投资管理(Investment Management)职业概览 investing

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Overview

When ordinary people have extra money in their pockets, they may stash the cash in a savings account, put it in a company-sponsored 401(k) plan, or dabble in the stock market. When large corporations and wealthy individuals are flush, they hire an investment manager. Investment managers, also known as asset managers, are charged with overseeing part or all of their clients" money and investing it according to the clients" particular needs. Companies, universities, foundations, wealthy families, and municipalities are among the institutions that entrust their assets to an investment manager. The asset manager then invests that money in stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.

Because investment managers control such large sums, they hold a high-status position in the financial world. They work on what is called the "buy side" of the industry, and are continually courted by salespeople from investment banks and other financial institutions—the "sell siders"—who attempt to persuade asset managers to invest in their products. Investment managers are treated like clients: They call the shots about when and where meetings take place, and are frequently treated to pricey dinners, expensive golf outings, and choice seats at sporting events.

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Major Players

This is a huge and extremely diverse industry, with thousands of firms, fund companies, government institutions, unions, universities, and foundations. Most business school graduates will probably find that the quickest entrée into this world will be through large mutual fund companies that offer a complete (or nearly complete) roster of services and products. Such firms include Fidelity Investments, Janus, T. Rowe Price, Capital Group of Companies, Putnam, Scudder, and MFS. These companies manage assets for large corporations and wealthy individuals, and have at least $100 billion under management.

Other players include large firms with high levels of assets to manage, such as Microsoft and General Electric; and insurance companies such as The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and New York Life.

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Trends

The older, wiser manager. More than most financial industries, investment management is one that values age and experience. But in the bull market of the "90s, this philosophy shifted a bit. "During the hallucination of the late "90s, being young and Internet-savvy was considered a good thing for, say, a technology fund. But now more than ever, funds want people with gray hair," says one asset manager.

New respect for professionalism. Two years ago, conventional wisdom said that paying people to invest your money was ridiculous, since index funds pegged to the Dow or the S& 500 consistently outperformed any of the handpicked funds. Now that indices aren"t flying so high, these managed funds are getting a chance to shine—and are garnering more respect from investors.

A comeback for hedge funds. Hedge funds might use daring tactics, but during the late "90s major players in the industry couldn"t get a grip on the technology boom and suffered greatly. Large hedge funds like Soros and Tiger bottomed out. Time has now vindicated the hedge fund, and smaller boutiques are thriving.

A tighter job market for MBAs. "A couple of years ago it was very hard to get good people," says one investment consultant, who now finds the marketplace rich with qualified candidates.