Portfolio Manager

A portfolio manager can be an individual, or work with a group managing the same portfolio. During their workday they will spend a lot of time in meetings, on the phone, responding to email, or text messages. During this time, they can expect to:

• Study economic trends, as well as current events and how the events may affect financial markets.
• Analyze financial data and its historic performance.
• Analyze company data as well as the company’s individual performance.
• Write reports or create presentations.
• Meet with high-level investors.
• Recommend investments for the funds.

A Portfolio Manager may also choose a more active role in the investments being managed. Passive managers will use data to invest in long-term investments typically understood to grow over time without much interaction. Active managers will trade more often and try to beat the market growth. Investors will decide which type of investment they want their managers to do.

For hedge fund managers
If this is a single-manager hedge fund, then the Portfolio Manager raised the capital and has responsibility for all of it; if it’s a multi-manager fund, he/she was assigned a certain amount of assets under management (AUM) to invest. Regardless of the fund type, the PM makes final trading decisions, monitors risk and the entire portfolio, and oversees back/middle office operations such as compliance, IT, and accounting.

PREVIOUS JOBS BEFORE BECOMING A PORTFOLIO MANAGER: 

Analyst Tasks include: 

• Monitoring industry and company trends.
• Speaking with management, customers, and suppliers at potential or current portfolio companies.
• Responding to questions from Senior Analysts and Portfolio Managers and explaining/defending your ideas.
• Generating investment ideas.
• Building financial models and valuations to support your ideas.
• Conducting due diligence, often with on-site visits and “channel checks.”

Senior Analyst (Section Head) tasks include: 

• Similar tasks to Analyst but additional responsibilities: 
• As the alternate names imply, you often specialize in one sector, industry, or strategy.
• You spend more time pitching the Portfolio Managers on your ideas, coming up with ideas, and having Analysts flesh out and support those ideas.
• You spend more time on management – developing Analysts below you to help with work, getting the PMs to trust you, and building a reputation with equity research analysts and management teams.
   

• Strong written/oral communication skills.
• Excellent at data analysis and understanding data trends.
• Deductive reasoning and understanding complex cause/effect relationships.
• Computer literacy – including word processing, database analysis, and spreadsheets.
• Highly skilled in mathematics, including calculus and statistics.
• Customer Service skills
• Administration and Management.
• Economics and Accounting.

• Wealth Management Firms
• Pension Funds
• Foundations (Endowment Funds)
• Insurance Companies
• Banks
• Hedge Funds
• Securities Companies

Like many financial sector positions, Portfolio Managers work long hours much of the time. This is not an entry level position, so you can expect to work for some time in a different financial analysis position. This means you will have spent time already being successful in one position before moving into another.

Portfolio Managers typically create profit through public securities growth. There is an increase in investment through Private Equity firms which takes some of this potential off the table.

Portfolio Management continues to increase its reliance on data collection and analysis. There is also an increase in technology use as software is able to run more complex predictions on a security’s performance.

There is also an increase in handling items outside the financial scope. Companies are developing stronger environmental concerns and diversity in their human resources. Some portfolio managers are using these concerns to help increase a company’s public perception and profit.

• Scorekeeping for sporting events.
• Math lessons and class.
• Running personal businesses such as lemonade stands.
• Helping run concessions or other business-related activities.