Organizations worth joining

My background is in accounting and finance, and I have worked for both Big Four and Wall Street firms. Over the years I have morphed into a quasi-marketing role and was hired nine months ago by a $30 billion derivatives shop with 47 employees as their director of marketing. This is a new position for our organization and they hired me mainly for my background with institutional financial organizations. My question: Do you have a list of organizations that I should belong to in order to better acquaint myself with the world of marketing?

- Director of Marketing at a Midwestern Money Manager

As a member of a marketing team at a money manager, there are three or four organizations to consider joining.

I would definitely join the Association of Investment Management Sales Executives (AIMSE). I had the good fortune of being a part of this organization for many years. As AIMSE's name denotes, it is an association generally made up of individuals who are part of the sales team at investment firms. Between attending AIMSE conferences and being able to network with other members representing a diverse group of investment firms, you will learn a great deal and develop relationships both professional and personal that will help you grow in your new position and enhance your career.

Another organization to consider is Professional Association for Investment Communications Resources (PAICR), which in many ways, spun out of AIMSE. The members of PAICR generally, but not necessarily, work within the marketing department but are more involved in what I will refer to as “classic marketing” functions, which would include among many other marketing communications (e.g. creating and producing presentations, requests for proposals (RFP) and requests for information (RFI), and populating consultant and industry databases). Typically, in our industry the marketing department is made up of a sales group, a marketing communications group, a client service group and a product specialist group.

I believe membership in both AIMSE and PAICR will provide a meaningful experience for you as you progress at your new firm.

I would also suggest you explore membership in an organization that is not really “marketing oriented” but provides meaningful outreach with educational programs and philanthropy. One such group is called 100 Women in Hedge Funds. Many of its members are from the investment management community and many of their educational programs are investment-related.

I also think you should get involved in the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA). This association has more than 7,000 members who “consult” to a wide variety of asset owners, both retail investors and institutional investors. They have many educational conferences and certification programs such as the Chartered Investment Management Analyst program in association with several graduate business schools. I was fortunate to be on the board for many years and valued my exposure to so many different investment and consulting professionals who had an extremely diverse client base. The educational and networking opportunities at IMCA are outstanding.

AIMSE's website

PAICR's website

100 Women in Hedge Funds' website

IMCA's website