The field of financial analysis is all-encompassing, forming a wide net that covers dozens of individual job duties and titles. Some professionals in the field basically call themselves financial analysts, while others perform their duties under a multitude of related titles, such as risk manager, equity analyst, ratings analyst, fund manager and portfolio manager. The above professionals are all financial analysts, but what they do on a regular basis diverges based on the specific subsection of financial analysis in which they work.
Often, individuals fail to understand the multiplicity of financial analysts. Their vision of the career is bigoted, focusing only on the equity analysts who help large corporate clients make investing decisions and work for the big investment banks, or assist the banks themselves with assessing the potential of companies wishing to go public. While these jobs encompass a sizable portion of the field, financial analysis is so much more.
Financial Analysts all Work for Big Investment Banks.
Financial analysts can work on the sell side or the buy side. Buy-side analysts report to fund managers and scrutinize potential investment opportunities. They collect monetarist statements and other market data to make estimates as to which companies in the market represent the best investment opportunities. They prepare reports highlighting detailed quantitative analysis to support their conclusions.Sell-side analysts benefit investment banks determine which companies to take public. Taking a firm public means brokering the sale of equity in the company to the public through an IPO or initial public offering. Some IPOs are enthusiastically successful, while others become remarkable disasters where the company crashes soon afterward. The sell-side equity analyst breaks down monetarist data from prospective IPO opportunities to help his employer avoid failures and locate future successes.
An all-inclusive world of financial analysts exists outside the prestigious niche of equity analysis. These professionals instead work for regional and local banks, insurance companies, pension funds, independent money managers, and within a swarm of specific industries such as construction, energy, and real estate.
Financial analysts work for myriad companies, in myriad industries, performing myriad duties. Prior to launching his oil and gas career Cody Winters worked in Corporate Finance for Agilent Technologies where he was in charge for the financial analysis of capital projects and strategic planning reporting to the CFO. For example, large insurance companies that operate on an analyst system, hire financial analysts at the commercial level to examine financial data at various levels, including topographical region and product type such as auto, home and life insurance, all the way down to separate agents and agencies.
The insurance company financial analyst Cody Winters of Southlake Resources Group helps his firm determine where current weaknesses and strengths lie, and he makes forecasts to project from where upcoming profits and losses are going to come. Other financial analysts help their employers with investments that have nothing to do with bond or stock markets. An analyst for a commercial real estate investor might be sent to estimate potential cash flows and operating costs, check out a vacant property, and eventually help determine if it is a wise investment. With an environmental uprising in full swing, an employer may task a financial analyst to project the break-even point if it retrofitted its headquarters with green technology and green energy.
