When you work in the accounting industry as a financial analyst you will provide information and advice to businesses to help them make wise investment decisions. In this type of work, you will focus on gathering financial information of the company, analyze it and make recommendations as to whether certain stocks would make a good investment. When the company has money to invest to further increase its profits, you will assess the economic performance of other industries and businesses. You read the financial statements of the company you work with to determine the value of the company and to help estimate future earnings from its investments.
As a financial analyst, you can either working in the buying or selling sector. As a buyer, you work for a company that has a lot of money to invest. These could be universities and colleges with large endowment funds, mutual and hedge fun companies, insurance companies or large organizations. These companies are called institutional investors because of their large investments and constant investment activities. Your job will include managing the portfolio of the company and developing new investment strategies for the company. Id you work as a seller, you will work with securities companies and investment banks to find buyers for their products.
You will focus on only one sector of the economy or one type of investment when you work as a financial analyst. This could be the technology sector or investing in businesses in another country through the foreign market. In a large firm, there may be several analysts, each working in one area of focus so that the company has a wide range of investments in all sectors of the market. Within your specific area, you will be required to keep current on any changes in government policy or regulations as well as the current trends in business practices and the competition in the marketplace for certain products.
When you are a financial analyst, you can work in an office setting in a large firm or in your own home office. Your workweek may not consist of the normal nine to five day or a standard forty-hour week. Depending on the nature of the business of the company you work for, you may have to travel extensively to visit potential investors. You will need to do much of your research after hours, as your day will be consumed with meetings and telephone calls.
The educational background you need to have to become a financial analyst is a Bachelor’s degree in a finance related area. Many people who work in this field actually have a Master’s degree. It is also beneficial to have courses in risk management, options pricing and bond valuation. In order to work in this profession, you do need to be licensed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Since an employer t must sponsor you for this license, you are not required to have a license before you get a job. Once you do receive a job offer, then you can apply for the license.
