"Drop and give me 10 … sales calls?"
Well, maybe not, but attendees of the investment management sales and marketing "boot camp" being run by a handful of industry veterans in July should expect an intense experience, said John F. Boneparth, the former head of global institutional management for Putnam Investments.
Mr. Boneparth, principal of Belvedere, Calif.-based Corinthian Cove Consulting, said the program, the Investment Management Training Academy, is a way for money managers to invest in their "junior all-stars" — people with only a few years of experience who've been identified as blue-chip prospects.
Over the week beginning July 10, roughly 50 young professionals will gather at the St. Charles, Il.-based Q Center for a cram course peppered with "practical industry knowledge and tactical applications," including workshops such as Socratic Selling Skills and Presentation Training Skills.
Another IMTA faculty member is Robert L. Hudon Jr., managing partner of Patriot Management LLC, a Chicago-based consultant to institutional money managers. With "sink or swim" as the industry's preferred mode of "training," Mr. Hudon — a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve — said he brought the boot camp idea to Mr. Boneparth. "John, at heart, is a teacher," he said. Before entering the world of finance, Mr. Boneparth said he spent eight years teaching high school students.