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Yes, Investment Management is a good career path. This path is important for individual finances and for business finance. There are many different offshoots to this career, so you can find a path that best suits your interests and your end goals.
Most people who enter investment management will end up being very well compensated for their efforts. The trick is that it does take an advanced degree, often additional credentials, and several years of experience before you actually make the role of an investment manager.
The good news is that by the time you get to that point, you’ve had enough time in the field to know if it’s really something that appeals to you.
From there on out, it’s a fascinating job that lets you work with numbers and money while keeping your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the economy.
Here are 11 great jobs in Investment Management:
The 5 Best-Paying Jobs in Investment Management
There is great potential for any job in the Investment Management field to be very lucrative. Anytime you’re dealing in finance, and there is a position of earned experience and knowledge, not to mention a great deal of trust, there is a potential for a high paycheck.
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Average Annual Salary: $78,000
The main job of a financial analyst is to review data, the market, current trends, and predictions to find opportunities and make recommendations for investments. It’s a difficult job that requires great knowledge and insight into market trends and finance.
If the financial analyst is working within a corporation or helping businesses, they’ll need to know what the financial goals of the company are, and they will try to tailor their financial approach to suit those goals. Working with businesses can be more difficult than working with individual investors as there is often more money involved.
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Trader
Average Annual Salary: N/A
Financial traders are investors who typically deal in the stock market, but they also work in futures and other securities. There are many different types of traders and different ways of approaching trading, but it’s a lucrative career, no matter what the details of the position are.
Traders rely heavily on analysts and their own analysis of the market and what’s happening in the world at the time. Some of them then spend their day fighting to make trades happen and get the best deals for their clients. Their clients can be individuals, but more often than not, they’re large investment firms that manage many smaller clients.
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Average Annual Salary: $157,000
Investment bankers are typically hired to work directly with or in a corporation or government branch. Their job is to advise their boss or employer on what positions to take financially. They can be at the helm of becoming a publicly-traded company or be involved in raising money and issuing stock.
Some companies do not need a full-time investment banker, but they do need one from time to time. These professionals can be hired to work on a contract basis and help the company accomplish its goals before leaving to go assist another company.
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Corporate Finance Manager
Average Annual Salary: N/A
The corporate finance manager is employed by a corporation to help the company make the most of its assets and maximize its bottom line. They understand all of the financial dealings of the company in great detail and are geared toward long-term financial goals.
While a corporate finance manager will understand the day-to-day operations of a company and the finances involved, they often won’t be handling this aspect of finance. Their job is to target large financial reserves and create investment capital.
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Average Annual Salary: $126,000
A portfolio manager can have individual clients or corporate clients. Their task, no matter who the client is, is to review the overall goals of the client and determine the best and most efficient way to achieve them through investments.
When people talk about jobs in investment management, this is the one career that most people out of the industry instinctively think of. It’s a job with a lot of responsibility, and it can also provide the manager with a lot of wealth through their income.
10 Entry-Level Jobs in Investment Management
The field of investment management is not like many other fields in that there aren’t a lot of entry-level positions. Even the most junior jobs require a degree and some years of professional experience. To get that external experience in the world of finance and a foot in the door, you might find some additional jobs that are adjacent to investment management and can serve as an entrance to this field.
The following entry-level jobs may fall into investment management, or they can help you get into a similar field and make your way over into investment management in the future.
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Average Annual Salary: $40,000
A research assistant is the research analyst’s right-hand person or people because an analyst may have several assistants working under them. While the final decisions will come from the research analyst, the assistant is tasked with pulling the key data together.
Financial research assistants who know the ropes may also be called upon to study, evaluate, and create models to help the analyst. This is a great entrance into this field and can eventually help someone rise to the research analyst role.
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Junior Analyst
Average Annual Salary: N/A
A junior financial analyst is on their way up to the senior role. Their first stop will be working in a junior capacity.
Most junior analysts will be working under someone who will task them with their day-to-day jobs, which include: preparing financial reports, reviewing and summarizing market trends, doing a deep dive into a customer’s financial path, and looking at statistics, costs, and margin structures.
A junior analyst will first learn how to collect the data they need. Their next step will be learning to understand and analyze that information. Eventually, they’ll become comfortable enough with the routine to be able to move up the ranks.
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Average Annual Salary: $109,000
When working as a portfolio assistant, the individual will prepare documents and reports as required by the portfolio manager. In addition to preparing information that will be used to bolster the portfolio, they may also be responsible for keeping an eye on the portfolio itself and making reports that reflect its status.
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Average Annual Salary: $94,000
Before becoming a financial trader, you might have to do some time as a training assistant. There are a lot of tasks involved with this position, including preparing and processing documents, performing data entry, and maybe even a little analysis.
Understanding basic accounting principles is key to this position, and most people who begin at this job have a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a similar field.
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Average Annual Salary: $59,000
In the investment management world, the underwriting group is responsible for raising capital for a client from other investors. They’re usually involved in initial public offerings or IPOs and charged with selling stocks and bonds to investors.
