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Career Exploration

Financial Quantitative Analysts

Also called: Investment Strategist, Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Analyst, Quantitative Equity Analyst

What they do:

Develop quantitative techniques to inform securities investing, equities investing, pricing, or valuation of financial instruments. Develop mathematical or statistical models for risk management, asset optimization, pricing, or relative value analysis.

On the job, you would:
  • Apply mathematical or statistical techniques to address practical issues in finance, such as derivative valuation, securities trading, risk management, or financial market regulation.
  • Research or develop analytical tools to address issues such as portfolio construction or optimization, performance measurement, attribution, profit and loss measurement, or pricing models.
  • Interpret results of financial analysis procedures.
On the job, you'll need:

Math and Science

  • arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics

Business

  • accounting and economics

Engineering and Technology

  • computers and electronics

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Basic Skills

  • using math to solve problems
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Math

  • choose the right type of math to solve a problem
  • add, subtract, multiply, or divide

Verbal

  • read and understand what is written
  • communicate by writing

Ideas and Logic

  • use rules to solve problems
  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

Investigative

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

  • Analytical Thinking
  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Achievement/Effort

Object or component oriented development software

  • C#
  • Perl

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Analytical or scientific software

  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • The MathWorks MATLAB

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $73,810

Education

Master's degree or bachelor's degree is usually needed.