Financial Planner

Financial Planner Career Overview: A Financial Planner advises individuals on setting personal financial goals and strategies. Many work independently or in small firms, though larger financial services firms either are adding Financial Planners to their staffs or are insisting that their Financial Advisors (or Financial Consultants) also become certified as Financial Planners.

Education: A Bachelor's Degree is expected for a Financial Planner. Coursework in finance, accounting and/or economics is helpful, though not required. Strong quantitative and analytic skills are essential. An MBA may be valuable in the hiring process, depending on the firm.

Certification: Requirements to function as a Financial Planner vary by state. Even in jurisdictions where it is not mandated by law, passing the exam to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) is highly advisable. The CFP designation increases your credibility and marketability, both to employers and to clients.

Duties and Responsibilities: A Financial Planner helps clients create personal budgets, control expenditures, set goals for saving and implement strategies for accumulating wealth. He or she may have working relationships with Financial Advisors, Investment Managers and/or Mutual Fund Companies, utilizing these specialists for the actual investment of their clients’ funds. The job requires keeping current about developments in financial products, tax laws and strategies for personal financial management, particularly with respect to retirement plans and estates. Success also requires sales ability, both in the acquisition of new clients and in the development of new ideas to improve the financial situation of existing clients.

Typical Schedule: The time commitment is highly variable, dependent on the type of practice you are in, your client load, and the effort you are putting into acquiring new clients. Thus, it can range from a part-time effort of under 40 hours per week to one that far exceeds 40 hours. To accommodate their clients' schedules, Financial Planners frequently must be available for meetings and telephone consultations in the evenings and on weekends.

What's to Like: Depending on the firm, a Financial Planner may enjoy a high degree of professional autonomy. The job should appeal to those who enjoy teaching, given that many of your clients will be unsophisticated financially and require education in the fundamentals of personal finance. The job also offers an opportunity to improve your clients' lives in a tangible way.

What's Not to Like: Financially unsophisticated clients often require much handholding from a Financial Planner, and may be quick to criticize recommendations that did not produce results as they expected.

Salary Range: Per the Princeton Review, average salaries for Financial Planners can range from $20,000 starting to $40,000 for those with 5 years' experience, to $90,000 for those with 10-15 years’ experience.


From :     About.com
Source:   http://financecareers.about.com/od/financialplanner/a/finplanner.htm
For:          public Information, non profitable  
Author:  Mark Kolakowski,

Financial Analysts

Job Description:

Financial analysts evaluate and analyze a company’s financial situation. They also prepare recommendations to help a company invest, manage and spend company funds.

Financial Analyst Specializations:

• Budget Analysts
• Credit Analysts
• Investment Analysts
• Mergers and Acquisitions Analysts
• Money Market Analysts
• Ratings Analysts
• Risk Analysts
• Security Analysts
• Tax Analysts
• Wall Street Analysts

Salary Range for Financial Analysts:

$30,000 - $110,000+

Annual earnings are determined by a variety of factors including field, title, place of employment, level of education, and experience.

For more specific information, visit Salary Wizard to get a free personalized salary report.

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s Degree

Essential Classes for Financial Analysts:

• Business
• Finance
• Accounting
• Computer Science
• Statistics

Job Outlook for Financial Analysts:

The job outlook for financial analysts is good. The field is expected to grow as fast as the average field or occupation.

Financial Analysts Resources:

To learn more about the finance industry, contact:

Association for Financial Professionals
Telephone: 301-907-2862
Website: http://www.afponline.org

Jobs for Financial Analysts :

To find a job in the finance field, visit http://about.indeed.com


From :      About.com
Source:    http://businessmajors.about.com/od/jobprofiles/p/ProFinAnalysts.htm
For:           public Information, non profitable 
Author:   Mark Kolakowski,

Financial Advisor

Financial Advisor Career Overview: 

Financial advisor (FA) and financial consultant (FC) are contemporary titles for stockbroker, broker, account executive or registered representative. A variant spelling, financial adviser, also is used sometimes. Traditionally, the job has involved buying and selling securities (such as stocks and bonds) on behalf of clients. The change in titles is supposed to reflect the fact that, rather than being focused primarily on facilitating transactions, Financial advisors really should be investment advisers and financial planners who take a holistic view of their clients' financial needs and goals. Other variations in title, such as wealth management advisor, also are used, sometimes to denote a financial advisor who has additional training, certifications and/or experience.

