Quote:
What do you all think about sell-side jobs, such as working as a research associate and eventually working up to portfolio manager? Is there just a huge gap in prestige and compensation between sell-side and buy-side?
I'm not an expert on this, but I don't think you can really be a PM on the "sell-side". In general, the buy-side makes money based on managing assets, and the sell-side makes money by selling services like i-banking, research, brokerage, and derivatives or other structured products.
So if you're an equity research analyst on the sell-side, you're probably working at a bank like Morgan Stanley, and your research gets purchased by guys on the buy-side who are looking for new investment opportunities.
If you're an equity research analyst on the buy-side, you're working for a mutual fund, endowment, pension plan, etc and your research gets used by a PM at your firm as he decides whether or not to buy and sell.
I'm not really sure which is more prestigious or which pays better. Personally, I'm looking for stuff on the buy-side.