Career in the markets

[merlinnn]

Hi guys and girls,

I had ambitions of becoming a financial planner until recently speaking to a few people in and some that have left the industry. It seems all is not well or as well as I thought it would be. Anyway my interest's lie more so in the market then SOA's and insurance, however I believe that becoming a broker or analyst is a lot harder then an fp, is this correct? Could anyone that works in the markets possibly give any advice? how they started, the good and the bad. Btw I am 31 currently project manager, studying financial planning through RMIT

Cheers

 

[tech/a]

Hi guys and girls,

I had ambitions of becoming a financial planner until recently speaking to a few people in and some that have left the industry. It seems all is not well or as well as I thought it would be. Anyway my interest's lie more so in the market then SOA's and insurance, however I believe that becoming a broker or analyst is a lot harder then an fp, is this correct? Could anyone that works in the markets possibly give any advice? how they started, the good and the bad. Btw I am 31 currently project manager, studying financial planning through RMIT

Cheers

Id stay in Project Management.
I have friends Managing Multi story buildings in China being paid $250K/ quarterly contract.

 

[builder2818]

I was actually considering the same thing. I am 29 and work as a builder for a large construction company. The money isn't that good where I am and I hate getting up at 5am everyday including Saturdays to put up with the degenerates that make up the construction industry as I resolve arguments/disputes or get in them almost every day.

Is the financial planning industry that bad? Is it possible the people you spoke to are **** at their job and so get no enjoyment out of it?

 

[merlinnn]

I was actually considering the same thing. I am 29 and work as a builder for a large construction company. The money isn't that good where I am and I hate getting up at 5am everyday including Saturdays to put up with the degenerates that make up the construction industry as I resolve arguments/disputes or get in them almost every day.

Is the financial planning industry that bad? Is it possible the people you spoke to are **** at their job and so get no enjoyment out of it?

It's not the fact they are bad at their job, they just appeared to be a bit jaded with the industry. The whole commision thing, the fact that the actual FP's are more sales people then investment gurus etc. Don't get me wrong I know nothing about the industry apart from what other people have told me and I imagine their would be some great parts to it, however my interest has been in the market for a long time and I guess Financial planning seemed like an easy career transition as opposed to broker etc, where job ads seem to be few and far between.

At the end of the day I really want to learn to invest for myself and family and figure the best way to do this is under someones wing instead of teaching myself.

I am half way through my diploma with Kaplan and will be finished my first year at uni at the end of this year. Although I am a project manager at the moment it is in the security industry so the money is not that great either.

 

[builder2818]

My introduction to the markets was when I invested my money on the advice off a financial planner I was recommended to. I lost $40k. At first I didn't blame him because it was the GFC when I started but realised 12 months later after studying that my losses could have been minimal if not none at all.

I still remember him telling me that stock markets recover and when they do, they go on to make new highs. It's funny, because although it is true, it is the time frame that it takes to actually get there.

I obviously didn't understand the whole commission thing which gives the FP industry a bad name back then and was too silly at the time to not understand why he didn't recommend property as an investment (he couldn't make commission on any products there).

I have actually been thinking about this a lot for the last couple of weeks. I guess I can always give it a shot, I always have building to fall back on. I too have a strong interest in the markets and would love to get a career amongst it all but I know I couldn't get through a university course and even that isn't a guarantee I will be employed anywhere.

 

[Julia]

I still remember him telling me that stock markets recover and when they do, they go on to make new highs. It's funny, because although it is true, it is the time frame that it takes to actually get there.

You've nailed a really important truth here, something so many long term buy and hold fans either fail to understand or are too lazy to do anything about.
The market is still substantially below its Nov 07 high and not looking like getting back there any time soon.

I've sent you a PM, builder 2818.

 

[mazzatelli]

Hi guys and girls,

I had ambitions of becoming a financial planner until recently speaking to a few people in and some that have left the industry. It seems all is not well or as well as I thought it would be. Anyway my interest's lie more so in the market then SOA's and insurance, however I believe that becoming a broker or analyst is a lot harder then an fp, is this correct? Could anyone that works in the markets possibly give any advice? how they started, the good and the bad. Btw I am 31 currently project manager, studying financial planning through RMIT

You are not "old", but I'd highly recommend more research is done other than word of mouth before transitioning, since you could be expending a lot of effort, with little results.

As an example, there have been plenty who have landed back office roles as analysts related to the markets - only to find they are rec and spreadsheet bunnies. The pay is average, the hours could be long, and it takes time and further studies to get out of back office.

I'd recommend the book "Vault guide to finance interviews" as it gives a run down of the variety of roles related to finance and markets. I haven't looked at this in a few years, so maybe any recent grads on this site can provide feedback.

It's hard to pinpoint certain skill sets, because the roles vary so much. e.g. M&A would favour strong fin, accounting and legal backgrounds
Fixed income and derivatives - strong quantitative background
etc etc

So until you become more specific, its quite difficult to say

 

[merlinnn]

I'd recommend the book "Vault guide to finance interviews" as it gives a run down of the variety of roles related to finance and markets. I haven't looked at this in a few years, so maybe any recent grads on this site can provide feedback.

just downloaded a copy thanks for your advice