Fast Facts About Financial Analysts

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  Typical Education

  Financial Analysts often have degrees in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or related fields.

  However, it’s not uncommon for financial analysts in highly quantitative roles have more technical degrees in fields such as Engineering, Statistics, or even Physics.

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  How Much do Financial Analysts get Paid?

  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average “median” pay for a Financial Analyst is $80,310, which is far above the average “median” pay for all occupations of $36,200.

  However, Financial Analysts in the 90th percentile earn approximately double that amount, $160,760.  This is the place where αAnalysts live, the top 10% of the field.

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  Typical Job Titles

  Typical job titles for Financial Analysts include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Portfolio Manager
  • Fund Manager
  • Risk Analyst
  • Ratings Analyst
  • Senior Consultant
  • Research Analyst
  • Senior Financial Analyst
  • Securities Analyst
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  Typical Certifications

  Some of the most common certifications for Financial Analysts include the following:

  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  • Chartered Accountant (CA)
  • Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
  • Financial Risk Manager (FRM)
  • Professional Risk Manager (PRM)
  • FINRA Series 7 and Series 63

  Are certifications worth it?  According to Robert Half, “the short answer: Yes. Having a “CPA” or “CFA” behind your name can get you a promotion, a salary bump, or even that new job you covet at a Fortune 500 company.”

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  Typical Employers

  • Diversified Financial Services (e.g., J.P. Morgan, UBS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, RBC, HSBC, Wells Fargo, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Nomura, BNP Paribas, etc.)
  • Big 4 (PwC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and KPMG)
  • Asset Management Companies (e.g., Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street, Fidelity, Allianz, BNY Mellon, PIMCO, etc.)
  • Hedge Funds (e.g., Bridgewater, AQR, Man Group, Millennium Mgmt., Winton Capital Mgmt., Renaissance Technologies, The Baupost Group, Elliott Management, Two Sigma, D.E. Shaw, Och-Ziff, Citadel, etc.)
  • Private Equity (e.g., The Carlyle Group, KKR, Blackstone, etc.)
  • Insurance Companies (e.g., State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, GEICO, Travelers, AIG, Nationwide, Progressive, Farmers Insurance Group, USAA, UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint, Aetna, CIGNA, Humana, etc.)
  • Fortune 500 Corporations (e.g., in divisions such as Corporate Finance, Financial Planning & Analysis, Valuation, Investor Relations, etc.).
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  Typical Workweek and Future Growth

  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 1 in 3 Financial Analysts work “more than 40 hours per week,” and “much of their research must be done after office hours because their days are filled with telephone calls and meetings.”

  Therefore, if you seek to be a world class Financial Analyst, it’s important that you have the dedication to put in the work necessary to achieve the significant rewards and benefits that come with the job.

  “Employment of financial analysts is projected to grow 12 percent” over the next decade, which represents a much faster growth rate than the projected job growth of only 7 percent for all occupations.

The Five Factors That Determine if You Will Succeed as a Financial Analyst

Benefits of Being a Financial Analyst

Excellent Pay and Job Growth, Interesting Work, and Attractive Exit Opps