Underwriters work in three main areas, the planning of stock sales, assessing timing for stock sales, and the way the sales will be structured. Understanding the industry and the market in great detail is key for this position.
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Private Equity Associate
Average Annual Salary: N/A
A private equity associate is charged with helping investment firms make deals. They will find potential investors, help the investments appear appealing, and assist on the closing end of the deal as well.
As an entry-level employee, you’ll be charged with helping monitor portfolios, providing analytics, preparing reports, assisting with paperwork that’s involved in deals, and looking to make sales happen.
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Average Annual Salary: $81,000
Not all risk analyst jobs are in the entry-level category, but it is possible to find some that fall into this arena. The risk analyst looks at a company’s investment portfolio and looks at how much risk they can manage with their investments.
Most risk analysts are expected to come up with recommendations that limit the amount of risk, bring some diversification into the mix, and propose other investment strategies. If you find an entry-level risk analyst job, the odds are good that you’ll be working under a more senior person who will have you doing more analysis and fewer recommendations – at least initially.
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Average Annual Salary: $55,000
You may find that some firms are willing to take on stockbrokers who are just starting out in the field. Most of them will actually prefer you to have a bachelor’s degree, but after that, they’ll consider you for this position with the understanding that you will go on to earn the appropriate licenses and certifications necessary to work as a stockbroker.
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Average Annual Salary: $62,000
An entry-level credit analyst is responsible for reviewing the credit history and financial backgrounds of individuals or companies to see if they’re a good fit for the loans they’re requesting. This is a job in finance but is not directly an investment management job. It’s one of those positions that can help you earn experience and get your foot in the door.
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Average Annual Salary: $74,000
Understanding the economic undercurrent of the market, the industry, and the world, in general, is a big part of what an economic analyst does on a daily basis. Typically, their background includes a bachelor’s degree in economics, so studying what is happening in the economy is nothing new.
The goal of an economic analyst as a professional is to help determine the statistical probability of a particular stock or industry’s performance. Most of the jobs for this type of professional are in government or corporate businesses.
Why Choose a Career in Investment Management
If you love numbers and finance, then going down the path of investment management may be an easy choice. There are a lot of benefits to this career which can be very appealing.
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There’s huge potential for job growth and security. The business of investment is not going anywhere, so there will always be jobs in this field. In fact, there may be more and more of them on the horizon, so getting in the field now is a great step in the right direction.
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Financial rewards can be huge. The pay for being in investment management, like most other aspects of finance, is very generous. If you’re financially driven, this career will definitely satisfy your desire to make money.
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The field is dynamic and fascinating. Understanding financial trends is an interesting area of study that offers you many different models of interpretation. There is often no one right answer, which can lead to interesting discourse and deeper study into economics.
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You’re well respected. Working in finance has a level of respect and power that not all fields have. Your educated opinion is valued, and people pay attention to what you have to say. They also tend to be very forgiving when you’re wrong as they understand you’re just making predictions, not guarantees.
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You’re always learning. Being able to give advice on investing in different industries means you need to have an understanding of what these industries do and how they make their money. If you love learning and knowing a bit about everything, then this is definitely a great career path.
Education and Certification Requirements for a Career in Investment Management
A career in investment management is going to start with a bachelor’s degree in almost all situations. That degree can be in finance, accounting, economics, or business administration. Many people feel even that isn’t enough, and they go on to earn their master’s degree in business, administration, finance, or economics.
Beyond that, there might be even more certification, credentialing, or licenses required, depending on the field you’re in. These are just a few of the educational avenues you might want to explore to get into the field of investment management.
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Bachelor’s Degree. A bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or business administration is preferred. If you’re going on to get your master’s, then your bachelor’s field of study might be less significant.
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Master’s Degree. For many, a bachelor’s simply isn’t enough for the position, and a master’s degree in some area of finance or business will be a better approach to that dream job.
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On-the-Job Training. Having several years of experience is essential if the end goal is a career in investment management. This means that there is a lot left to be learned once you leave school and enter the job market.
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Job Specific Certifications. There are a lot of certificates and other credentials that someone can earn in this field. Usually, they’re in a specific job path and one that aligns with your professional goals. Some of them are:
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Chartered financial analyst (CFA)
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Certified financial planner (CFP)
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Chartered financial consultant (ChFC)
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Certified public accountant (CPA)
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Chartered life underwriter (CLU)
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What Do People Working in Investment Management Do?
Investment managers handle the financial assets of other people and/or businesses. They buy and sell assets, and they create strategies for the long and short term. There are a lot of different specialties which can fall under the investment management umbrella, which means it’s a good place for people who have an interest in finance to enter, find a niche, and carve out a career path.
If the idea of helping people or companies find ways to manage their money and establish financial goals is appealing, then this field might be where you want to set your sights. Investment managers are highly skilled and usually have quite a bit of education, but there are several careers that fall under that umbrella that might also be appealing to someone just entering the business or looking for experience.
- Finance
- Energy
- Commodities
- Health Care
- Transportation
- Consumer
- Pharma
- Services
- Retail
Author
Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.
