Bank Investment Management, GIC, ADIA, CPP Investments | Invest for a country or its pensioners, often in every asset class. |
Firm names are examples, not a ranking or an endorsement.
Are you ready to apply?
Tick what you can honestly do today.
Your plan, step by step.
- 9 months before
Learn to invest
Run a paper portfolio and write down why you bought each position.
- 6 months before
Write two pitches
One stock and one other asset, such as a bond or a sector fund.
- 3 months before
Network
Talk to analysts and people on graduate schemes. Ask how their team makes decisions.
- Interviews
Show your process
Explain how you decide, not just what you think.
Where it leads.
Hedge funds
For analysts with strong stock-picking records.
Wealth management
Advising individuals and families on their investments.
Consultants and allocators
Choosing which managers to give money to, for pension funds and endowments.
Myths and reality.
“Passive investing has killed active management.”
Passive has grown fast, but active managers still run trillions, and many areas such as credit and emerging markets remain largely active.
“You need years of banking experience first.”
Many asset managers hire graduates directly and train them.
What to read.
- The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. The classic book on value investing.
- The Most Important Thing by Howard Marks. Lessons on risk and market cycles.
- Oaktree memos by Howard Marks. Free and widely read.
What they ask in asset management interviews.
Expect a stock or fund pitch, portfolio questions and your view on markets. Try each before you open it.
Pitch Pitch me a stock you would hold for five years.
Explain the business, why it can grow, what it is worth, and what could go wrong. Long-term investors care about durable advantages more than next quarter.
Portfolio Active or passive investing?
Passive tracks an index cheaply; active tries to beat it after fees. A good answer weighs costs, market efficiency and where active managers have an edge.
Portfolio What is the Sharpe ratio?
Return above the risk-free rate divided by the volatility of returns. It measures how much return you earn per unit of risk.
Portfolio How would you invest for a 30-year-old versus a retiree?
The 30-year-old can take more equity risk for growth. The retiree needs income and lower volatility, so more bonds and cash. Both depend on goals and risk tolerance.
Fixed income What is duration?
A measure of a bond’s sensitivity to interest rates. A duration of 7 means the price falls about 7% if yields rise by one percentage point.
Fit Why asset management over banking?
Point to wanting to invest over the long term, follow markets daily, and build a lasting career, ideally backed by a portfolio or stock you already follow.
Test yourself: asset management
Questions from the Mandate app. Try each before you open it.
Diversification mainly reduces…
Company-specific (unsystematic) risk. Market risk remains, which is why beta matters.
Adding an asset with low correlation to a portfolio usually…
Lowers risk for a given expected return. This is the core idea behind the efficient frontier.
The efficient frontier shows…
The best return for each level of risk. From Markowitz’s modern portfolio theory.
Strategic asset allocation is…
The long-term target mix of asset classes. Tactical allocation makes shorter-term tilts around it.
The asset management track is live in the app.
Portfolio construction, stock and fund pitches, CFA-aligned fundamentals and buy-side interviews, on top of the Mandate core. Join the waitlist and we’ll tell you first.