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• Be careful with accepting the Port Admin position. From my own experience (~8 years in back office and portfolio administration + MBA, MIM, engineering degree), it is very difficult to move up to the asset management from the port admin. I was lucky to have a mentor + got my CFA charter + being at the right time in the right place with the right set of skills to move up from the port admin to a junior money market trader/ portfolio manager assistant position. Asset management and portfolio administration are two different castes (like in the Indian society J). Once you struck in operations, you stuck there for life. In the future, given your existing experience, managers/headhunters will not even consider you for the asset management positions. It maybe easier to get into asset management from the marketing/client support group. Ideally, you want to get into a MBA internship program by a large asset management/insurance firm. For that you have to be from one of the top business schools. Make sure your hedge fund knows/understands you aspirations and that they have an opportunity/path for your planed move. Make sure you have a good and supportive boss. Good luck.

  andrzejr 06 Sep 2008

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• My general feeling is no, it's a bad idea if you want to get into portfolio management. When you come in into portfolio admin the company will want to load as much on you as possible (you don't hire people for charity these days) and you'll probably spend a year in a daze picking up how things are done. When you're at capacity the company and doing a good job the company would hate to lose you from the admin function (something you're good at, fulfil and other people don't love) and into portf management (something you're untested at and other people like). If you do this you should do it only as a last resort while you keep searching elsewhere and getting the CAIA. Also, have you considered consulting vs portfolio management?

  Michael 12 Sep 2008

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• nope. admin is primarily operation with some exposure to port mgmt. but no expo to actual invstmnt decision making.

  mike 12 Sep 2008

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• Be careful with accepting the Port Admin position. From my own experience (~8 years in back office and portfolio administration + MBA, MIM, engineering degree), it is very difficult to move up to the asset management from the port admin. I was lucky to have a mentor + got my CFA charter + being at the right time in the right place with the right set of skills to move from the port admin to a junior money market trader/ portfolio manager assistant position. Asset management and portfolio administration are two different castes (like in the Indian society). Once you struck in operations, you stuck there for life. In the future, given your existing experience, managers/headhunters will not even consider you for the asset management positions. It maybe easier to get into asset management from the marketing/client support group. Ideally, you want to get into a MBA internship program by a large asset management/insurance firm. For that you have to be from the one of the top business schools. Make sure your hedge fund knows/understands you aspirations and that they have an opportunity/path for your planed move. Make sure you have a good and supporting boss. Good luck.

  andrzejr 12 Sep 2008

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• thanks for detailed comments...if not port admin.... will any analytical position in corporate finance be better than port admin.... and will it help to take CAIA or CFA... is route to port management possible in any case? And Michael, what did u mean by consulting.. are you talking about investment consulting?

  vineetkalra9 14 Sep 2008

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