Financial services could include anything to do with money, from investment banking to insurance to accountancy. In this article, we’ll look at the areas of finance you could go into during your career in the sector.
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Types of finance
Structured finance
The term structured finance refers to financial instruments which are created to transfer risk, for example, structuring assets and securities so as to create collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) or asset backed securities at varying risk levels.
This type of financing is usually bespoke and used for institutions where more common financing is not appropriate. These instruments lead to increased liquidity which is great for finding funds for investment.
Corporate finance
Corporate Finance is all about helping corporations raise funding and take actions to increase the shareholder value. It’s a hugely important area of expertise and generates significant revenue in the City so it should be on every graduate’s list for investigation.
In its broadest sense, corporate finance exists to increase shareholder value, often through advice on transactions to raise capital via debt or equity.
It's a two-prong strategy: shareholders need to be paid dividends through the excess cash created by corporate finance. That same finance is then also trying to balance investing and funding with long term profitability.
This segment of the industry is the most complicated and diverse, and it places you at the heart of the financial conversation. The actions that you would take affect the real world on a global scale as you advise the biggest corporations on how they should structure themselves to secure their long term viability - so the sky's the limit.
Financial planning & wealth management
Financial planning is concerned with advising clients on everything from investments to tax to estate management. Clients can be anyone from movie stars to football players to CEOs. It’s a mix of consultancy, financial instruments and client relationships.
Financial planners, or wealth managers or financial advisors, will work with clients with the long term in mind. They’re less concerned with a quick gamble, than with long-term strategic thinking.
The role is immensely varied, you’ll be working across a multitude of financial products and could gain expertise in everything from pensions to tax. Those are in-demand skills – and it’s a growth industry accordingly. What’s more, it’s incredibly client-focused, you’ll be building transferable client relationships and value for yourself.
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Commercial finance
Commercial Finance is all about getting a company into the best financial shape possible. Therefore, this career is an intriguing cross-over between the business world and finance. You may become a financial professional internally within an organisation, not an advisor within a financial institution for clients.
In essence, Commercial Finance is simply finance for commerce. Professionals will advise businesses in various sectors on the performance of their finances and make recommendations. It doesn't entail banking advice such as mergers or capital raising, it's more an umbrella term for the internal financial workings of a company.
Operations
Operations refers to the “back office” role of ensuring the business activities are conducted as efficiently as possible. It’s not the same as the “middle office” roles of IT or Accountancy but refers to tasks such as the clearing of trades or the management of cash.
Operations plays the vital role of ensuring the delivery of services to clients, so while the division does not generate revenue itself, it’s still critical to a Bank’s successful performance.
Specialised markets
Specialist Market professionals are the gurus of their industries for financial advice. Their value-add lies in their detailed and unparalleled knowledge of their chosen sector - a sector which prizes intel above all else.
For some clients, specialised advice is the only route to ensuring sensible strategy and decisions. A professional who has worked on five M&A deals across five sectors can't offer the same depth of experience as a professional who's done five deals in one industry.
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