ST1:A recruiter or HR contact does a quick sanity check — GPA, relevant coursework, any investing-related experience (student investment fund, personal portfolio, internships). This is mostly a filter, not a real evaluation. Sometimes there's a short informal call to gauge communication skills and genuine interest in markets.
ST2 and 3:Markets literacy — "pitch me a stock," "what's happening in the market right now," "name a company you like and why." This is the single most distinctive AM interview question. You're expected to have 1-2 stocks you can talk about in real depth: business model, valuation, catalysts, risks — not just "I like their product."
Basic technical/accounting — lighter than IB, but they still expect you to know the 3 financial statements, how they connect, and simple valuation concepts (P/E, DCF basics). It's less about building models and more about whether you understand what drives a company's value.
Stock pitch deep-dive — a senior PM or analyst will stress-test your pitch relentlessly: "what if rates rise," "what's your downside case," "why hasn't the market already priced this in." They're testing conviction and whether you can handle pushback without folding or getting defensive.
Case study — sometimes you're given a company or industry beforehand (or on the spot) and asked to form a quick investment view.
Fit interviews with multiple people — including possibly a portfolio manager, since culture fit matters a lot in AM (you'll be in a small team, long-term).
Sometimes a written test — a short investment memo or valuation exercise under time pressure.