Portfolio manager

Securities, real estate and other investment items – as a portfolio manager at banks or industrial companies, you optimise the use of capital and returns.

Starting salary (per month)-
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Portfolio manager – tasks

Large investors employ portfolio managers to maximise the return on their capital. They invest primarily in real estate, shares and other financial products. Keeping a close eye on the markets is essential to achieving lucrative results. Portfolio managers need to be able to identify trends and exploit them to create opportunities for their clients. The main tasks include:

Setting investment strategy and performance targets
Monitoring market trends on an ongoing basis
Monitoring the strategy and counteracting any deviations
Reporting on investment performance
Coordinating closely with investors

Skills

Hard skills

Investment analysis
Financial statements
Funding methods
Actuarial science
Securities

Soft skills

Active listening
Self-adjustment
Logical reasoning

These are the skills you need for a portfolio manager job.

From top management to private investors with a high capital investment, as a portfolio manager you're in direct contact with the decision-makers. In addition to very good technical knowledge, employers expect applicants to have a high sense of responsibility and a particularly confident manner.

Candidates with the following skills are also particularly suitable for a career path in investment management:

Strong communication skills
Mathematical and analytical skills
Accurate and reliable way of working
Resilience

Direct contact with high-level decision-makers brings with it certain development opportunities. If you are skilled and have a confident demeanour, working in portfolio management offers very interesting prospects for career growth.

Qualifications and training: how do you become a portfolio manager?

Where people and organisations work with large amounts of capital, the demands on all involved are particularly high. Recruiters for larger employers are therefore on the lookout for junior staff who display motivation going beyond average. If you're looking to find a job as a portfolio manager, academic achievements, relevant internships and initial work experience are particularly important for your job application.

Regardless of whether you primarily trade financial products or real estate for your clients, your activity is clearly rooted in the financial sector. This makes a degree in economics the best foundation for this career path. You'll specialise in the areas of financial markets, finance and accounting or real estate management.

To join a portfolio management team, you will need experience in strategy consulting or investment banking. This means you'll have a keen understanding of relevant financial ratios and acquire knowledge of valuation methods and costing.

Salary prospects for portfolio managers

Starting a career with a top employer in portfolio management is usually a deliberate move. Many applicants set their course for this early in their studies. Exemplary academic performance and internships in the relevant areas set them apart from the competition. But applicants can also find interesting areas of portfolio management to work in at smaller companies in the financial sector or large corporations. The average salary for a portfolio manager in the UK is £71,000. This depends on the company, specialisation, project assignment and location.

Salary information from glassdoor.co.uk.

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