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How To Become A Financial Analyst
How To Become A Financial Analyst
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Financial analysts work in junior and senior capacities within a firm, and it is a
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niche that often leads to other career opportunities.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A financial analyst pores over data to identify business opportunities or
make recommendations on proposed actions.
Junior analysts spend much of their time on data gathering, financial
modeling, and spreadsheet maintenance.
Senior analysts may spend time developing investment theses,
speaking with company management teams and other investors, and
marketing ideas.
A bachelor's degree in math or a finance-related major is commonly
sought.
Areas of Work
The financial analysts who are best known to the public evaluate individual
stocks and bonds and present their conclusions to prospective investors.
However, there are financial analysts at work in many other areas of business.
For example, businesses that use the franchise model often employ financial
analysts to track individual franchises or groups of franchises within a
geographic region. The analysts determine where the strengths and
weaknesses lie and make profit and loss forecasts.
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standard educational requirements. Some roles require licenses but this varies
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among employers and specializations.
FAST FACT
The big investment banks, where the huge first-year salaries are
paid, recruit almost exclusively out of MBA programs at elite
universities like Harvard and Princeton. These graduates are often
hired as associates right out of business school.
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Other more advanced certifications may be needed down the road when you're
already established in a junior analyst position.
Buy-Side Analysts
Most financial analysts work on what is known as the buy side. They help their
employers decide how to spend their money, whether that means investing in
stocks and other securities for an in-house fund, buying income properties (in
the case of a real estate investment firm), or allocating marketing dollars.
Some analysts perform their jobs not for a specific employer but for a third-
party company that provides financial and revenue analysis to its clients. This
shows the value of what a financial analyst does; an entire industry exists
around it.
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Buy-side financial analysts rarely have the final say in how their employers or
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clients spend their money. However, the trends they uncover and their forecasts
are invaluable in decision-making. With global financial markets evolving faster
than ever and regulatory environments changing seemingly daily, it stands to
reason that the demand for skilled buy-side financial analysts will only increase
in the future.
Sell-Side Analysts
At a sell-side firm, analysts evaluate and compare the quality of securities in a
given sector or industry. Based on this analysis, they then write research reports
with certain recommendations, such as "buy," "sell," "strong buy," "strong sell,"
or "hold."
They also track the stocks in a fund's portfolio to determine if and when
individual stocks should be sold. The recommendations of these research
analysts carry a great deal of weight in the investment industry, including for
people employed at buy-side firms.
Perhaps the most prestigious and highest-paid financial analyst job is that of a
sell-side analyst for a big investment bank. These analysts help banks price
their investment products and sell them in the marketplace. They compile data
on the bank's stocks and bonds and use quantitative analysis to project how
these securities will perform in the market. Based on this research, they make
buy and sell recommendations to the bank's clients, steering them into certain
securities from the bank's menu of products.
Even within these specialties, there are subspecialties: analysts who focus on
stocks or on fixed-income instruments. Many analysts specialize even further
within a specific sector or industry. An analyst may concentrate on energy or
technology, for example.
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Analysts who help make buy and sell decisions for big banks and who attempt
to identify IPO opportunities are called equity analysts. They help find
companies that present the most lucrative opportunities for ownership.
Typically, equity analysts are among the highest-paid professionals in the field
of financial analysis. This is partly a function of their employers; the big
investment banks use big salaries to lure the best talent.
Equity analysts often deal with huge sums of money. When they make a
winning prediction, the gain for the employer is often in the millions of dollars.
Equity analysts are handsomely compensated for their contributions.
Median Salary
Most financial analysts make significantly less than those in other professions in
the finance industry, particularly in New York City. However, the median annual
income for an entry-level financial analyst is significantly higher than the
median annual income for a full-time wage or salary worker in the United States
overall.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS), the average weekly income for a full-time wage or salary worker in the
U.S. was $1,145. This translates to a yearly income of about $59,540. [1]
Compare that to the median annual income for financial analysts across all
experience levels in 2022 (the latest data available) was $96,220 per year. [2]
Granted, It's not unusual for an analyst to work 80 or more hours per week.
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Analysts must do a lot of reading on their own time. They tend to peruse The
Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, and The Economist, as well as
financial websites.
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Analysts also interpret financial transactions and must verify documents for
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their compliance with government regulations. An understanding of these laws
and regulations is key for those working with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC),
A junior analyst may work their way up to senior analyst in three to five years.
For senior analysts who continue to look for career advancement, there is the
potential to become a portfolio manager, a partner in an investment bank, or a
senior manager in a retail bank or insurance company.
Analysts must also develop communication and people skills by crafting written
and oral presentations that impress senior management.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers
who transfer to different occupations or retire. [3]
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Partner Links
Related Terms
Investment Analyst: Meaning, Education, Positions
An investment analyst is an expert at evaluating financial information, typically for the
purpose of making buy, sell, and hold recommendations for securities. more
A covered stock is a stock for which a sell-side analyst publishes research reports and
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