Main Responsibilities of a Wealth Advisor at J.P. Morgan
Koushik's career path began with a fortuitous social media internship at a hedge fund, which unexpectedly sparked an interest in finance, leading to a risk management internship at Franklin Templeton. This experience, coupled with an associate analyst role at Morgan Stanley where Koushik "really get[s] to have a big impact on people's lives," culminated in a recent recruitment to J.P. Morgan to build their own client practice.
Finance, Wealth Management, Financial Analysis, Internships, Career Progression
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Koushik Gopineedi
Wealth Advisor
J.P Morgan
UC Berkeley
Economics
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Sales and Client Management
Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Koushik started his finance career with a social media internship at a hedge fund, demonstrating initiative and a proactive approach to learning about the industry. This highlight shows that even seemingly unrelated roles can provide valuable experience.
2. His internship at Franklin Templeton on the investment risk team provided him with practical experience in analyzing investments and risk assessment, directly relevant to his current role. This shows the value of internships in building specific skills.
3. Koushik transitioned from institutional finance and product sales to wealth management, highlighting the career flexibility and diverse skill sets valuable in the field. This is particularly relevant to students who may have diverse interests or who are unsure about their specific career path within finance.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Did you have any internships or jobs before your current role?
In college, I majored in economics. My first internship was during the fall semester at a hedge fund in the city. I applied as a social media intern, not because I wanted to do social media, but because I really wanted to learn about the industry.
I would go in after class or in the mornings, sit on meetings, and learn. Part of my responsibilities involved helping them with their LinkedIn. Then, I would go back to class. That was my first introduction to finance, and I realized I really liked it.
From there, I interned at Franklin Templeton Investments in San Mateo on their investment risk team. That was between my junior and senior year. It was a great experience where I worked on actual mutual funds and ran risk scenarios.
After that, I kind of landed into wealth management. My previous experiences were in finance but not wealth management. One was hedge fund institutional, and the other was very product sales-oriented.
Then, I got an offer from Morgan Stanley to join their team as an associate analyst. That's how I started. When you first start, you're analyzing client holdings, investments, and portfolios. You figure out how to make them more tax-efficient and align them with their goals.
For example, maybe they want to buy a second home or help pay for their kids' college. You make that happen, from deciding what to invest in to sending the wire to the college for tuition. You really get to have a big impact on people's lives.
From there, I was recruited to JP Morgan about a year ago to start and build my own book of practice. That's pretty much how things have gone since I left Berkeley.