Hedge Fund Relationship Managers

High School

Relationship managers not only need top-notch communication skills, but they also need financial acumen. To develop these skills, take classes in English, speech, finance, business, economics, marketing, accounting, statistics, and mathematics. Foreign language, computer science, and psychology courses will also be useful.

Postsecondary Education

A minimum of a bachelor’s degree is required to work in the field, but many employers prefer those with master’s degrees. Relationship managers have a wide range of educational backgrounds, including degrees in communications, finance, accounting, economics, quantitative finance, business, marketing, communications, and public relations. While in college, it’s important to create a balanced educational plan that provides both experience in business/finance and communications. If you pursue a degree in communications, for example, you need to double-major or minor in finance, business, or accounting, or at least take a significant finance-oriented course load.

Certification

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association offers the Fundamentals of Alternative Investments Certificate Program. In this online, self-paced course, you’ll learn about traditional vs. alternative investments, hedge funds, investment returns and risks, due diligence, risk management, and other topics. Visit https://caia.org/programs/fundamentals for more information.

Other Education or Training

Relationship managers must be experts in alternative investments, finance, and customer service. Many keep their skills up to date by participating in continuing education (CE) classes, webinars, workshops, and seminars that are offered by professional associations. For example, the National Investor Relations Institute occasionally offers seminars on investment relations and corporate communications. Topics include accounting essentials, capital structure and allocation, corporate finance essentials, financial analysis, and valuation. The following professional associations also offer CE opportunities: Alternative Investment Management Association, Canadian Investor Relations Institute, CFA Institute, International Association for Quantitative Finance, Investments and Wealth Institute, New York Alternative Investment Roundtable, and CFA Society New York. Contact these organizations for more information.

Investment banks also provide extensive on-the-job training via classroom instruction, webinars, and self-paced individual learning. For example, Goldman Sachs offers Goldman Sachs University (GSU, http://www.goldmansachs.com), an internal training and development resource that features more than 4,000 classes offered in classroom, webcast, and e-learning formats. Each year, more than 98 percent of its employees attend one or more GSU programs.