Portfolio Manager

Name: Simeon Toff
Alter: 41
Degree: lic.oec.publ.
Profession: Head Portfolio Management

Describe your job in one sentence.

Investing in traditional assets such as shares or bonds according to predefined guidelines and ongoing management and monitoring of the assets.

What are the three main tasks in your job?

1. Monitoring portfolios (are all guidelines being adhered to / is performance going as expected / is something not working)
2. Research (analysing existing or new portfolio components, reviewing/further developing the investment process, communicating with stakeholders)
3. Trading (trading securities with partner banks, clean pre- and post-processing and documentation)

What do you think is the best / most exciting thing about this job?

Versatility, intellectual challenge, interaction with many stakeholders and possibly customers.

What is the biggest challenge in this profession?

Although disciplined portfolio management has many good rules, it is not an exact science. The opportunities for successful long-term active portfolio management are limited, as many studies have shown. Moreover, the market is already saturated.

What does it take to enter or be successful in this profession?

Getting in: Master's degree in finance or related subject, strong analytical skills, possibly programming skills.
Successful: Perseverance, constant further training (CFA, CIIA, CAIA, FRM & on the job), communication skills, healthy self-confidence coupled with the humility to know that you don't control the markets, a good team environment and, last but not least, the necessary bit of luck.

What career advancement/further development opportunities are there?

The value chain in portfolio management is broad. Depending on the size of the company, this is spread over one to very many people. In larger banks, there are people who are only responsible for maintaining model portfolios, for example, whereas in smaller asset managerments, responsibility for everything from research to trading to reporting lies with one person. I was fortunate enough to be able to continuously develop my skills and constantly tackle new and varied projects, such as the systematic integration of sustainability into the existing investment process.

What do you wish you had known about this profession as a graduate?

The job involves a lot of responsibility. After all, you are investing money from third parties who may have worked hard for it their whole lives. You should never take this responsibility lightly.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in this job?

Find out about current trends and make contacts in the industry based on this, for example via LinkedIn. Gain professional experience during your studies and build up your own portfolio. Thanks to the market entry of numerous digital providers, access is easy and with low minimum amounts.

Looking back on your career, is there anything you would do differently? Why?

I would have liked to have completed an international exchange semester during my studies. During my career, I would have focussed more on constant and relevant further training.

Is there anything else you would like to pass on to current students?

I would emphasise perseverance - an important and sometimes underestimated aspect of what we generally call success.

As of March 2024