Investment Management
If you are one of those interested in the ups and downs of the financial market, and is into reading finance based news papers, checking stock prices on the internet or watching CNBC, investment management is the right career choice for you. Investment is one of the most important aspect of capital formation, others being savings and consumption. Investment management plays an important role in designing the financing needs of an undertaking whether it is public or private. The other name of Investment Management is Asset/Money management. In the banking sector, it is referred to as Fund investment management.
Investment management is the process of managing financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, and real assets, such as real estate, to meet the objectives of the owner/investor. Investment management is about managing/raising money by investing it in a variety of asset classes including equities (or shares) and bonds. Investment management includes managing mutual funds, assets, private consulting for individual clients and pension funds for companies, retirement planning and estate planning for individuals. The task involves supervising the proper utilization of hard earned money or assets of the clients. In other sense, investment management involves analyzing the risk and return of various financial assets. Investment management services are sought by investors, which could be companies, banks, insurance firms or individuals, with the purpose of meeting stated financial goals.
Investment manager is one who specializes in placing money in diverse instruments in order to accomplish predetermined goals. Investment managers are found in each and every multinational corporation. They advice and offers expertise to corporations in mergers and acquisitions. Investment managers are also widely known as fund managers. Their functions are more or less same as that of finance managers. In small firms, these positions are often combined. They are responsible for the company’s investment in the market. It means they control inflow and outflow of cash. Through proper forecasting and planning, they determine the best means of investing material and financial resources in order to make profit. They are primarily responsible for the development of new business/ attaining goals of their firms. They analyse the clients financial situation, recommends the best method of raising funds, structures transactions, makes client presentations etc to accomplish the desired goal.
Job Prospects & Career Options
Every business organization, whether big or small, is always in need of good investment managers who can take decision regarding investment in such a manner that maximizes profit. This has increased the demand for efficient investment managers, which in turn brighten the scope for a career in this field. Openings are available in the corporate sector, banking, insurance, mutual funds and financial services sector.
A career in investment management demands a strong knowledge of investments. The main roles within investment management are that of analyst and investment manager. Other job possibilities include security broker positions, security traders, working in private equity, working for bank trust departments, state and local pension funds and in insurance companies or investment bank, as a money manager/investment banker and as a financial planner/analyst. In this field, work pressure is high and you may be required to travel extensively as well as put in long hours of hard work.
One can enter the field as executive trainees/ analyst in the financial sector. With experience, one can climb up the corporate ladder to higher executive levels and even become head of the concerned department. One can even work as an independent consultant, start their own business or join an existing consultancy firm.
The various career options in the field of investment management are:
Investment/Financial analyst: Many business organisations and large pension fund firms require analysts to do the analytical work required before an investment is made. They provide advice on buying and selling of securities after analysing stocks, taking a view on their future outlook and circulating research internally. This is the entry level posting for bachelors degree holders. Work experience of 1-2 years as financial analyst, is an added advantage for applying to a top business school.
Investment manager/ portfolio manager: Investment manager should be a reservoir of knowledge about the market trends. Investment managers will rely heavily on the in-depth research done by analysts when deciding how to invest. They are responsible for investing clients money in profitable ventures. Pension fund or money management firms hire portfolio managers to oversee investing for a group with specific investing aims.
Investment Advisory : They provide investment advice, performance evaluation and quantitative analysis to the money management sector. They offer suggestions regarding where to invest money and when to sell securities. For this deep knowledge of financial market trends is necessary.
Portfolio Management Marketing: It is the marketing side in investment management. If you are outgoing, knowledgeable and has excellent sales skill, then you might consider a sales position in portfolio management. Most companies want people who can make authoritative suggestions about their larger investments
Hedge Fund Principal/Trader: Hedge funds are private funds that involve large sums invested in currencies, bonds, stocks and the like. These funds hire analysts and traders and have exhibited rapid growth in recent years.
Securities brokers: They execute orders to buy and sell securities. Some act only as dealers while others are principally advisors. They work for both institutional clients and individuals. Their services are required by investment firms, pension funds, banks, insurance companies etc.
Equity analyst: With the tremendous growth in equity market scope for equity analyst is much more than earlier. Equity analyst are involved in continuous research of companies performance, financial management and risk return analysis of investment in equity shares.
Institutes
Many institutes in India as well as abroad offer Investment Management courses..
Click on the following link for more details on institutes that teach Business Administration in India and abroad…
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