Top undegrad and grad schools for Asset Management

Research source: eVestment study based on professionals working in asset mgmt firms. Covered more than 900 universities/colleges and 4500 firms globally.

1. Top 3 schools with alumni at Asset mgmt. firms - The University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and Columbia University. 

2. Top 3 schools for MBA grads in Asset mgmt. - University of Chicago, Columbia University and New York University.

3. Apart from merit, proximity to asset management hubs is just as important as strong academic programs when it comes to post-graduation employment opportunities.

4. Location is key for students, “regardless of the perceived academic rankings of these schools,” says Peter Laurelli, head of hedge fund research at eVestment. “Getting a start by going to school locally makes a big difference.”

4. Schools in metropolitan areas with a number of asset management firms benefitted from the proximity, the report found. Boston-based schools, including Boston College (BC), Boston University and Tufts University, which ranked number 10, 16 and 32 respectively for total alumni in asset management, benefitted from the hub of asset managers in the area, eVestment says.

5. Columbia Business School’s trademarked tagline is “at the very center of business,” and the school likes to tout its Manhattan location as an advantage to its students. “[Location] is absolutely central,” says Louisa Serene Schneider, senior director of administration at Columbia’s Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing. “The fact that I can call a leading investor to speak and they can just hop on the subway” allows Columbia students to interact with “real world practitioners” on a regular basis, says Schneider.

5. Much of the school’s faculty is made up of industry professionals who can bounce between firms downtown and Columbia’s uptown campus. Warren Buffett, a Columbia master’s graduate in 1951, cites the influence of one of his professors, and then-active investor, Benjamin Graham as having a huge impact on his career and life. Having the practical mix with the academic is something Columbia sees essential as students focus on micro techniques that may vary between professors, says Schneider. “It’s a very different education.”

6. Because of its location in Boston, as well as the quick train ride to New York, BC is able to bring a number of asset management employees and alumni to the school to meet with students, says Hassan Tehranian, chairman of the finance department at BC’s Carroll School of Management. The school hosts an annual asset management conference featuring Boston locals like Dan Fuss of Loomis Sayles, and BC alumni such as Charles Clough, CEO of Clough Capital Partners in Boston. Industry professionals teach as adjunct faculty for elective courses at BC, and others visit the campus throughout the year to speak with classes and small student groups, says Tehranian.

7. BC has changed significantly” over the past 10 to 20 years, says Tehranian. What used to be a commuter school has repurposed itself as a research center, drawing high caliber students who turn into illustrious alumni, he says. Alumni are much more active in the BC community now than alumni were 30 years ago, says Tehranian. “Alumni in New York are willing to come back to Boston because it’s close,” he says. The school’s location makes the short list, with faculty, alumni and academic program, as to why students choose BC, says Tehranian. “If you’re 2,000 miles away from here, would you have the same success? Maybe not.”

8. Of the top 10 firms with BC alumni working in asset management, nine are based in Boston. In total, almost 60% of BC alumni active in asset management work at firms in Massachusetts, according to eVestment.

9. Like other students vying for top asset management jobs, BC students often seek out internships for the summers after their sophomore and junior years of undergraduate school, he says. Firms often visit the campus to meet students and conduct interviews much like those students would be forced to face for a full time position. Many students are able to stay in the area, going to Boston and New York based firms, he says. “If they like [the students], they will hire them later on,” says Tehranian.

10. Internships are “really critical” to students seeking full time employment after graduation, says Schneider. Even for graduate students who may be transitioning from one part of the industry to another, internships provide experience and contacts essential for employment, she says. Students generally don’t have class on Fridays, allowing them to take advantage of the city for internships or project work at firms downtown. Columbia students are offered both structured and informal alumni mentors at asset management firms in New York, as well as other locations they request. Just more than 45% of “key professional” alumni from Columbia now work in New York-based firms, according to eVestment.

11. According to eVestment’s data, schools’ locations across the country contribute to certain asset management centers. University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and University of Notre Dame were the top five schools with alumni in Chicago area firms. Similarly, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Stanford University and University of California-Berkeley were four of the top 10 alumni groups in Los Angeles-based firms.