For anyone with a mind for business, a big-picture outlook and strong communication skills, becoming a financial analyst may be a promising career path. Financial analysts can work in a variety of industries studying economic trends, making predictions and offering recommendations for investments and other money moves.

Most financial analyst jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree. After gaining some work experience, financial analysts can increase their prospects through licenses and certifications. Our guide explores more details about how to become a financial analyst.

What Do Financial Analysts Do?

In general terms, financial analysts do exactly what their title implies: They advise companies and individuals on the most profitable investments. These professionals must be able to distill large amounts of information into concise recommendations.

Financial analysts assess whether a company is worth investing in by poring through the company’s financial history. These professionals may also help companies decide how to invest in growing industries. Financial analysts are responsible for studying economic, political and global trends to make recommendations.

While financial analysts need a broad understanding of the market, they aren’t expected to know everything. Analysts tend to focus on one industry, region or product, and they build expertise in their specialty area.

Work Environment

Financial analysts don’t just work with securities. They may be employed by companies to analyze other types of investment, such as real estate or marketing dollars. Analysts may even work for media or research companies. Rather than advising clients on profitable investments, these workers analyze trends and publish their findings or predictions.

Types of Financial Analysts

Several job titles fall under the financial analyst umbrella, as noted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Below we list a few examples.

• Financial risk analysts make investment decisions that limit potential losses.
• Ratings analysts assess whether companies (or governments) can pay their debts.
• Portfolio managers determine the mix of investments in their clients’ portfolios, and they answer to stakeholders.
• Fund managers—who work with hedge funds or mutual funds—and portfolio managers both make buy-and-sell decisions to maximize returns.

What Skills Do Financial Analysts Need?

Financial analysts should, of course, have analytical minds and be detail-oriented in their research. They need both strong math skills and computer literacy, as analysts use software to look at trends and make forecasts.

After all of their research, financial analysts need to make decisions. Their recommendations can affect a company’s longevity, so they must be thorough but decisive. Analysts have to communicate their choices clearly and effectively, often through reports or presentations.

How Much Does a Financial Analyst Make?

Becoming a financial analyst is a strong option for anyone seeking a higher-than-average paycheck. As of May 2021, the median annual wage for financial analysts was $91,580, according to the BLS. In contrast, the median wage for all workers was $45,760.

Working as an analyst in the financial industry offers the most lucrative pay. These workers earn a mean annual salary of $124,020.

Job Outlook

The field is also growing at a steady pace. The BLS projects employment for financial and investment analysts to grow by 9% from 2021 to 2031, which is faster than the average projected growth for all jobs. This amounts to about 32,000 new financial analyst jobs by 2031.

As you may guess, increases in economic activity affect the demand for financial analysts. Expanding and emerging industries require the help of financial analysts to guide their growth.

Globalization is a factor as well. As more markets develop around the world, companies need analysts to advise on where to expand or invest. The BLS predicts that these investors will hire financial analysts who have a deep understanding of political, economic and cultural trends in the geographical areas at play.

Buy-Side Analysts vs. Sell-Side Analysts

Financial analysts—not including those who work for research and media companies—fall into two main categories: buy-side analysts and sell-side analysts.

Buy-Side

Buy-side analysts help companies choose where to invest. These companies, known as institutional investors, include pension funds, hedge funds, money managers and insurance companies. This category also encompasses nonprofit groups with endowments, which are large donations that have been invested to increase the original cash value.

Most financial analysts are on the buy side. While they don’t perform any stock transactions themselves, they advise companies on the most profitable investments. This may involve actual securities, real estate or even franchise opportunities. Employers may also have analysts look at their business practices, marketing spending or other returns on investment.

Sell-Side

Sell-side analysts, on the other hand, advise agents who sell securities or other investments. This is a much narrower field than buy-side. Research analysts, for example, analyze companies’ financial data and create reports that recommend whether to buy, sell or hold those stocks. They also flag trends on individual stocks within fund portfolios.

As the CFA Institute notes, one of the pressures on sell-side analysts is that they are responsible for accurate stock ratings. Their findings are used by buy-side analysts to make decisions, and those ratings carry a lot of weight within the industry.

Note that financial analysts aren’t responsible for actually buying or selling any investments. Instead, these professionals must rely on strong data analysis and communication skills to persuade stakeholders to carry out their recommendations.

How to Become a Financial Analyst

Financial Analyst Education Requirements

Most firms require candidates to have at least a bachelor’s degree. The CFA Institute recommends a finance-related major such as a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, statistics, economics or general business.

While most employers don’t require a master’s degree, this advanced degree may help analysts move up to the next stage of their careers. With a proven track record, a financial analyst can advance to a role as a portfolio manager or a fund manager for wealthy individual investors. An MBA can demonstrate an analyst’s communication and business knowledge.

Financial Analyst Certification

Entry-level licenses for financial analysts are available from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA regulates the securities industry and offers dozens of exams for various job types. Most of these exams require employer sponsorship.

In most cases, financial analysts must pass the Securities Industry Essentials® exam, which covers basic information about the industry. General securities representatives must pass the Series 7 exam.

After gaining some work experience, analysts may pursue the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter, administered by the CFA Institute.

CFA candidates must have a bachelor’s degree or be within 11 months of completing one. If not, they should have a significant amount of work and/or higher education experience over at least three years. They also need an international passport, a few professional references and 4,000 hours of qualifying work experience.

