Roles of Portfolio Managers between, different, accounts, couple

Makavelim3

Hello!!!
According to the CFAI and my local CFA Society, majority of the CFA charterholders are portfolio managers.  On my last CFA meeting, I had a chance to talk to couple of PMs.  My understanding is that a PM with a CFA charter is no different than a financial advisor.  Like financial advisors from wirehouses, PMs meet with their clients and manage their accounts.
What are the differences between a financial advisor or an RIA with say, a CFP and/or an MBA to a PM with a CFA charter?
Also when I look at PMs at say, JP Morgan Asset Management, these guys actually manage a mutual fund or funds.  Most of these guys have a CFA charter and an MBA from an impressive business schools.  Are these PMs any different than PMs that manage client portfolios?  What is the route to take to become a PM for JP Morgan and what is the route to become a PM at a private wealth management?
Thank you in advance for your inputs and insights.

redskins44

Sweep the Leg got it right: “Again, it really comes down to whether or not what they manage is a stand-alone product. If it is - mutual fund, SMA, hedge fund, even just a composite - then you could safely call them a PM.” Exactly. It has nothing to do with “cream of the crop” or any other such subjective nonsense.
For example, the guy who runs the GOOG family office is not a PM. Yes he is very successful and may well be considered the “cream of the crop” but he is a CIO/wealth manager. It can get tricky:
1) is the person who managers Harvard’s endowment or CalPERS a PM?
2) Are the people who work for them that manage a specific sleeve (real estate, muni fixed income) of the total endowment or pension a PM?
By Sweeps definition, the answer to the first question is “no” and to the second question is “yes.” To an extent I agree with Frank that the titles are a bit meaningless, but if you want to break down a taxonomy I think Sweep made that best start.
I actually thought MLA was not very clear and was somewhat biased in his post, but it’s kind of a silly (if entertaining) topic so whatevs.

Colum

FrankArabia wrote:
CFAvsMBA wrote:Get back to your call center and manage clients money Frank. Funny a quasi telemarketer would claim titles dont matter.
that was 4 years ago. funny how things change. i don’t even recall you but the fact you remembered me says a whole lot. what you do anyways?
titles do not matter but you seem to have a thing for meaningless titles. FRM and CAIA? damm, you must be one hell of a sucka…..FRM was easy and CAIA? you an idiot if you think that means anything. CAIA is a complete joke, its embarassing really…
once again deebo, what is your title since you care about it so much. and please, don’t tell us you’re some BSD in the front office cause we know you’re not.
Again with the racial slurs. I think RacistFrank is available once you get banned.
And you claim your research is so robust. Had you done any research on me, you would have discovered my title, job, and responsibilities. I’ll give you a hint, it’s in my AF profile. Keep stacking dem bricks on the Y line while reading a script, you’ll soon be a real BSD PM.

SFoyil

What do you do Frank? How did you transition out of your old job?

wizofoz

what do you do now frank?

TheMBAGlover

CFAvsMBA wrote:Get back to your call center and manage clients money Frank. Funny a quasi telemarketer would claim titles dont matter.
that was 4 years ago. funny how things change. i don’t even recall you but the fact you remembered me says a whole lot. what you do anyways?
titles do not matter but you seem to have a thing for meaningless titles. FRM and CAIA? damm, you must be one hell of a sucka…..FRM was easy and CAIA? you an idiot if you think that means anything. CAIA is a complete joke, its embarassing really…
once again deebo, what is your title since you care about it so much. and please, don’t tell us you’re some BSD in the front office cause we know you’re not.

mnieman

Get back to your call center and manage clients money Frank. Funny a quasi telemarketer would claim titles dont matter.

dontknow1987

a bunch of idiots arguing over a definition of a term, who really gives a damm?……from the looks of it, none of you manage money or make decisions with other people’s money cause if you do, the title really doesn’t matter now does it……

Zestt

Thank you all for great responses and insights!!
Palantir, good luck to you too!!! PM for a large mutual funds!! FIght on!
But first I need to get a job in an equity analyst role sadddddd

Siddimaula

Matt likes anaysis is hitting the nail on the head.
Larger RIA’s may mange billions and have “portfolio managers” on staff but a true PM is really a mutual fund manager style position. FA’s are sales people.
Also, the biggest difference is that PM are generally over acheivers, very smart, from top MBA programs w/ their charters. They’re the cream of the crop. Many FA’s dont even have a college degree and have little knowledge of markets. Maybe a well qualified one has a CFP + BA from a decent school. FA’s sell what PM’s are putting together.