Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Investment manager to investment adviser

An investment manager already meets 58% of what the investment adviser role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From investment manager
58 % overlap
Partial match
To investment adviser
27 You already bring
9 Still to learn
48 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

49.2/ 100

1 How much of what an investment adviser is expected to do is already part of an investment manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the investment adviser role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An investment adviser role treats 14 of its required skills as things an investment manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on financial matters
  • analyse financial risk
  • analyse market financial trends
  • assess financial viability
  • asset management
  • banking activities

What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 27 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An investment adviser role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an investment manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held social bonds business, administration and law
  • already held impact investing business, administration and law
  • already held green bonds business, administration and law
  • already held sustainable finance business, administration and law
  • already held business valuation techniques business, administration and law
  • already held apply credit risk policy assisting and caring

All 27 carried skills, including the 14 the investment adviser role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 21 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information skills 4 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn monitor bond market required
  • still to learn assess risks of clients' assets required
  • still to learn provide support in financial calculation required
  • still to learn synthesise financial information required
  • optional, not held consult credit score optional
  • optional, not held ensure proper document management optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn advise on investment required
  • still to learn explain financial jargon required
  • still to learn provide financial product information required
  • optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
  • optional, not held promote financial products optional
  • optional, not held prospect new customers optional
  • optional, not held build business relationships optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
03 business, administration and law 2 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn modern portfolio theory required
  • still to learn securities required
  • optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
  • optional, not held principles of insurance optional
  • optional, not held credit control processes optional
  • optional, not held types of insurance optional
04 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held perform clerical duties optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an investment adviser role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 27 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held advise on financial matters skill
  • already held analyse financial risk skill
  • already held analyse market financial trends skill
  • already held assess financial viability skill
  • already held asset management knowledge
  • already held banking activities knowledge
  • already held financial markets knowledge
  • already held financial products knowledge
  • already held funding methods knowledge
  • already held interpret financial statements skill
  • already held monitor stock market skill
  • already held obtain financial information skill
  • already held review investment portfolios skill
  • already held stock market knowledge
  • already held analyse business plans skill
  • already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
  • already held apply credit risk policy skill
  • already held business valuation techniques knowledge
  • already held communicate with banking professionals skill
  • already held create a financial plan skill
  • already held develop investment portfolio skill
  • already held examine credit ratings skill
  • already held green bonds knowledge
  • already held impact investing knowledge
  • already held perform stock valuation skill
  • already held social bonds knowledge
  • already held sustainable finance knowledge
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held consult credit score optional
  • optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
  • optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
  • optional, not held principles of insurance optional
  • optional, not held promote financial products optional
  • optional, not held prospect new customers optional
  • optional, not held build business relationships optional
  • optional, not held credit control processes optional
  • optional, not held ensure proper document management optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held perform clerical duties optional
  • optional, not held types of insurance optional
24 held skills the investment adviser role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse the credit history of potential customers skill
  • not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
  • not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • not needed by the target role enforce financial policies skill
  • not needed by the target role financial analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role financial statements knowledge
  • not needed by the target role follow company standards skill
  • not needed by the target role investment analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
  • not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
  • not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
  • not needed by the target role manage corporate bank accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role manage profitability skill
  • not needed by the target role manage securities skill
  • not needed by the target role plan health and safety procedures skill
  • not needed by the target role public offering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role strive for company growth skill
  • not needed by the target role tax legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role trade securities skill
  • not needed by the target role trading software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role types of pensions knowledge
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn modern portfolio theory required
  • still to learn securities required
  • optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
  • optional, not held principles of insurance optional
  • optional, not held credit control processes optional
  • optional, not held types of insurance optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an investment manager become an investment adviser?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An investment manager already covers 58% of what an investment adviser is expected to do: 27 skills carry over, 14 of which the investment adviser role treats as required.

What skills does an investment manager need to become an investment adviser?

9 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is monitor bond market.

How hard is the move from investment manager to investment adviser?

Its learning distance is 49.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.