Jobs for MBA graduates are demanding but rewarding.
MBA finance freshers help institutions identify, price and track business and operational risks, assess operating performance and evaluate internal controls and processes. They also work with financial and budget analysts to advise on short and long-run investment strategies. These experts may trade firms' funds on securities exchanges as proprietary traders.
Risk Managers
Risk managers use complex statistical formulas and computer algorithms to appraise, control and monitor risks in transactions firms are engaged in. These experts use finance, accounting and compliance skills to analyze exposures in "high-risk" segments and recommend corrective actions. Exposures are losses that may occur in business activities, such as market, credit, regulatory and operational risks. "High," "medium" and "low" risk ratings are based on managers' assessments of potential loss amounts. Market risk arises from changes in securities prices. Credit risk is the risk of loss due to business partner defaults.
Traders
Traders engage in securities markets' activities by buying, holding or selling investment products. They are called proprietary traders when they use firms' funds to invest in markets. Gains and losses derived from proprietary activities are recorded in firms' financial statements. Traders work with research, corporate finance and wealth management departments to assess security prices, risk levels and risk-protection techniques. Risk protection is also risk hedging. Traders also work with assistants to price securities.
Traders' Assistants
Traders' assistants are math experts who use econometrics and statistics to gauge security movements and price financial instruments. Security movement is also referred to as volatility, and is a measure of market risk. Assistants advise portfolio managers, proprietary traders and clients on investment strategies, and recommend securities based on valuation models. For instance, an assistant might advise a portfolio manager to purchase Company XYZ's convertible bonds, because such bonds are undervalued based on pricing tools.
Private Bankers
Private bankers are also known as wealth managers or personal financial advisers. They have expertise in finance, economics, tax law, estate planning and international business. They help clients analyze financial information, evaluate investment objectives and risk profiles, select investments and manage portfolios in the long run. Such clients include retirement funds, philanthropic organizations, hedge funds, university or college endowments and high net worth individuals. Clients' risk profiles indicate whether they are risk-averse---that is, tolerate a minimum risk---or "risk-takers."
Research Analysts
Research departments hire individuals with finance, statistics and economics expertise. Analysts focus on specific geographic areas, product lines or economic sectors and issue periodic reports to investment managers and firms' clients. They may also partner with traders' assistants and risk managers to analyze portfolio risk-reward ratios, evaluate completeness and accuracy in firms' financial information and advise on short or long-run investment strategies. Risk-reward ratios indicate how much investors are willing to lose given certain risk levels.
Tags: investment strategies, proprietary traders, work with, advise portfolio, advise short, advise short long-run