A Day in the Life of a Small-Firm Private Banker

A Day in the Life of a Small-Firm Private Banker A Day in the Life of a Small-Firm Private Banker 4:00 a.m.: Get up. My day begins early, when I get up and review everything that came in the night before. Since we don't have a massive equity strategy team, I'm constantly reviewing outside research on my clients' holdings, which we subscribe to. I spend most of my morning reading up to see what the latest thinking is. I stay glued to the TV and PC at home because I'm on the West Coast and I don't want to be commuting when the market opens.6:30 a.m.: The opening bell.7:30 a.m.: Once the market is open and I'm OK with what's going on, then I shower and get dressed and everything else, and head into work. I got a Sirius satellite radio in the car just so I could listen to Bloomberg radio on my drive in.8:15 a.m.: At the office, client calls. Once I get in the office, it's all about the clients. I'm on the phone, sending e-mails, planning ahead, doing everything I can to not only meet their needs, but anticipate them.1:00 p.m.: The closing bell. The market closes at 1 p.m. my time, which is great. That allows me to get out of the office and go see clients without worrying about anybody's portfolio. 1:30 p.m.: Lunch with members of the local chamber of commerce. I belong to all the local business groups, and I'm there whenever they have conferences or luncheons or whatever. Any time I can be in a room with successful business people, I'm there. Sometimes it's afternoon, sometimes it's evening, but whenever.2:30 p.m.: Client meeting at his office. Clients appreciate it when you go to them, and I'm there with my laptop and a wireless card so that if there are questions, I'm right there in my network pulling up their data without a problem, and they're still comfortable in their office or home.4:00 p.m.: Back to the office for more calls, e-mails, laying in moves or strategies as needed for the following day.5:00 p.m.: Heading home, which is unusual. If there isn't anything in the evening going on, I can be out of the office by 4 or 5 p.m., but that's usually just one or two days a week, usually Friday. My clients tend to be businesspeople, so we often meet after business hours so they can focus fully on their jobs. And I'll stay late a lot to ride herd on a major purchase or investment that I'm working on for a client.