Career Progression from Quant Analyst to Portfolio Manager?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Matt A
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11/26/17
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Hello!

I have heard that it is possible for quants at an entry level position to work their way into portfolio management. Would anybody be able to elaborate in more detail on the typical career path? What are the chances of someone with a graduate degree in mathematical finance being able to eventually land a job as a portfolio manager? From what I understand they tend to prefer people with MBAs.

Furthermore, what would be the courses that employers would find attractive for a potential portfolio manager? From what I'm seeing on many MFE curriculums is a few electives in courses such as "Quantitative portfolio management" and "Quantitative investment strategies". My question is, how useful are these courses compared to more applied mathematics courses such as stochastic analysis or numerical methods? I know that the former courses sound nice for an aspiring portfolio manager, but do companies really want you taking these courses over highly mathematical courses? Will having a strong mathematical background be more beneficial in the long run versus a couple of electives in quantitative portfolio management? I'm unsure about all of this, and I'd really appreciate some input!

Thanks!
 
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