Financial analyst salary
The average financial analyst salary in US is $63,829 but this varies from location to location.
A financial analyst is an individual whose major duty is to carry out the financial analysis of external and internal clients.
Job Description
Financial Analysts are most times grouped into two categories namely; the buy-side and the sell-side.
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A buy-side analyst is an individual who works in recommendation services for a company that is involved in the buying and holding of stocks itself. An example of a buy-side analyst is a fund manager. A sell-side analysts recommendation, in contrast to a buy-side analyst’s work, is not used directly by the firm but it is either sold by the company for monetary gain or for other types of benefits. The research of a sell-side analyst is most often made use of as a resource referred to as “soft money” instead of in direct sales. The research is at times used in the promotion of companies that are researched about when the companies are of interest to the sell-side analyst.
The job of a buy-side analyst is at times seen as a more prestigious type of job even though the sell-side may receive higher remuneration.
By default, a financial analyst will make use of traditional analysis principle. Principles such as technical chart analysis and tactical evaluation of the market are routine principles employed. Most times, at the end of the analysis of the securities, an analyst will be involved in the provision of a recommendation concerning investment actions.
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The sources of information available to a financial analyst include; the study of public records and filing by the company. Analysts, more often than not, gain information from their participation in public conference calls where they can directly question the management. Additional pieces of information are gotten from one-on-one interaction meeting with senior executives in the management team. It is however important to note that getting information through the latter means has been termed as illegal as a result of legislative changes as a result of corporate scandals that took place in the early parts of the 21st century.
Financial analysts are most times employed to work by mutual and pension funds, hedge funds, securities firms, banks, investment banks, insurance companies, and other businesses. The job of analysts in these companies is to help them in making key investment decisions. Financial analysts salary and work are engaged in commercial lending and they perform balance sheet analysis, examination of the audited financial statements and corollary data involved in the assessment of lending risks. In an investment bank, financial analysts are employed to read financial statements and in the analysis of commodity prices, sales, costs, expenses, and tax rates for the determination of a company’s value and its future earnings. Analysts have a duty to study and identify company prospects and to study the entire industry and factors affecting where they work in such as trends, products, and so on. They are also required to keep themselves updated on industry regulations and policies.
Financial analysts employ the use of spreadsheet packages and an array of finance software for the analysis of financial data and trends and the development of forecasts. Based on the results gotten, they make recommendations on investment decisions relating to a particular security. If an analyst is responsible for the trading of an asset, he may take the decision to buy or sell on behalf of the company. Other analysts use the information gathered for risk assessment.
A financial analyst is sometimes required to work in groups when working in the investment banking sector. These groups are made to collectively analyses company prospects and make more informed recommendations. Financial analysts are also involved in mergers and acquisition departments.
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There are types of financial analysts called ratings analysts, who work in rating agencies. They work in the evaluation of the ability of companies who are involved in the issue to offset debts. Based on their analysis and evaluation, a management team will assign a rating to the firm’s bonds. Other financial analysts are involved in budget, cost, and credit analysis.
Qualifications of Financial Analysts
A lot of firms require that their analysts earn at least, a master’s degree in finance or the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. There are also a lot of regulatory requirements that vary from one country to another.
