Investment management represents a diverse array of different career possibilities within the equity, fixed income and private equity industries. Firms that operate in this industry typically invest directly on behalf of their clients or collectively in the form of mutual or hedge funds. We provide training that will enable you to pursue a job in one of these highly competitive and exciting areas.
The basic career tracks within the Investment Management Career Specialization include: portfolio management, private client services, private wealth management, sales and trading, and risk management. A student interested in pursuing a portfolio management career can find employment opportunities at a mutual fund, hedge fund or insurance company. The practice of portfolio management involves implementing strategies and allocating funds to different securities based on stated investment objectives. Typical jobs in this area include: assistant portfolio manager at a large investment company, portfolio manager at a private investment company and research analyst at a hedge fund.
A number of investment management careers are available at investment banks. Investment banks generally divide their investment management functions into two areas based on investor type. Private client services manage the funds of high net-worth individuals, while private wealth management handles institutional investors. A typical job in this area is a client relationship officer. A person employed in this capacity is responsible for providing support to clients in terms of recommending investment strategies based on clients’ objectives and providing advice regarding market events.
Another career track at investment banks is in a Sales & Trading group. Within this group, a firm’s traders buy and sell traded (and non-traded) securities with the goal of making profit on behalf of the bank. The Sales part of this function refers to the investment bank's sales force. Their primary job is to solicit trades from institutional and high-net-worth investors. The Trading part of this function prices these trades, executes them, or, if necessary, structures new products. Examples of jobs in this area include: institutional equity sales at a sell-side firm, a client relationship officer at a trading firm, and a trader at a high-net-worth investment management company.
The Risk Management function at investment banks involves analyzing the aggregate risk position of the firm across its trading functions. Risk managers determine the limits on the amount of capital that traders are able to utilize over the course of a day. The intent of this function is to ensure that the bank understands its exposure to different types of risk and to understand the probabilities of catastrophic losses. This area requires potential job candidates to possess significant quantitative skills. A typical position is a research analyst.
To prepare students for career paths in investment management, the Owen faculty has created a comprehensive Investment Management Career Specialization that consists of the following sequence of 10 finance courses.
First-Year Required Courses Managerial Finance (counts toward Core, not the Career Specialization)
Corporate Valuation Investments Derivatives Markets Financial Reporting Second-Year Required Courses Equities Markets Bond Markets International Financial Markets and Instruments Electives Select at least two: Risk Management Derivative Securities Valuation Active Portfolio Management A student taking all three courses in this category is not required to take a Secondary Elective. Secondary Electives Select at least one: Corporate Financial Policy Financial Institutions Financial Statement Analysis Law & Finance of Mergers and Acquisitions*
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Mergers and Acquisitions may be substituted for this course.
Highly Recommended Electives These courses are recommended but do not count toward the Specialization.
Accounting for Mergers and Acquisitions
Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders Venture Capital and Private Equity (Short Course)
Federal Income Taxation of Mergers and Acquisitions Corporate Restructuring for Distressed Firms Taxation of Business and Investment Transactions International Corporate Finance (not offered 2007/08)
Ethics in Business (Core requirement) Students in the Corporate Finance Career Specialization are required to take Financial Ethics (1 ethics course requirement).
