Consumer Banking

However, many commercial banks have started to offer services that investment banks traditionally offered. Global and domestic commercial banks offer an array of financial services to individuals, businesses and other organizations. For example, TD Asset Management -- a member of TD Bank Financial Group -- offers private portfolio management and private money management services, and it manages mutual funds. In addition, during 2008, some major investment banks became commercial holding banks so that they could benefit from the federal government bailout. Former investment banks that now operate as commercial banks, such as J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, also have asset management businesses.

In many cases, asset management businesses are run as entirely separate autonomous entities of commercial banks. In other cases, the parent predicates the culture and focus of the business. As you explore career options in the industry, do your homework about the firms structure and understand how the division operates. If youre an undergraduate who is interested in asset management, you typically need a degree in finance or accounting. The competition is steep, though, and many people in the field have MBAs. It also helps to have some hands-on experience. An organization called Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) has summer internships for minority college students in fields including asset management. Firms that have participated in SEOs program include Deutsche Bank; Goldman, Sachs and Co.; BlackRock; J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch.

Because it is difficult for MBAs, and even more difficult for undergraduates, to enter asset management through the front door, several slide into the industry from the side. Although theres no common background that defines asset management, lateral hires typically come from jobs in I-banking or management consulting, or from respected Fortune 500 companies such as GE or Johnson & Johnson.