Blackrock vs. JPMorgan?
I was lucky enough to receive competitive offers for JPMorgan Chase Markets Trading (NYC) and BlackRock Fixed Income Core PM (SF). Comp numbers are still somewhat unknown - but was wondering (from people in industry) if starting on the buy-side or sell-side is better? I thought JPM would give me more opportunities to network, but BlackRock touted an interesting work culture and better hours. Would love some insight on how to go about this decision. Thank you!
why not create a pull?
Great idea - shocked I didn't think of doing that, thanks haha
Like are we making GitHub pull requests or??
What's position within trading?
Would you rather be a number at JP or be different at BLK? Definitely go Blackrock.
Do you get WFH flexibility with either?
Unsure on WFH since it continues to evolve, I think JPM would be a little more reluctant to let me wfh because they want traders back in the office
What did they exactly tell you about "interesting work culture"? Working hrs really depends on team. BLK is planning to end wfh for sure although not this year. It will be good to have an opinion who has worked in both.
They just touted much better work hours than the BB, not as 'soul sucking' (obviously not their exact words), but BlackRock seemed a lot less focused on the minutiae of traditional finance
I would disagree on the above^ WFH will always be in existence now. Obviously not full time but I can see teams allowing 1-3 days of WFH a week
I truly hope you are right. From top management level perspective, I know wfh will not be an option for ever. It will go away.
You saw the future
They won’t rush anyone to office which is encouraging , I’m expecting to be WFH until Summer 2021.
I think the scope of the role matters quite a bit here. You may already know this but while your title at BLK will be core PM, it's mostly an execution role. Core PM is a title given to those who handle operational bits, compliance, order raising, portfolio construction, hedging while PM's (without the 'Core' bit) are the ones making the actual investment decisions.
This is interesting for sure - any idea on the progression to PM? Is it more straightforward than JPM?
I haven’t worked in JPM so can’t really compare, but JPM S&T is highly likely the better choice from a pure TC perspective. Also, it may be different within fixed income, but for equity and multi asset, core PM is separate from actual PM and there isn’t a sort of set trajectory from core PM -> PM, i.e. you’d still have to fight for it with external candidates and other internal candidates. If I could do it all over again, I would’ve started on the sell side rather than on the buy side, but hey, grass is always greener on the other side
Buy side lol
Is it smart to start on the buy side? Or do you think it might be better to get sell side experience first - I was very curious on this. Also, how would you consider that NYC/SF divide?
You always have a greater impact on the buy side since there is a performance mandate. The sell side thrives on its clientele and charging spread/commission so there is less incentive overall to do truly meaningful work. But again others have mentioned that PMs might be very executional, so I’m not quite sure what that would entail for you either. Another important variable is what product you’re placed in JPM trading. As for NYC vs SF, they’re similarly expensive...I suppose after COVID passes, NYC would provide more networking opportunities but as of right now there’s no big diff