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Career Advice - Career path for a Financial Analyst

Posted: Wed 20th January 2010 | Author: | Comments: [0]

A financial analyst, often referred to as a securities analyst, equity analyst, or investment analyst is a person who analyses financial information. Researching macroeconomic and microeconomic conditions, along with company fundamentals, are part of the job. You also communicate business, sector and industry recommendations, write reports on companies, and give your opinion of the company's investment potential with a rating, such as "buy," "sell," or "hold” to brokers, traders or clients.

Your career options are numerous as you possess a standardised and transferable skill set that can be applied to any local or international market and almost any financial product or instrument.

You can work for banks, insurance companies, mutual and pension funds, securities firms, and other businesses, helping these companies or their clients make investment decisions. If you’re employed in commercial lending, you perform “balance sheet analysis”, where you examine audited financial statements and data in order to assess lending risks.

Your success is directly related to your proficiency in the use of spreadsheets, databases, PowerPoint presentations and other software applications. You need to put in long hours, develop interpersonal relationships with superiors, be available for all projects and develop communication and people skills by crafting written and oral presentations that impress senior management.

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www.careernav.com.au/career-finder/financial-analyst

Published in: Career Path

Related Careers: Mathematician , Financial Controller * , Actuary * , Auditor *

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