If you
are a finance student or a working
professional seeking a career in the financial
sector, this article is going to be a helping hand for you. Along with the key financial sectors,
I will also be discussing the professional courses which are required to bag these
dream financial jobs.
The governments give special attention
to this sector and every year they come
up with very lucrative packages, which help in generating the bunch of career
opportunities in this industry being considered
as a backbone of the economy.
Which
area should I focus on within the sector?
Although finance as a sector is vast and there are many job
profiles available. However, in this article,we’ll
be covering some key finance profiles,
which are very famous in the financial
world.
PORTFOLIO
MANAGEMENT:
This is one of the most
sought after a profile
in finance. The role of portfolio managers is to manage both institutional and
HNI clients’ portfolios. Usually, the
person at the top acts as a head, and the team known as analysts under him
performs various tasks required in managing the portfolio on a daily basis. The
role of the portfolio manager is basically to review the performance of the portfolio and make the necessary changes,
essential in delivering the committed returns.
It is hard to start out in this role
directly. Typically, the CFA designation and 5 to 6 years of work experience as
an analyst is the minimum requirement to become a portfolio manager. Jobs of portfolio managers are found at
Investment banks, hedge funds, insurance companies,
etc.
CORPORATE FINANCE:
Corporate finance is
one of the core finance jobs, which includes
taking strategic investment decisions to maximize the shareholder’s value
through long term and short term investments.In this area, you have to tackle
with lots of complex business problems and your problem-solving
skills will make you successful here. Generally,
the CFA designation is a must to
start a career in corporate finance and salary packages also comparatively
good.
INVESTMENT
BANKING:
Although there are various domains under
investment banks, Equity Research is one
of the prominent areas. Equity research
analyst is required to follow a particular company or sector and provide buy
or sell recommendations based on their analysis for mid to long term investment
point of view. Likea regular job, they
have to prepare detailed research reports, which they send to clients
periodically. Analysts have to visit and meet key management personnel of the
companies they are following, they also
need to attend analyst meets which
companies conduct time to time. In-depth knowledge about the company or sector and accuracy of their recommendation help in getting the regular promotions in this domain. Equity
research and financial modelling course from any reputed institute or CFA
designation are required to get this
profile.
TRADING:
Trading is one of the
most exciting jobs in the financial world. Trading jobs
are getting very popular and widespread these days as firstly, there’s no particular requirement
of any designation like CFA or any specific degree to start with, and secondly,
there’s no age restriction in starting a careers in finance and as well as in trading. Traders or commonly known as
technical traders grow rapidly in their career based on their experience and
charting skills.
Trading jobs are generally found at broking firms, hedge funds, investment
banks, insurance companies, money management firms and proprietary trading
firms. Although CMT designation gives some value to traders resume many institutions, hire traders based on their trading skills and experience. Salary increases with experience and accuracy.
What should you
make a note of?
It is quite understood that many people
are attracted towards finance jobs because of higher salary packages but people who are ultimately successful in the financial world, are very passionate about their
roles and most importantly they keep on updating their skills and knowledge.
So, test yourself in any of the above areas, only if you have genuine love for
finance.
