Phillip Said:

is portfolio management part of investment banking?

We Answered:

Commercial banks take deposits, make loans, issue credit cards. They deal directly with consumers. Your local community bank is a commercial bank. Investment activity is usually pretty basic and part of trust operations. I would not expect sophisticated investment work.

Investment banks are companies like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. They help companies with capital structure issues; IPOs, selling bonds, mergers and acquisitions. This kind of job pays very well, but with extreme stress and killer hours.

Investment banks typically have proprietary trading desks. They may run internal hedge funds. Some of these folks could be considered portfolio managers. However...

A typical portfolio manager is someone who manages pooled investments like mutual funds. The usual career path is to be an analyst first, either fundamental or quantitative. Fidelity, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price are investment companies that employ many PMs.

Mildred Said:

Interview Question Why do you want to work in the banking industry?

We Answered:

You may also say that banking is your interest and this is also aligned to your career plans and educational background. Having this in mind, you intend to build a career in the banking industry.

Tommy Said:

Is banking a good career? Is it better to work for a local bank or a bank like HSBC?

We Answered:

from KHS
the best answer

banking is ofcourse a good career if you want to have a steady life. there is no creativity involved there. its a routine job

HSBC is ofcourse good bank to work with. its better to work with big bank hence you can get good exposure.

Laurie Said:

Which careers do you think is interesting?

We Answered:

Depending on your likes/dislikes, they can all be awesome.

personally, architect and dietitian are of interest to me.

Jaime Said:

Banking career decision?

We Answered:

You have asked the question that all bankers have to ask themselves at some point or another!

Well, if you are working in commercial banking, I will assume it is related to commercial lending. I wonder if it's C&I, CRE, middle market, etc? In any case, I'll tell you what I think.

I began my career in banking with the 14th largest bank in the country at the time as an FSR (consumer auto loans, HELOCs, deposit accounts, etc.). After our bank was bought by another large bank (8th largest at the time), I moved to the CRE department in a "low level commercial banking position." Most of the middle-management level commercial lenders were all making in excess of $100K. However, many had been in the business quite a while OR had gained experience at a smaller financial institution.

Ultimately, for several reasons, I left that job for a commercial credit analyst position at a smaller community bank. They were only $130 million in assets and I got to be the sole credit analyst. "Big fish at a small bank."

It wasn't long until recruiters started calling me. Initially, I was hesitant to entertain offers because I thought I might be able to move up at this bank. However, they announced that we were being bought by a mid-size bank (over $1 billion in assets), so I decided to take an offer I had been extended for a 34% pay increase.

I now work for a mid-size credit union in business development (it's a business services and marketing mixed role). I love it and I know that had I not made the contacts in the big bank and then moved to the small bank to shine, I would not be where I am now.

I share your goal of a $100,000 salary by the time I hit 30. Good luck to us, because the government is attempting to regulate away any earnings power the banks (and, thus, bankers) have. There are many more careers with higher average salaries than banking. However, when you're a star in the industry, the payoff is a lot bigger than most other lines of work. As a commercial lender for a mid-size bank, you can expect a $150,000 salary, four weeks of vacation, lots of "fun" work like golf, and, of course, banker's hours!

I hope this helps!