Financial analysts, also called securities analysts and investment analysts, analyze a business's bonds and stocks in order that they may help to make sound investment decisions. Depending on what type of analyst they are, they either create investment plans or offer advice to financial services sales agents.
Skillset: Financial analysts should be able to adequately process information to discover good investments, make decisions on what a business should do with a particular security and use math skills to predict how much profit a security will yield. Analysts should also be tech savvy in order that they can use financial software.
Education: A majority of positions call for a bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business administration, economics or a related field. Usually, employers ask for applicants who have a graduate degree in finance or a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.
Career Path: Financial analysts may have to become licensed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), but it's often not necessary before starting a job. Analysts also have the option of becoming a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), which requires a bachelor's degree, at least four years of experience and for the applicant to pass exams. Analysts start out by specializing in a certain field of investment before advancing to become portfolio managers and fund managers.
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