this video is part of our series dedicated to the different careers in the world of business and finance. today we will take a look at the asset management industry. our goal is to understand how it functions, what type of services it offers its clients, which are the major players in the field and what it is like to do this for a living. what is asset management? asset management is about managing clients' investments and providing them with the strategies and expertise that would allow them to achieve their goals and secure their financial future. in other words asset managers are in the business of using money in order to make more money. and individual or institution is likely to approach and asset management thumb when their investment income is substantial in such cases asset managers are able to offer expertise across a wide spectrum of asset classes such as stocks,
bonds, commodities, real estate, private equity, etc. moreover large funds have branches all over the world and are able to offer geographical expertise as well. given the asset managers closely follow all of these markets, they are able to offer high quality advice and superior risk-return investments. clients receive a comprehensive service. asset managers study their needs, create an actionable investment strategy, implement a strategy in practice and oversee its development through time. let's talk about the type of investments that are typically made on behalf of clients. asset managers study the markets and their clients' needs and based on that build investment portfolios across a broad range of asset classes. stocks - small cap, large cap, blue chip, dividend stocks,
stocks from growth regions such as the bric countries and others. there are many types of stocks that can be included in a client's portfolio. it all depends on his or her risk profile. bonds - short maturity, long maturity, corporate, government, again there are many types of bonds that can be included in a client's portfolio. in addition, asset managers may invest in commodities, real estate and some other alternative investments such as private equity or hedge funds. each of these asset classes is part of the equation that determines how to allocate a client's money. the art in this profession is to maximize return without assuming excessive risk. what roles are available in asset management?
there is a wide range of roles within an asset management organization. the sales force is responsible for establishing client relationships and understanding clients' needs, portfolio managers on the other hand are the ones who are ultimately responsible for making investment decisions. in order to make informed decisions portfolio managers use the input of the research department, where people with specific industry, product or geographical expertise can be found. each of these positions requires a specific skill set, which means that you can choose a role that best suits your personality traits. leading firms. the large players in the asset management industry are indeed very large. there are several companies whose assets under management exceed one trillion dollars. some of them are pure investment funds blackrock, vanguard, state street, fidelity,
while others are arms of the large banking conglomerates goldman sachs, deutsche bank, ubs, bnp. the largest firm in the world in terms of assets under management in 2015, was blackrock working hours and compensation. the hours in asset management allow you to have a better work-life balance than most investment banking and consulting jobs. people work hard, but 16 hour work days are very, very rare. compensation is more or less aligned with what the market offers to entry level investment bankers, as according to payscale.com, the popular salary sharing website, the average pay for asset managers in the u.s. is $60,000, while entry level investment bankers are paid approximately $62,000. in the uk on the other hand, the gap appears to be widers an entry level asset management analyst is paid 34,000 pounds annually,
while first year investment banking analysts receive 40,000 to 45,000 pounds. this was our video dedicated to the asset management industry. make sure that you watch the rest of the videos from the series and subscribe to our channel! our web site offers a ton of interesting information such as company profiles, job opportunities, cv & cover letter templates, and a series of interesting articles - all for free, of course. make sure that you visit www.365careers.com. see you there!