Portfolio Management Program

The PMP in detail

• Program design

  First-year students become financial analysts who get to know the portfolio, while supporting the second-year students who act as portfolio managers and are in charge of the actual asset management process. This structure ensures that portfolio decisions are coordinated among analysts and managers, which is crucial to insure a smooth transition of the portfolios to the next student cohort.

  The official PMP meetings take place every other Friday during the MIM program and can be categorized as follows:

  1. Introductory Session: The first sessions will be labelled as introductory sessions, where experienced tutors equip the new analysts with all of the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to participate in the PMP. These sessions reinforce the knowledge you acquire during the first modules of your MIM program and enhance it with applied knowledge in finance, economics and portfolio management.
  2. Manager Meeting: The managers present a portfolio update about current performance and risk measures. Additionally, they give an update of the trades that were implemented and those that are planned. Periodically, they present a general market outlook with respect to their portfolio composition.
  3. Analyst Meeting: The analysts present their research on market regions, asset classes or investment strategies that are linked to the current portfolio composition. Moreover, they are asked to present new ideas that are discussed with their managers and tutors in advance.
  4. Expert Talk: Occasionally, professionals from academia or finance join to share their insights with the PMP students.
  5. Technical Meeting: These meetings involve exercises related to a quantitative topic. Each student group solves a set of empirical asset management problems and presents the findings to their tutors and mentors.

• Who should apply?

  MIM students are selected during a competitive interview process after the start of the MIM. Potential PMP participants should bring a genuine interest in financial markets and have some introductory experience with quantitative tools, e.g. basic knowledge of Excel and/or experience in any kind of statistical software (like R or Matlab). Participants will learn most practical aspects of portfolio management during the program. However, a solid theoretical foundation in finance, investing, economics and/or internship or work experience in those areas is an advantage during the application process.

  In addition to the necessary qualifications, candidates should bear in mind that the program can be quite demanding. In addition to the general MIM program workload, students should expect to invest about 6 to 8 hours per week for the PMP.

  Please reach out to pmp@esmt.org with further questions.

• Application process

  Interested first-year MIM students should check back in September 2019 to learn how to apply for the incoming cohort of the PMP. Typical documents required are:

  • Letter of motivation (outlining any experience in finance and/or investing (e.g. internship or trading experience), if applicable)
  • CV
  • Professional reference (if applicable)
  • Transcripts of most recent grades

  Shortlisted candidates will be notified in October 2019, with interviews taking place shortly thereafter. For more information about this program, please attend the PMP presentation during orientation week at ESMT Berlin.

• Facilities

  The PMP Berlin facilities are located at the ESMT Satellite Campus Berlin-Schöneberg, on the 6th floor of Akazienstraße 3A. The satellite campus includes Bloomberg terminals and is dedicated to PMP students for research purposes. Space Shack, a co-working space founded by ESMT Berlin MBA alumni, is located in the same building.

  Once per week, students, tutors and mentors gather there for an informal meeting. Official meetings, where PMP participants present their analyses, take place every other Friday.

• History & partners

  PMP History

  The PMP, established in 2003 by Peter Pühringer, the founder of ZZ Vermögensverwaltung GmbH, in Vienna, Austria, is a unique and innovative approach combining financial theory with practical asset management. In Vienna, the PMP is part of the Research Institute for Capital Markets and the Vienna University of Economics and Business. In 2010, a second PMP was developed in cooperation with the University of Zurich and the ETH Zurich. As of 2017, the PMP runs as part of the ESMT Berlin Master's in Management.

  Partners

  • Portfolio Management Program Vienna, Part of the Institute for Strategic Capital Market Research
  • Portfolio Management Program Zurich, Part of the Center for Portfolio Management of the University of Zurich
  • P & K Pühringer Gemeinnützige Stiftung – Sponsor of the program