Hi Willa! Thank you for taking the time to speak with Investment Society today. Could you introduce yourself?
Hi ISOC! My name is Willa Sun (class of 2020) and I graduated with a double major in Economics and Data Science. I grew up near Shanghai and have gone to school in Georgia, North Carolina, Boston, and now I work in Newport Beach, California.
How did you learn about PIMCO and your position as a product strategy analyst? What about the company and role stood out to you?
I first learned about PIMCO through an alumnae I met at a Forte conference during my sophomore year. I was highly intrigued by the macro-driven investment process PIMCO embraces and later learned more about the firm through their website and the thought leadership pieces they publish. When my good friend Hongyu who worked at the Career Education Office passed along the product strategy analyst opening to me, I decided to apply right away.
What does your day to day work as a product strategy analyst look like?
No two days really look the same on the desk. In general, I would say the role consists of the “markets” aspect and the “business” aspect, both of which integral to the success of our products. Typically, during our month-end reporting process, I would consolidate information I’ve gathered on market moves throughout the month and connect these to how our funds performed. Intra-month is when my team focuses more on new business initiatives. I assist our senior team members in conducting competitor analysis, market research, and developing pitching materials to help drive our business forward.
What is the most fulfilling aspect about your current position?
As an Economics major, I love seeing how Economics data shape investment decisions. Given that my team specializes in inflation-related products, we talk and breathe inflation on the desk. Being able to utilize the Economics toolkit I picked up at Wellesley, seeing how high-level macroeconomic insights translate into portfolio positioning, and being able to have informed conversations on inflation and inflation protection in portfolios are all very fulfilling aspects about my job.
How did you align yourself for this role? How did past internships contribute to your decision to join PIMCO and product strategy specifically?
I would say most of the product- and team-specific knowledge came after I joined. However, soft skills I had developed prior to starting this job, including business writing, critical thinking, and time management definitely helped me climb the steep learning curve faster.
My sophomore internship was very business-focused while my junior internship was exclusively markets-driven. My goal was to end up somewhere so I can get the best of both worlds. I was also hoping to work in a team environment where I will receive guidance and support from my co-workers on a day-to-day basis.
What advice do you have for students interested in investment management?
I chose investment management for its intellectual rigor and steep learning trajectory. Given the heterogeneity across different managers, I think it’s important to first narrow down a few verticals of interest, whether along types of manager (mutual funds, asset management firms, wealth managers, hedge funds, private equity, etc), or types of positions (portfolio management, product strategy, research analyst, account analyst, etc). The Wellesley network was extremely helpful during my process, but there’s also no need to limit the scope of search/outreach early on.
The training process could also be more idiosyncratic on the investment management side, so I would recommend to develop the more general skills (such as Excel) and financial acumen beforehand by following the markets and reading different firms’ thought leadership pieces.
Final question, what is a hobby or activity you have picked up since quarantine?
Baking! I have a 4-month old sourdough starter sitting in my fridge now ☺
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