If you’re a business-minded person with good analytical skills and a strong interest in financial markets, you may want to know about the jobs available in money management. This career is one of the most highly sought-after occupations in business, and as a result, it has some of the strongest competition of any area of finance.
What Does a Money Manager Do?
Money management covers a somewhat broad range of jobs in business, and with a bachelor’s degree, you can do most of the common accounting, finance and investment jobs available to business graduates, although many positions require several years of experience and possibly a professional certification. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that many jobs in this competitive field are increasingly being given to candidates with master’s degrees as well as the necessary experience.
It can be hard to break into this field without spending several years in a related job, learning the skills required to be a fund manager or analyst for an investment firm, and many people get started in less demanding positions at insurance and marketing firms, according to Investopedia. The job of money management marketing is a typical way for financial professionals to get started in pension or hedge fund management, and this job requires general business and communication skills as well as intermediate finance skills.
Pursuing a Money Management Career
A lot of investment analysts get their start in insurance by managing mutual funds and investment packages tied to whole life insurance policies, according to Forbes. Jobs like these are less stressful and competitive than hedge fund or Wall Street finance jobs, but still require expert investment skills to adequately build value for clients. Some of the more demanding jobs can be found on Wall Street working for the big hedge funds and investment firms, and these jobs often require long hours and a high degree of stress and responsibility.
Hedge fund managers are financial and economic experts in charge of investing millions of dollars of their clients’ money in equities, securities and other financial products. Typically, they spend all their time following the transactions they make, while a separate team of people handles investor relations. However, good communication skills are still required to work in high-stakes money management jobs because a team of people must be able to coordinate transactions on a time-sensitive basis. Some of the specific job titles available in money management include portfolio manager, investment advisor, mutual fund analyst and hedge fund manager.
Education and Certification
You can take your first step toward entering this field by getting a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics or business, but whatever degree you choose, make sure to take as many math and statistics classes as possible to get exposure to the kind of analytical thinking you’ll need in your job. You can get started in marketing or insurance, but you’ll have the best opportunities by getting a master’s degree or perhaps by becoming a Certified Public Accountant. You can also give yourself a career boost by becoming a Certified Financial Analyst or Certified Financial Planner.
Related Resource: Insurance Analyst
Business careers are some of the most popular occupations because they pay well and provide positive challenges for motivated people. If you enjoy following stock, commodity and foreign currency trends, you should take a closer look at the jobs available in money management.
