What does a mutual fund manager do?
A mutual fund manager implements a company's investing strategy and manages its portfolio trading activities. The responsibilities of this position include picking which assets will be purchased, managing analysts, conducting research on investment opportunities, and overseeing mutual funds or pensions. Any person interested in this position needs significant management experience, knowledge of financial markets, and a finance-related professional certification.
Mutual fund manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real mutual fund manager resumes:
- Manage the student-run investment fund with over $720K AUM.
- Manage investment research and support for 8 FX desk traders.
- Manage AUM 2MM seeder fund using conservative proprietary arbitrage trading strategies on stocks and options.
- Lead upgrade that streamline the interface for entering custom swaps, and automate the process for creating standard swaps.
- Manage short term interest rate risk management utilizing basis swaps to modify portfolio duration.
- Administer software to automate and standardize engineering functions using Pro/E, AutoCad and ProductView.
- Complete procedures for high-risk areas such as income, corporate actions, and derivative securities.
- Administer timely reconciliations of general ledger accounts and review journal entries which result in reduce working hours for staff.
- Disseminate information to enable faster and more accurate investment decisions by preparing financial statements, management and portfolio manager reports.
- Prepare packages for an efficient SAS 70 and year end audit.
- Provide a range of services, including macro stock market timing and sentiment analysis.
- Result are the IRS issue determination letters for all plansapproving all compliance remediation activities.
- Monitor, review and verify the daily procedures for creating net asset values (NAV).
- Perform staffing activities including hiring, training and coaching, scheduling, payroll approval, and performance reviews.
- Add several million dollars in assets through careful oversight of proxy procedures for fund conversions and management changes.
Mutual fund manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Mutual Fund Managers are proficient in Financial Reports, Portfolio, and Payroll. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Organizational skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Mutual Fund Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Financial Reports, 13%
Generated financial reports, charts and slides, delivered professional presentations to management.
- Portfolio, 13%
Disseminated information to enable faster and more accurate investment decisions by preparing financial statements, management and portfolio manager reports.
- Payroll, 8%
Conducted interviews with prospective employees; maintained bi-weekly payroll and vacation records
- Oversight, 8%
Ensured integrity of day-to-day activities, full oversight of operations, automation of business processes and risk management.
- Financial Analysis, 7%
Developed and implemented a redesign of ATM funding schedule through financial analysis.
- GAAP, 4%
Reviewed annual and semi-annual audit analysis to ensure all general ledger accounts were reconciled properly according to GAAP.
"financial reports," "portfolio," and "payroll" are among the most common skills that mutual fund managers use at work. You can find even more mutual fund manager responsibilities below, including:
Math skills. The most essential soft skill for a mutual fund manager to carry out their responsibilities is math skills. This skill is important for the role because "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." Additionally, a mutual fund manager resume shows how their duties depend on math skills: "created quantitative equity investment process and stock selection model, using the barra aegis portfolio management suite. "
Organizational skills. Many mutual fund manager duties rely on organizational skills. "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work.," so a mutual fund manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways mutual fund manager responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "display strong verbal and written communication, organizational and customer service skills. "
Analytical skills. mutual fund managers are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to mutual fund manager responsibilities, because "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." A mutual fund manager resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "reviewed, analyzed and reconciled general ledgers of financial reports for principal investigators. "
Communication skills. A big part of what mutual fund managers do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to mutual fund manager responsibilities because "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical mutual fund manager tasks: "led senior management communications with investors regarding dfr's liquid investment strategy. "
Detail oriented. Another crucial skill for a mutual fund manager to carry out their responsibilities is "detail oriented." A big part of what mutual fund managers relies on this skill, since "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." How this skill relates to mutual fund manager duties can be seen in an example from a mutual fund manager resume snippet: "handled client service relationships and detailed client account systems on a daily basis. "
The three companies that hire the most mutual fund managers are:
- Deloitte10 mutual fund managers jobs
- U.S. Bank4 mutual fund managers jobs
- UCLA4 mutual fund managers jobs
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Compare different mutual fund managers
Mutual fund manager vs. Assistant vice president operations
An assistant vice president of operations is responsible for monitoring the company's operational and production processes to ensure high-quality deliverables and achieve the highest client satisfaction. Assistant vice presidents of operations join the senior management team in implementing corporate decisions to enhance the efficiency and stability of the company to provide timely services for the clients and business partners. They also review financial and business transactions, identify cost-reduction methodologies, and develop opportunities to generate revenues and increase profits.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a mutual fund manager are more likely to require skills like "financial reports," "payroll," "financial analysis," and "gaap." On the other hand, a job as an assistant vice president operations requires skills like "avp," "risk management," "project management," and "rehabilitation." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Assistant vice presidents operations earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $96,274. On the other hand, mutual fund managers are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $105,774.assistant vice presidents operations tend to reach similar levels of education than mutual fund managers. In fact, assistant vice presidents operations are 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Mutual fund manager vs. Manager
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that mutual fund manager responsibilities requires skills like "portfolio," "oversight," "financial analysis," and "gaap." But a manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "food safety," "management," and "powerpoint."
On average, managers earn a lower salary than mutual fund managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, managers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $71,781. Whereas mutual fund managers have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $105,774.In general, managers achieve lower levels of education than mutual fund managers. They're 6.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mutual fund manager vs. Investment fund manager
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a mutual fund manager is likely to be skilled in "portfolio," "payroll," "oversight," and "ledgers," while a typical investment fund manager is skilled in "investment management," "investment fund," "portfolio management," and "anti-money laundering."
Most investment fund managers achieve a higher degree level compared to mutual fund managers. For example, they're 7.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mutual fund manager vs. Pension fund manager
Even though a few skill sets overlap between mutual fund managers and pension fund managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a mutual fund manager might have more use for skills like "financial reports," "portfolio," "payroll," and "oversight." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of pension fund managers require skills like "problem resolution," "treasury," "db," and "plan design. "
Pension fund managers reach higher levels of education compared to mutual fund managers, in general. The difference is that they're 12.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of mutual fund manager
Updated January 8, 2025