Take note that the CFA charter isn’t an easy course—it requires more than 900 hours of individual study, on top of professional work hours. Prospective CFAs must also complete three levels of exams before they can apply to become charterholders.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Financial Analysts

Local artists are invited to gain financial resources at the community's upcoming workshop.

Clark County’s Office of Public Arts is hosting a free professional education workshop on Tuesday, February 21 at 10 a.m.

Guest speaker Amy Smith will be highlighting the financial well-being of artists and focusing on barriers that may prevent those from achieving economic stability.

MORE ON NEWS 3 | Clark County to offer Spring Break camps at multiple sites across the valley

Smith is a dancer and theater professional who works to provide financial advice and tax preparation for other artists.

The workshop will cover negotiating fair pay, self-employment, budgeting and taxes, savings, and more.

To attend the online workshop, click here.

Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC academic wealth philosophy prioritizes financial literacy and individualized strategies for long-term financial success through ongoing education, transparency, and a focus on the unique needs of each client.

The underlying philosophy of financial groups can vary greatly depending on the specific organization, its goals, and its values. For Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC, its academic wealth philosophy, which is centered around the belief that wealth creation starts with education and knowledge, is at the heart of everything it does. This innovative approach to wealth management is based on a commitment to empowering clients with the information they need to make informed decisions about their finances. The firm further believes that the more one knows about money, finances, investments, and the economy, the more their decisions will lead to long-term financial success. A situation that then leads to a win-win for both parties.

Based on this, Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC partners with faculties and staff of universities as these places promote mutual edification. As the firm puts it, “We believe that the more our clients have to invest in their children, education, and philanthropy, the better off we all are.” In a testament to this philosophy, Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC has established partnerships with several clients at both Ohio State University and the University of Michigan.

The firm’s wealth philosophy is majorly tailored to meet the unique needs of each of its clients. It takes the time to understand its client’s goals, risk tolerance, and individual circumstances, before developing customized strategies that align with their specific needs and goals. Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC is also of the belief that clients have a right to understand the financial products and services they are investing in. Thus, it is committed to providing clear and concise explanations of its strategies. This is in addition to working closely with its numerous clients to ensure they have a complete understanding of their investments.

Speaking more on the inner workings of the firm, it says, “We utilize historical financial data to help clients make wise, prudent and sound financial decisions.  With our client portal, we allow clarity in your finances and create a plan that busy professionals can stick to.” The firm further believes that this approach makes them attractive to “busy professionals, who don’t want to spend their time pondering the performance of small capitalization equities over the next 6 months”.

About Create Wealth Advisors LLC

Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC is a financial services firm committed to helping clients achieve their financial goals through a combination of innovative strategies, ongoing education, and personalized service. With a focus on transparency, long-term results, and individualized strategies, Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC is dedicated to empowering clients with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their finances.

For more information, please visit www.createwealthfinancialgroupllc.com

Disclosure:

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The data on the following pages is for information only and does not replace the statements you receive directly from the custodian. None of the information provided is intended as investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as an endorsement, of any company, security, fund, or other securities or non-securities offering. The information should not be relied upon for purposes of transacting securities or other investments. Your use of the information is at your sole risk.

All tax strategies should be discussed with your tax professional.

Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC is a FINRA-registered investment advisor.

Media Contact
Company Name:

Create Wealth Investment Advisors LLC

Contact Person:

Caleb Michael Lopez

Email:Send Email
Phone:

3304178171

Address:

PO BOX 220

Country:

United States

Website:https://createwealthfinancialgroupllc.com/wealth-philosophy

The University of Michigan on Thursday announced a $50 million gift to the school of education, one of the largest gifts ever made to a U.S. school or college of education.

In recognition of the gift and more than $5 million in earlier support from Kathleen and Bryan Marsal and their children, Megan Kirsch Marsal and Michael Marsal, representing two generations of UM alumni, the Ann Arbor-based university approved naming its school of education after the family.

The family's $50 million gift to the Marsal Family School of Education will support efforts to prepare a diverse population of teachers, build robust partnerships with schools and communities and conduct research in collaboration with education practitioners, UM said.

Specifically, over the next several years, it will support:

• Launching a new four-year degree program focused on Learning, Equity and Problem-Solving for the Public Good to teach education principles that can be applied to teaching and other professions.
• Expanding work with the P-20 Partnership on the Marygrove educational campus in Detroit.
• Supporting future educators by removing financial barriers to certification and providing support throughout their early professional years.

Previous gifts from the family have supported teacher preparation efforts for the past seven years as the school entered into the P-20 educational partnership on the former Marygrove College campus in Detroit, now home to the Michigan Education Teaching School.

The Marsal family's gifts have also funded scholarships for future teachers, career services for education graduates and professional training.

"The survival of society relies on well-prepared educators," Kathleen Marsal, former vice president and director of taxes at Citibank and a 1972 graduate of UM's School of Education, said in a press release. "Building understanding across differences begins with educators. Providing a high-quality education for all children — which is crucial for achieving equity — begins with educators."

The family's hope is that there won't be a teacher shortage in 10 years "because teachers will feel supported and valued, and teaching will be seen as a noble profession," said Megan Kirsch Marsal, who graduated from Michigan's School of Education in 2014 and works as a curriculum designer.

Bryan Marsal is co-founder, CEO and managing director of the global consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal and a member of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business Advisory Board. Michael Marsal is managing director and founding partner of Alvarez & Marsal Property Investments.