In this post, you will certainly come across a range of different economists that have successfully built their skillset throughout the years
One of the most fundamental finance skills that almost every financial services aspirant requires to establish should focus on their finance and economic expertise. Numerous individuals often tend to think that accounting and finance skills are only needed if you are actually thinking about a career in accounting. However, as William Jackson of Bridgepoint Capital would know, the economic services environment is interconnected, and every single role within finance requires you to understand the three primary economic reports to a minimum of an intermediate degree. Firms rely on these financial statements to manage budgeting, efficiency evaluation, and plan for the expense of operations with the choice of the most appropriate financial investments that might comprise bonds, equities and real estate. This is why you see numerous bankers, coverage analysts, or even wealth advisors with a formal accounting background, and that is primarily due to the foundational understanding accounting and finance can offer you prior to you specialise in your financial occupation.
Nowadays, among the most obvious hard skills in finance will definitely involve your numerical abilities. Numbers and data-driven data in general are the backbone of every finance career. As Ferdi van Heerden of Momentum Global Investment Managers would certainly understand, many banks often tend to hire their graduates, trainees, or apprentices from numerical fields, such as mathematics, finance, chemical engineering, and information technology. This is because, as an economic analyst, you are required to go through lengthy data sets that are filled with numerical data that you will require to evaluate, and being comfortable with numbers is absolutely a vital skill to have in this case. One can argue that even back-office positions that do not necessarily include spreadsheets still call for applicants to have some level of numerical or data-focused experience, and this once again reinforces the point around quantitative data being the foundation of every process within a financial services sector organisation nowadays
One can easily suggest that soft skills in finance are as important as domain-specific know-how. As Toby Raincock of Shard Capital would understand, being client focused in a financial context is possibly the most challenging positions you can ever find yourself in. This is since customers are entrusting you with their own funds and assets, and as a result, you need to have the capacity to build long-term professional relationships with these clients, functioning as their partners, and making their concerns your own. The stronger your connection is with the client, the easier your role will be. Such relationship-building abilities suggests that communication abilities are likewise crucial in the field of financial services, especially when it involves providing insights and guidance to clients. Additionally, you should likewise be able to diversify your approach when communicating with different stakeholders, adjusting among internal and external stakeholders, depending upon their level of financial understanding and familiarity.