Life on the Buy Side is an in-depth resource for aspiring money managers. This site is a comprehensive look at the investment management business that includes advice on breaking in, the CFA program, career paths, compensation, and exit opportunities for those working at hedge funds, asset management firms, or in equity research.
The goal is to help you understand the real life aspects of the investment management business that you won’t find in any classroom. Life on the Buy Side goes beyond existing resources by providing the candid advice and context that only industry insiders can provide.
If you’ve ever dreamed of managing money, picking stocks, or even rolling in the exclusive world of hedge funds, then you’ve come to the right place. All you need to do is take action based on what you learn here. A career in finance is within your reach.
Mike Moran, CFA is the Founder of Life on the Buy Side. My desire to one day manage money started at a very early age growing up during Wall Street’s golden era: the 1980s. Between Michael Milken (the Junk Bond King), Gordon Gekko, and Liar’s Poker, no impressionable young kid could deny the lure of Wall Street during the 1980s.
Naturally, that led me to the world of finance. The recession of the early 1990s put a small damper on my dream to work in finance as Wall Street’s glamour waned, but that fire was reignited during the tech boom of the late 1990s. Of course, the great tech bubble burst at exactly the wrong time and ruined my entrance on to Wall Street.
After a thoroughly unenjoyable stint in insurance and an enjoyable, yet unrewarding stint in real estate development, I was able to earn my MBA degree and use business school to transition my career to the buy side as an equity analyst covering stocks. A few short years and a lot of hard work later, I advanced to portfolio manager at a fund with $2.6 billion in assets under management.
I’ve learned a lot over the years and have a lot of “I wish I knew that back then” moments. This ultimately led me to create Life on the Buy Side: to teach others about the business of money management and discuss the business of investing. Life on the Buy Side is an ever-growing collection of information on hedge funds, asset management, equity research, and trading that you will not find anywhere else.
You can find me on this site and in the social media cloud using the handle “jqbuyside” or “John Q. Buyside.” In addition to Life on the Buy Side, I am also an Associate Editor at Mergers & Inquisitions. Yes, I stay busy.
