Finance is one of the most important fields in any department, business or education segment. Nowadays, people are realizing the need of finance and its various fields. But before going into depth of finance, let’s first understand the meaning of Finance.
Finance is a term used for management of money, estimation of need of finance and generation funds in any entity. It covers all areas associated with Banking, Capital Markets, Money Markets, Investments, Credit etc.
Finance is majorly divided into 3 categories-
- Finance for people (Personal Finance),
- Finance for Businesses (Corporate Finance)
- Finance for Government (Public Finance).
Finance has very wide applicability and there are a large number of companies which have started recruiting finance professionals with sound finance knowledge. Finance is a very important division in any company which comprises of CFO and Financial Analysts. Other than the Finance Division, there are companies which are solely operating under the finance Industry known as Financials Institutions (FIs).
Financial Institutions cover Banks (Includes Large Banks, Retail Banks and International Banks), Insurance Companies, Brokerage Firms, Investment Banking Companies, Consulting Firm, Finance KPOs, Private Equity Funds, Hedge Funds, Merchant Bankers etc. These FIs demand large no. of finance personnel and offer them considerably a good amount of package (starting from INR 10 Lakh).
To build the career in finance, it is required to attain the finance knowledge either through MBA or finance courses. Here, in this article, I will be listing some courses which can help you build your career in Finance.
Certified Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA is a post-graduation certification provided to Students/ professionals working in the finance Industry by CFA Institute. The Certification is globally accepted and highly accredited. It is very influential for recruiters and recruiters give a high weightage to CFA charter-holders. CFA charter- holders straight away gets recruitment at Analyst/ Senior Analyst or Associate level.
CFA has 3 levels of examination; CFA Level 1, level 2 and Level 3 and takes around 3 years to complete. One can appear for the next level only if they cleared till the previous level.
- Subjects: Quantitative Methods, Ethics, Economics, Financial Reporting, Corporate Finance, Equity, Fixed Income, Derivatives etc.
- Fees Structure: Enrolment Fees– USD 450 and Exams Registration Fees- USD 700- 1,450 for each level
- Functional Area: Portfolio Manager, Equity Research Analyst, Investment Banking Analyst, Mutual Funds etc.
- Institutes for CFA Coaching: The Wallstreet School, Analyst Prep, Fintree etc.
- CFA Institute Website Link: https://www.cfainstitute.org/
For more information, refer to our CFA Blog
Course on Equity Research
One of the major key finance areas is into capital markets and Equity Research. The demand is rising for Equity Research Analysts especially in India because of the growing Stock Exchanges markets; NSE, BSE, others etc. and growing brokerages firms. The course provides in-depth knowledge of stock market and helps in analyzing public traded companies.
The course is getting a lot of traction these days in India as more companies are filing for IPOs and more individuals are starting to invest in Stock Markets (which is currently only 2% in India). The major attractive part is incentives associated with the profile.
- Functional Area: Equity Research Companies, Brokerage Houses, Hedge Funds etc.
- Institutes offering the Course: BSE Institute, NSE India, Kredent Academy etc.
For more information, refer to our blog on Equity Research
Financial Risk Manager (FRM)
FRM is another highly accredited course provided exclusively by GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals). FRM is the study of any Business/ firm through estimation of various risk profiles; Company Risk, Market Risk, Operational Risk, Credit Risk etc. There are no specific eligibility criteria for entering and passing the FRM exam.
FRM is an option for those individuals who aspire to make their career into risk associated profiles like hedge funds and Banks dealing in Money Markets. People generally confuse FRM with CFA exam and use the words together, however, there are lots of difference in the two. Furthermore, for becoming FRM, one has to only clear 2 parts/ levels of exam.
- Subjects: Risk Management, Quantitative Analysis, Valuation & Risk Models, Operational Risk, Market Risk, Credit Risk etc.
- Fees Structure: Enrolment Fees– USD 400 and Exams Registration Fees- USD 425- 725 for each part
- Functional Area: Hedge Funds, Commercial Banks, Insurance Companies etc.
- Institutes for FRM Coaching:
- GARP Institute Website Link: https://www.garp.org/
For more information, refer to FRM Blog
Course on Financial Modeling & Investment Banking
Another key area in Finance is Investment Banking wherein the knowledge of financial modeling is required. With the emergence of finance fields and startup ecosystem, the companies are realizing the need of funds which helps them to grow and an Investment Banker helps companies to raise funds from the markets (from investors, funds etc.).
It you really aspire to be in an Investment Bank, knowledge of financial modeling is an important factor for job selection. Employers give higher weightage to candidates having knowledge of Financial Modeling.
And, let’s understand the term financial Modeling first. Financial Modeling is a study of company’s past financials and a process of projecting the future financials (Statement of Profile & Loss Account, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement). The Course will include teachings on preparation of full financial model from scratch.
- Functional Area: Investment Banking Companies, Private Equity Funds etc.
- Institutes offering the Course: There are some Institutes which also provide course on full Investment Banking which gives the teaching based on the day to day activities of Investment Banker. The WallStreet School, Imarticus, Edupristine etc.
For more information, refer to Blog on Financial Modeling- A complete Overview
Course on Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance is an integral division of finance which takes all the decisions pertaining to financing whether in taking investment decisions, budgeting decisions etc. The major role of corporate finance team is to generate efficiency and profitability in the business and maximize the interests of shareholders by creating more wealth in the business.
Major Scope of Corporate finance lies in 3 business decisions- Investment decisions, financing decision and dividend decision. All the decisions are crucial to any company for the purpose of maximizing the return on investment and thus the corporate finance division yields more value to the management and shareholders.
- Functional Area: Finance Division of Multinationals and big corporates
- Institutes offering the Course: There are various institutes which offer courses on corporate finance and it is also taught as a subject in Business Schools as a part of their curriculum. For Eg. Corporate Finance Institute, Coursera, Udemy etc.
