Interview questions for Asset Manager

Poor people want to be rich, and rich people want to see their wealth growing, year after year. In this vicious cycle of modern society, Asset Managers play an indispensable role. They take care of the money of the rich, changing them for bonds, equities, real estate, commodities and other assets, simply for things that grow in value instead of loosing it–which is the destiny of cash.

Speaking honestly, you do not need to be the next Warren Buffet to excel as an asset manager, or to get another job in an investment company (associate, analyst, etc). Even Warren does not beat the S&P 500 most years with his investments nowadays, and the fund managers and investors who beat the major stock indexes have often more luck than skill.

1. Why do you want to work as an Asset Manager?

Because you want to work with the rich, risking their capital instead of yours. You prefer a fixed commission from each deal you close (or an excellent salary), regardless of whether it ends profitable for your clients.
The clients may win or lose, but you will always do well. As an analyst, sales associate, customer relationship manager, portfolio manager, or any other figure in a well-establish asset management company, you cannot really lose. Well, maybe this the real motive of your job application, but as you can certainly guess, you should not point it out in an interview.

2. How would you define a balanced portfolio?

Asset management interview questions often involve having to answer quite broad questions that don’t truly have objective answers. This is one such question.
The reality is that a balanced portfolio is contingent on what the primary objectives are that we are trying to achieve. If you’re managing a pool of money for someone (or a group of people) who are gearing up for retirement than your focus should be on capital preservation and light growth.
If, on the other hand, you’re dealing with some clients who are already wealth and young then you would look for more of a growth mix that perhaps has some dividend stocks (or high yield bonds) to create steady cash flow.

3. Describe Your Daily Routine As An Asset Manager?

You should conduct some research and ascertain what asset managers do daily. This will help you answer this question.
Only include activities that are relevant to the job.
Do not include information that may shed you in a bad light.
Whenever I get to the office, I (You can then go ahead and list everything that asset managers do on a daily. These include identifying investments, keeping track of them, calling investors, among many other things).

4. How important is the relationship with clients in your view?

You should give relationships the utmost importance. We speak here about B2B sales, and you will be in contact with top managers, and people who sit on huge pillows of money. Such deals are rarely closed over the phone…
Unless you meet with the clients face to face, and keep the relationship warm over the years, with regular meetings and updates, unless they trust you, they won’t give you with their millions to invest—regardless of whether we speak about their own money, or some pension fund they respond for in a company.
Ensure the interviewers that you want to maintain excellent relationship with the clients. If you neglected this aspect and focused only on working with the assets, you’d lose the clients quickly to competition. And that’s certainly something you want to avoid at all costs.

5. What role does reporting and forecasting play in your work?

You should definitely give it some importance. Trying to stay on the top of the game, and retain your clients, you do reports on a monthly or quarterly basis. This helps you to decide about the best moves, but also to stay in touch with your clients (how often you send them anything depends on your strategy and preferences), and ensure them that their hard-earned money are in good hands.
This will help you maintain their trust in difficult times, when the economy is struggling and the assets are losing value. And that’s obviously not only a goal of each Asset Management company, but also one of the conditions of their survival. If clients started to leave in masses, the company would bankrupt…

6. What can an asset manager do for client that they can,t just do for themselves?

Personally, I’m a big fan of this kind of question because it gets to the heart of whether or not you understand what an asset management division of a large bank is really good for.
The reality is that these days all clients who are reasonably tech savvy can invest in low cost ETFs, mutual funds, or equities on their own. They can even use products like ETFs or mutual funds to get exposure to rates or commodities as well.
An asset manager can provide even sophisticated clients a number of things. First of all, it provides someone dedicated to maximizing returns subject to their objectives so that the client can focus on other things in their life

7. How Do You Stay Motivated At Work?

What keeps you going? Management may be lucrative, but it is not as easy as everybody sees it. Therefore, make sure that you respond correctly to this question.
Keep away from answers that will make you look materialistic.
you can choose to sell yourself.
Sample Answer
I am a hard worker who believes in results. I am always yearning to outdo myself. This gives me the urge and pushes me to continue even when things appear bleak.

8. What Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Is Required For This Job?

This is a simple question that leaves many people stuttering. The interviewer would like to know if you have the right strategy and mindset for the job at hand.
Everything that you mention should be job-specific.
talk of a strategy that will keep you on top of the game.

This job requires somebody who is attentive to details. It requires somebody with a winning mindset who will find the best investment avenue and follow it. The person also needs to have a fallback strategy that will help him mitigate losses.