Some financial advisors specialize in serving individual or retail clients and others concentrate on business or institutional clients. Some securities firms prefer that financial advisors specialize in this fashion, others leave it up to the individual advisors to choose whatever mix of clients they prefer. Business clients who require specialized advice and services (such as in working capital management or business loans) may prefer financial advisors with detailed knowledge in these areas.

Education: A bachelor's degree is expected for a financial advisor. Coursework in finance, accounting and/or economics is helpful, though not required. Strong quantitative and analytic skills are vital. An MBA can give you a leg up in the hiring process, depending on the firm, but compensation (see below) is tied strictly to performance, not to academic credentials.

Certification: Becoming a financial advisor requires passing the Series 7 exam offered by FINRA and meeting continuing education requirements. Major Wall Street firms used to run extensive training programs to prepare recent college graduates for careers as financial advisors, but many of these have been dismantled in a spate of cost cutting during the past several years. As a result, getting started in this field is becoming more difficult. Firms are increasingly raiding each other for experienced financial advisors, while shunning the investment necessary to train new ones. When they do train new ones, they tend to limit the entrants to experienced financial industry professionals looking for a career change. You must be sponsored by a FINRA member firm (that is, your employer) to sit for the Series 7 exam. In some firms, for certain more senior financial advisor positions, and in some states, one or more additional credentials may be required.

Duties and Responsibilities: Financial advisors counsel clients on investment opportunities, consonant with the latter's needs, goals and tolerance for risk. The job requires keeping abreast of the financial markets, constantly monitoring the specific investments in clients' portfolios, and being on top of new investment strategies and investment vehicles. Financial advisors must be confident about decision-making under uncertainty and under extreme time pressure, have excellent people and communication skills, and know how to deal with failure and with dissatisfied clients. Success is highly dependent on sales ability, both in the acquisition of new clients and in the pitching of investment ideas to existing clients. Serving clients, compliance and practice management are closely-intertwined issues for financial advisors.

Financial advisors can greatly enhance their productivity and their ability to serve a large book of business if they are supported by one or more sales assistants. However, in many financial services firms, financial advisors must fund the pay of their sales assistants, in whole or in part, out of their own compensation (see below).

Typical Schedule: The time commitment can be heavy (60-80 hours per week or more), both for those starting out in the field and for established financial advisors committed to delivering excellent service and to growing their business.

What's to Like: Financial advisors have a high degree of professional autonomy, more akin to being an independent entrepreneur than a corporate employee. There is a close correlation between performance and reward, with virtually unlimited earnings potential. Do your job well, and you make a discernible, positive impact on your clients' lives.

What's Not to Like: The pressures on a financial advisor to process a constant avalanche of information, to make quick decisions under uncertainty that, if wrong, can be costly to clients, to sell constantly and to justify yourself daily can be overwhelming for some people.

Compensation Range: Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median annual compensation was about $68,200 as of May 2009, with the top 10% earning over $166,400. Financial advisor compensation typically is commission-based. That is, a financial advisor gets a share of the revenue generated for the firm by his/her clients. Other metrics, such as the total value of client financial assets on deposit with the financial advisor's firm, may also factor into compensation. Top financial advisors can earn well over $1,000,000.


From :     About.com
Source:   http://financecareers.about.com/od/financialadvisor/a/finadvisor.htm
For:          public Information, non profitable  
Author:  Mark Kolakowski,

Finance Officer

Finance Officer's Job Description:

Finance officers, also known as financial managers, supervise the operations of banks, credit unions, and finance companies. Exact duties vary depending on the finance officer’s title, place of employment, level of education, and experience.

