How to Become an Asset Manager

How To Become an Asset Manager? – A Step by Step Guide

Asset management is all about the efficient and cost-effective deployment of assets to achieve a company’s overall business and strategic goals. These assets can be physical assets like plant and machinery, digital assets like intellectual property, or financial assets like investments or equities. Asset managers are experts at assessing these assets’ actual value, acquiring them at the lowest possible deal, and then managing them throughout their lifecycle.

Therefore, asset managers’ skill requirements are totally dependent on the underlying assets they expect to manage. This step-by-step guide covers the process of going about acquiring these specific skills.

Step 1 – Choose Your Niche

Since the skillset that the asset manager needs differs significantly based on their area of specialisation, candidates looking to join a career in asset management would do well to choose the general area of specialisation well in advance. As a result, the applicant should be reasonably clear about their career goals, including whether they want to work in infrastructure asset management, information technology asset management, industrial asset management, or financial asset management. There are further specialisations within these broad categories, but it might only be possible for candidates with experience to drill down to that level.

Step 2 – Figure Out the Skillsets and Academic Requirements for That Niche

Once a candidate has decided on the board area of specialisation, it is time to figure out the academic and skill requirements for the role. For example, industrial asset management might require the candidate to have a production or industrial engineering degree. For IT asset management, having a degree in a tech field like information technology or computer science might be better.

There are also specific qualifications, and we go into more detail here.

Step 3 – Start Applying to Roles Related to That Niche

If the candidate has chosen a niche where the experience requirement is minimal, they can apply and join that field immediately. However, suppose the candidate has chosen an aspirational role which requires a considerable amount of experience. In that case, it might make sense to start applying to positions related to that niche. Even an internship or other part-time experience might make sense.

Step 4 – Rising Through the Ranks and Further Specialisation

Asset managers should expect to specialise further as they advance their careers. There are two possible paths available at this point. The first is to become a team leader handling other asset managers. The second is to further specialise in a niche to become a subject matter expert in that niche eventually. Both strategies lead to increased responsibilities as well as more career growth opportunities.

Find out more about what being an asset manager is all about. The following articles cover the job description, salaries, CV-building tips and more.

Job Description & Profile, Salary & Pay, CV Template & Examples, Qualifications & Skills, etc.

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