Financial Analysts and Advisors
Financial analysts and personal financial advisors gather and analyze economic information and make recommendations to clients based on their findings. Financial analysts primarily examine the fiscal performance of companies and industries so they can offer firms well-founded advice on where to invest money. Personal financial advisors assess the monetary needs of individuals and provide them with options for improving their financial situations.As a financial analyst, you would use spreadsheet and statistical software to analyze data, spot trends, and create economic forecasts. After drawing conclusions from this data, you would then advise your client on the risks and the benefits of certain sales, purchases, and investments. Analysts must understand financial statements, commodity pricing, sales, costs, expenses, and tax rates in order to make appropriate recommendations.
Personal financial advisors take an individual's short- and long-term goals into account and use their familiarity with investments and tax laws to make recommendations based on these goals. Financial planners can offer general investment advice or specialize in specific areas like retirement and estate planning, college funds, and risk management. Building a customer base is one the most important aspects of a financial planner's job, as many advisors are self-employed and nearly all of the professionals in this industry rely on referrals.
In most cases, financial analysts and advisors need a college education. A bachelor degree in business administration, accounting, statistics, or finance is preferred by the majority of employers and clients. Analysts and advisors commonly work for insurance carriers, banks, credit institutions, securities and commodities brokers, and large financial companies. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, financial analysts in the U.S. made an average of $66,590 a year in 2006. Personal financial advisors earned an average of $66,120 annually. [Figures including job projections, reported median incomes, and salary estimates were revised to reflect data from 2006 on 2/20/08.]