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Operations (back office) in Banking & Wealth Management

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  • Dec 13th, 2019 10:36 pm
Jr. Member
Oct 26, 2019
179 posts
56 upvotes
Vancouver

Operations (back office) in Banking & Wealth Management

I have worked in the back-office for over a year and basically feel stuck in the position already. Almost all the work is repetitive with few opportunities to learn new skills (technical or otherwise). Many coworkers in the department have completed their CFA L3 but are still working in the same positions. Others are taking coding bootcamps and additional courses to move into data science/analytics. I’m guessing every investment firm/bank likes to claim internal mobility, but it doesn’t seem as common as they make it sound. A large portion of the department have been in the same positions for over 10 years, and I don’t intend to do the same.

Does anyone have experience transitioning from Operations into another field? I am debating how long I should stay in Operations, and any insight from those familiar with the industry, would be appreciated.
15 replies
Member
Feb 20, 2015
438 posts
369 upvotes
Are you good with clients and do you have multiple promotions under your belt? From my experience thats what alot of hiring mgrs look for when they interview people with only back office experience.
Jr. Member
Oct 26, 2019
179 posts
56 upvotes
Vancouver
LegendaryArticuno wrote: Are you good with clients and do you have multiple promotions under your belt? From my experience thats what alot of hiring mgrs look for when they interview people with only back office experience.
Back office doesn't deal with clients, so at the moment anyways no to both lol
Sr. Member
User avatar
Apr 26, 2010
923 posts
187 upvotes
Richmond Hill
What exactly are you doing in operations?
If you feel stuck or bored then it is just time to move on, start applying for postings both internally and externally.
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Dec 8, 2007
5550 posts
2221 upvotes
MBA.

Do some searches on this forum - there are a lot of threads on the Pros and Cons.
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Jr. Member
Oct 26, 2019
179 posts
56 upvotes
Vancouver
RedLego wrote: What exactly are you doing in operations?
If you feel stuck or bored then it is just time to move on, start applying for postings both internally and externally.
New account profile / transfers which is pretty much documentation and data entry into their databases.
Deal Addict
Feb 19, 2017
1145 posts
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YourManager wrote: I have worked in the back-office for over a year and basically feel stuck in the position already. Almost all the work is repetitive with few opportunities to learn new skills (technical or otherwise). Many coworkers in the department have completed their CFA L3 but are still working in the same positions. Others are taking coding bootcamps and additional courses to move into data science/analytics. I’m guessing every investment firm/bank likes to claim internal mobility, but it doesn’t seem as common as they make it sound. A large portion of the department have been in the same positions for over 10 years, and I don’t intend to do the same.

Does anyone have experience transitioning from Operations into another field? I am debating how long I should stay in Operations, and any insight from those familiar with the industry, would be appreciated.
What is your goal? If it's front office, there's is zero chance so you're better off leaving. There are different tiers of back office. Data entry is dead last with almost no transferable skills.

If you want to make it into compliance, that might be possible, but probably not in Vancouver with the lack of presence there.

Honestly, you're better off upgrading your education (data science is good) and then getting another job. The people who got CFAs took the wrong path.
Crypo/NFT-enthusiast
Jr. Member
Oct 26, 2019
179 posts
56 upvotes
Vancouver
Walch1102 wrote: Honestly, you're better off upgrading your education (data science is good) and then getting another job. The people who got CFAs took the wrong path.
With no aspirations for front office, upgrading my tech skills does seem like the more attractive route.
Member
Sep 14, 2006
431 posts
129 upvotes
GTA
So some of your coworkers are in some tech bootcamps - any idea which ones?
Jr. Member
Oct 26, 2019
179 posts
56 upvotes
Vancouver
Lighthouse labs and brainstation are the ones I’ve heard of
Member
Feb 20, 2015
438 posts
369 upvotes
YourManager wrote: Back office doesn't deal with clients, so at the moment anyways no to both lol
Eh, maybe it depends on the firm, but most FI have BO teams that deal with clients - fund admin/accounting, investor relations, corp actions, expense admin, financial reporting, etc.
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Jun 6, 2013
1082 posts
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Toronto
The number of times I've seen back office staff at banks / wealth management firms get a CFA in hopes of moving into the business side / front office is alarming. I've seen ONE person do it and they technically went into a middle office role. It basically never happens.
Jr. Member
Oct 26, 2019
179 posts
56 upvotes
Vancouver
JuniorMint wrote: The number of times I've seen back office staff at banks / wealth management firms get a CFA in hopes of moving into the business side / front office is alarming. I've seen ONE person do it and they technically went into a middle office role. It basically never happens.
That basically confirms what I was thinking as well, the disconnect between what I’m currently doing (account updates) to middle and front office is too great, having a CFA wouldn’t help fill the gap and allow for one to jump over. Mutual funds, portfolio admin or settlements in the BO might have a slightly higher but still slim chance.
Deal Addict
Feb 19, 2017
1145 posts
879 upvotes
JuniorMint wrote: The number of times I've seen back office staff at banks / wealth management firms get a CFA in hopes of moving into the business side / front office is alarming. I've seen ONE person do it and they technically went into a middle office role. It basically never happens.
It happens, but not through getting a CFA. The fact that someone would spend 600-1000 hours STUDYING to try to get a front office gig rather than just reach out and build relationships with people tells you all you need to know about that person in terms of whether he has the right skills for a client-facing role.
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Apr 18, 2017
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YourManager wrote: That basically confirms what I was thinking as well, the disconnect between what I’m currently doing (account updates) to middle and front office is too great, having a CFA wouldn’t help fill the gap and allow for one to jump over. Mutual funds, portfolio admin or settlements in the BO might have a slightly higher but still slim chance.
You got to network or else it just won’t happen with the immense competition. Everyone in back office is starting out and eventually looking to move up. Like someone else says, improve your tech skills, get into programming and learn like Python, R, Java. These will make you stand out way more and technical skills are very valuable in the industry. Most companies are always working on automation and making processes seamlessly efficient.

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