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If you enjoy working with numbers, devising creative solutions to complex problems, drawing relationships between seemingly unrelated current and historical events, giving succinct advice to others, and you also place a high premium on knowing you will have job security throughout your career, you may want to become an investment manager. Below you will find some basic information about investment management, the preparative work involved in becoming an investment manager, and where investment managers work:
What is an Investment Manager?
Investment managers are responsible for overseeing an individual’s or organization’s portfolio of securities, as well as other accounts, state and federal tax exposure and, on occasion, insurance policies, according to Forbes. They also research potential investments and other possible revenue streams to ensure that their clients’ resources are being used as efficiently and prudently as possible.
How Much Schooling Do You Need to Become an Investment Manager?
A bachelor’s degree is sufficient to position you for a career in investment management. A graduate-level degree, such as a master of business administration (MBA) or a master’s degree in accounting or finance, can be beneficial if you wish to specialize in a particular sub-field of investment. However, post-collegiate schooling is not an absolute necessity if you wish to become an investment manager.
What Do You Need to Study to Become an Investment Manager?
Investment managers come from a wide variety of different professional and academic backgrounds, including finance, economics, mathematics, accounting, engineering, business management and administration, the physical sciences, medicine, social sciences, the humanities and law, among others. Regardless of what your primary areas of study may be or may have been as an undergraduate student, some quantitative skills are necessary to succeed in the world of finance. To prepare yourself for your career, you should seek out courses in corporate finance, international business transactions, financial and managerial accounting, microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, financial markets, financial history, risk management and insurance, international finance, international economics. These will provide you with a solid foundation for your future in investment management.
Where Can You Work as an Investment Manager?
Careers in investment management are vast. You can find work in areas such as:
- Government Agencies
- Insurance Companies
- Banks and Other Financial Institutions
- Corporate Strategy Departments
- Investment Management Firms
- Financial Intermediaries
- Management Consulting
- Professional Services Firms
- Tax Consulting
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Healthcare Industry
What Professional Certifications Do You Need to Become an Investment Manager?
Strictly speaking, investment managers do not need any professional certifications to ply their trade. Even so, you should consider becoming a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), which will require you to pass a multi-part exam not unlike the bar exam for lawyers or the Certified Public Accountant exam.
Related Resource: Internal Auditor
Conclusion
Finding the profession that best fits your skills, priorities and desires can be difficult, and the financial world certainly is not for everyone. However, if you do make the decision to become an investment manager, you will have taken the first step on a challenging, rewarding career path.
