PWM Intership -- Freshman Year

Gunnnn
Sun, 28 Jul 2013 04:56:21 +0000

I’m currently an intern at a wealth management branch of a BB, which I managed to get through a different route than most. I met the SVP for whom I’m working at a career panel at my CC and chatted a bit about my interest in the financial services industry and my frustration with the lack of opportunities available to freshman and sophomores, especially those at institutions like mine, whose students are generally regarded as academically and intellectually inferior to those attending four-year colleges and universities. He told me that there should definitely be something available at the branch level and to keep in touch with him over the months leading up to the summer. I did, and I was able to get my internship without even formally interviewing with anyone.

Since he’s a financial advisor/planner, I’m not sure whether it is he who hired me, or the firm–basically whether my employment is by him and is being paid out of his compensation or by the firm. I say this because while talking to another FA, she asked me this question, and I didn’t really know. I’m inclined to believe the former due to my not having to speak to anyone else at the firm other than him and my not really having an interview, but still, I don’t know for sure.

I would think that the route to securing a PWM internship wouldn’t be very far off of the norm–emailing, calling, applying online, networking, etc. The banks whose business largely comes from asset and wealth management should have information about and applications for these internships posted on their websites or job search sites. I haven’t checked into UBS/JPM, but I know that there are tons for Morgan Stanley.

Best of luck!