Studies & Degrees in Finance
Choose where you would like to study Finance:
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International University of Catalonia
International University of Catalonia
What exactly is Finance program? It can be defined simply as the science of funds management. Business finance, personal finance, and public finance are three of the many general areas of Finance. However, students can also explore other areas like the banking sectors and work for commercial banking and investment banking. As future economist, finance officers, managers, the program will not just give students a very good training ground but with a huge portfolio of management skills that will prepare them in accepting career duties and responsibilities in corporate or private finance. Students can even pursue higher studies and have their master’s degree or doctorate degree after completing the bachelor degree in Finance. In fact, there are also online higher education courses in Finance and every course’s aim is to equip students with in-depth knowledge on technology, ethics, e-business, problem solving, research methodologies, critical thinking, and statistical analyses.
Finance program is the narrow version of accounting degree. The diverse business functions that accounting degree covers become simplified and specific in Finance studies. High-profile positions await degree holders as they join business organizations, banks, stockholders and suppliers in their business ventures, and even government agencies. Students of the program are not merely trained to increase their aptitude in mathematics but to widen and strengthen their abilities in implementing organizational regulations needed in achieving financial growth. The sea of employment opportunities provided by students with a Finance degree will give them a bigger leap in becoming successful in their specific field.
Fundamental management skills and tools are provided to the students by their extremely capable educators and the academic institution that served as their training ground. With their quality education, it would be less difficult for them to analyze and execute the financial aspects of managerial decision making. Aspiring finance professionals are given job opportunities that include positions in various areas namely: corporate and international financial management, investment services, and personal financial planning. Organizations like brokerage firms, commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies, and financial intermediary companies are more than wiling to hire students who have acquired relevant education and developed significant qualifications to meet their high standards.
Finance education helps students to be equipped with deeper understanding of the financial markets and its acquisitions and the investments acquired by organizations within public and private spheres and domestic and international domains. They will simply find it easy and helpful as they access and employ financial information needed in performing their tasks accordingly.
Certainly, the economy is getting competitive by the day. Hence, Finance students should cope with the changes taking place and be able to take advantage of the opportunities in store for them. The finance and banking economy for instance has grown so much in the recent years and the increased complexities of the investment options is a proof. Other than the mentioned careers above, Finance degree holders are also qualified to become money market analysts, risk analyst, tax analyst, acquisition analyst, treasury analysts, financial advisors, and finance managers.
Job positions for Finance:
Stock Broker
Being a Stock Broker is perhaps one of the most exciting jobs. Flashing stock symbols and prices, frantic phone calls and pandemonium on the trading floor are the usual scenarios seen when coverage of live stock market action are shown. In the movies, Stock Brokers are usually depicted having appointments with high important people, wearing Armani suits, going to power lunches and most of all on occasion gets invited by clients to trips and vacation holidays.
Basically, Stock Brokers should have an analytical mind. This will come in handy when reading business news articles, so he can readily correlate the facts in the news to potential impact on probable company stocks or industries to be affected. A strong will is the secret of those Stock Brokers who have managed to stay in the industry for so long. Sometimes it is really hard to sell at a lose hoping for the price to come back up but sometimes cutting losses is necessary to prevent further losses. There are no Brokers who had a 100% profit batting average.
Normally Stock Brokers are paid by commission on a per-transaction basis. Although, at first it may sound like a typical sales job but when a Broker gets really good, there’ll come a point when the Brokers can choose clients they would just like to take on. Veteran Brokers prefer a commission-based income because they can have greater income potential. Imagine this scenario, if a certain Mr. John Doe asks his broker to buy a million shares of Microsoft shares and then a few hours later asks the Broker to sell them, this means that the Broker transacted roughly about $50 million because the price of Microsoft shares are hovering around the $23 price. Imagine the commission the Broker made in just a matter of hours.
Established stock brokerage houses like JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley give top-of-the-line remuneration packages because their in-house brokers doesn’t need to do marketing efforts as these broker houses are established and already have an established clientele.
There are two types of accounts a Stock Broker handles, one is an order-taker type and the other is a discretionary one where the Broker has full liberty to buy and sell in behalf of his clients. When Brokers make the wrong call, like, selling his clients holdings then the stock surged right after selling them or bought stocks and then the price goes lower, clients can’t help but doubt their Broker’s decision making and calls their immediate supervisor. To avoid Client-Broker disputes, even though the account is a discretionary type, it is always prudent to let the client know what the battle plan is. Like, “Mr. Client, word is abuzz that a merger is in the offing between IBM and Oracle making the new company the second largest IT-company, if activity picks up, I will buy both stocks and sell them when the news comes out” or something like that. This way, clients are informed fully what’s happening since, after all, it’s their money.
Those who want to live a fast-paced, roller-coaster life like those of Stock Brokers, a license is a requirement. No particular degree is really needed however, there are now courses specializing in Financial Markets which would equip prospecting to become Stock Brokers the necessary knowledge on the ins and outs of high-finance.