Janet Miller loves her job as a portfolio manager. But she does recall
one unpleasant memory.
"I can remember a fellow asking me once at a reception, 'didn't
I feel bad that my having a job as analyst or portfolio manager meant a man
with a family and mouths to feed might not have that job instead?'" says
Miller. "To which I replied I needed to eat and pay rent, too -- in addition
to the fact I might do a better job!"
Today, Miller is a partner at an investment counseling firm. She is certain
she made the right career choice. "I love my work, my clients and our industry.
I can't think of many things I would rather do to earn a living that
are as mentally challenging or rewarding."
She is the first to admit she took a nontraditional path to her career.
She was an English major in college. Her love of reading and research led
her to a job as an equity research assistant. "I like finding out new things,
having a thesis and supporting it, which is the essence of equity research.
I liked the aspect of making a recommendation for inclusion in a portfolio
based on my work."
She liked it so much that she went on to get an MBA. She also took the
chartered financial analyst (CFA) courses. "The MBA was helpful, but the CFA
was the greater accomplishment for me, both personally and professionally,"
she says.
Michael Ward manages portfolios. "Although I've always been interested
in finance and investments, it wasn't until my junior year of college
that I made the actual decision to get into this field," he says.
"A professor of mine introduced me to the CFA program. After reading about
what the program entailed, I decided to sign up. This rigorous, three-year
program got me involved in many different aspects of investments. I knew this
was the career I wanted," says Ward.
But education isn't everything. Ward says on-the-job experience is
important.
"Much of the training comes from the day-to-day experiences of managing
portfolios. All clients are different, and must be handled in different ways.
Some clients I speak with once, get their money to invest, and then rarely
hear from them. Other clients are much more hands-on and want to be involved
in every aspect and decision of their portfolio," he says.
"For a high school student considering this career, I would definitely
recommend the CFA program."
Sunil Vidyarthi is the chief investment counsel for a company. "I chose
this career as a result of trying out several other jobs and looking for a
way to combine my interest in the stock market as well as technology," he
says.
Vidyarthi reports being very satisfied with his career. "The most challenging
aspect of the business is to make competitive returns without undue risks.
Sometimes, like now, markets beat managers because the world is willing to
take higher risks than portfolio managers," he says.
"Getting a wide area of interest will make a student good at understanding
the range of companies that currently make the stock market. Computer skills
are also becoming critical for success."
Miller says it's important to feel comfortable with being responsible
for other people's money. "I liked the aspect that it was easy to determine
whether or not you were doing a good job. You can check the paper each day
to see how right or wrong you were," she says.
"I felt strongly this was the kind of job that was merit-based, because
it was numbers-oriented. It's hard to argue with above-market returns.
Of course, the converse is true -- so confidence and ability to withstand
rejection are de rigueur!"
But don't count on good grades, numbers ability or computer savvy
to guarantee your success. It's a difficult, competitive business. A
multitude of skills and personality characteristics come into play.
"Today, many young people are very capable technologically.
But they have very poor communication and people skills. In the world of managing
money, brains alone won't cut it. You have to be able to deal with many
different kinds of people. Millionaires come in all shapes, sizes and levels
of sophistication," adds Miller.