Common Finance Officer Titles:

• President
• Vice-President
• Controller
• Loan Officer
• Trust Officer
• Reserve Officer
• Securities Trader

Salary Range for Finance Officers:

$37,000 - $135,000+

Annual earnings are determined by a variety of factors including field, title, place of employment, level of education, and experience. For more specific information, visit Salary Wizard to get a free personalized salary report.

Minimum Education: 

Bachelor’s Degree

 Essential Classes for Finance Officers:

• Business
• Finance
• Management
• Mathematics
• Risk Analysis
• Statistics

Job Outlook for Finance Officers:

The job outlook for finance officers is good. The field is expected to grow as fast as the average field or occupation.

Resources for Finance Officers:

For more information on finance certification, industry news, career information, and more, contact:

Association of Financial Professionals
Telephone: (301) 907-2862
Website: http://www.afponline.org

Jobs for Finance Officers :

To find a job in the finance field, visit here

 

From :     About.com
Source:   http://businessmajors.about.com/od/jobprofiles/p/ProfileFinOff.htm
For:          public Information, non profitable  
Author:  Mark Kolakowski,

What Can I Do with a Finance Degree ?

What Can I Do with a Finance Degree?

There are many different jobs available to graduates with a finance degree. Nearly every type of business needs someone with specialized financial knowledge. Degree holders can choose to work for a specific company, such as a corporation or bank, or choose to open their own business, such as a consulting firm or financial planning agency. Possible job options for individuals with a finance degree include, but are not limited to:

• Credit Analyst - Credit analysts analyze financial information and assess the risk of offering credit to businesses (commercial business analysts) and individuals (consumer credit analysts.) 

• Finance Officer - Also known as a financial manager, finance officers typically manage the operations of banks, credit unions, and finance companies.

• Financial Advisor - A financial advisor is a cross between a financial planner and investment advisor. These professionals help people invest money and achieve financial goals. 

• Financial Analyst - Financial analysts evaluate and analyze a company’s financial situation. They also prepare recommendations to help a company invest, manage, and spend company funds.

• Financial Planner - A financial planner assists individuals with budgets, retirement planning, and other money management tasks.

• Loan Officer - A loan officer is a bank or credit union employee that assists individuals during the loan process. Loan officers often assess creditworthiness and determine whether or not individuals are eligible for a loan.

• Investment Banker - An investment banker advises and raises funds for a corporation. 

From :     About.com
Source:   http://businessmajors.about.com/od/degreeoptions/a/FinanceDegree.htm
For:          public Information, non profitable  
Author:  Mark Kolakowski,

Credit Analyst

Credit Analyst

Credit analysts analyze financial information and assess the risk of offering credit to businesses and individuals.

Credit Analyst Fields:

* Commercial Business Analysts

* Consumer Credit Analysts

Salary Range for Credit Analysts:

$28,000 - $110,000+

Annual earnings for credit analysts are determined by a variety of factors including field, title, place of employment, level of education, and experience.

For more specific information, visit Salary Wizard to get a free personalized salary report.

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s Degree

Essential Classes for Credit Analysts:

* Business

* Economics

* Finance

* Accounting

* Mathematics

* Statistics

Job Outlook for Credit Analysts:

The job outlook for credit analysts is good. The field is expected to grow as fast as the average field or occupation.

Resources for Credit Analysts:

National Association of Credit Management

Telephone: (410) 740-5560

Email: nacm_info@nacm.org

Website: http://www.nacm.org

Jobs for Credit Analysts:

To find credit analyst jobs, visit http://about.indeed.com


From :     About.com
Source:   http://businessmajors.about.com/od/jobprofiles/p/CrAnalystProfil.htm
For:         public Information, non profitable
Author:   Karen Schweitzer,