Jobs for graduates, MBA grads
The financial services sector looks for graduates with commerce, economics, finance, mathematics and a management background. Candidates start in financial advisory companies, in mutual fund houses and in stock brokerage firms

In a stock brokingcompany, the function areas include sales and marketing, fund accounting, investment and research, operations and administration. You can be an advisor or a technical analyst. Once you gain four to five years of experience, you can move on to be a senior  research analyst and some years later, a fund manager. As a fund manager, you have to be apt at portfolio management skills and possess knowledge of various asset classes to take decisions on buying and selling

There are back office functions such as fund accounting, IT/network support also. The compliance areas in mutual funds and brokering firms also recruit candidates possessing law degree or a company secretarial degree. The job is also open to NCFM-certificated candidates, the examination of which is conducted by National Stock Exchange (NSE). Various stock exchanges such as Bombay Stock ExchangeNational Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), NSE, other commodity exchanges and market entities such as NSDLSEBI and power trading exchanges also have job openings at various levels.

Where you can work
As a stock broker, you may work with institutional investors as securities traders, securities analysts, advisors or dealers. Brokers also work with banks, MF, pension funds, insurance companies and other FIs or work with individual clients. Small time stock-brokers perform the combined roles of researchers, equity and investment analysts as well as that of financial advisors.

Companies depend on researchers and analysts to understand the market behaviour and make investment decisions. One division of capital market called the Equity Capital Market deals with trading shares and the other, Debt capital Market, deals with fixed income.

Companies hire equity analysts to research the market and suggest profitable investment options. The research analysts do the valuation, and track the companies’ financial performance. Organisations also hire investment analysts who research, study and analyse financial reports of companies. The analysts also study market and company statistics, stock performance, assess financial results and suggest long/short-term investment options.

You can rise in the corporation to become a fund manager. They identify buying and selling opportunities,and risk return trade-off while maintaining knowledge of liquidity requirement

The advisors or financial planners understand the financial goals of the customers. They chart out a plan of action for them, so that their financial goals can be realised.