Sought-after jobs in finance

By Waldo Lavon

The world of finance provides some positions that are very rewarding to individuals, both in terms of compensation and in life fulfillment. Of course, different workers have varying personalities that can impact exactly which jobs would appeal to them. This article will detail some of the more sought-after finance jobs and the types of individuals that these jobs would appeal to.

Finance jobs can vary between investing/trading careers, accounting jobs that provide back-office assistance, and banking jobs. Since the repeal of the Glass-Stegal Act, banks have been able to diversify into investment banking which has required them to hire individuals with varying backgrounds including banking and investment banking. As a result of this, the job hirer has changed from a more boutique setting in previous years.

Many finance jobs involve managing money accumulated by investors and assisting them in selecting investments. These jobs involve locating capital, investing capital, and monitoring results.

Generally speaking, higher salaries are provided to those who can attract large amounts of capital. For attracting capital, many people oriented sales skills are necessary. These lucrative jobs are desirable for their close connections with people and the ability to earn significant amounts of compensation for the job.

Higher compensation is also given to those who can consistently outperform the market and earn outsized returns. These jobs involve reviewing financial reports, tracking the market, and selecting investments that appear attractive based upon current stock prices. These jobs are sought after for the compensation potential but also for those who have analytical minds that enjoy analyzing and investing in the stock market.

Accounting jobs are also attractive for some in the finance industry. These accounting jobs involve tracking fiscal results and developing financial statements to present to management and to investors regarding how these funds are doing. These jobs appeal to those who enjoy preparing and analyzing data, but who do not generally enjoy being in the forefront with significant interactions with customers.

Banking jobs, on the other hand, typically involve developing long-term relationships with clients and providing their banking needs for a long-term period. These jobs are sought after for the relationship you develop with clients and for the role you play in helping to develop their business.

There are many highly sought after jobs in the finance world that can appeal to jobseekers. Determine what role you want to play in capital markets and locate a job that appeals to your personality.

About the author: Waldo Lavon writes career guidance for those seeking marketing jobs or jobs in finance. He recently wrote an article on sales jobs.

Guest post: A personal review of Barron's Magazine - Reasons to unsubscribe from Forbes

By: James Geddens

I have recently cancelled by subscription to Forbes Magazine and have instead started subscribing to Barron’s Magazine, simply due to the fact that I found it hard to keep up with some of the analysis.  The editorial articles inside Barron’s are extremely well authored and offer a superb perspective on what happened during the prior week’s financial world.  It also includes sections which tell you what is going to be happening during the following week’s stock market trading.

Get the Latest Stock Market Prices & Tables

The Market Laboratory pull out section is essential too because this includes all the latest stock and bond prices for the next 7 days, although it can be a little bit too in-depth and you can tend to get this detail off the web anyway.  However, it’s still handy to have all the stock tables in front of you as one easy read.  Since making the switch from Forbes I have found that I have actually been able to read every single weekly edition of Barron’s.  It makes a change to having magazine piled up on my desk that I never get around to reading! 

Get Invaluable Investment Leads Like the Professionals Do

One of the other reasons that I subscribe to Barron’s Magazine is that I like to know what the business leaders are reading.  According to research, the average worth a Barron’s reader is $3 Million US Dollars.  Whilst I don’t have that much money, it’s still pretty cool to know that I can benefit from the same investment leads that those guys get each week.  Over the course of my subscription to Barron’s I have seen my own stock portfolio’s value rise by 21% as I owe a lot of that down to the advice that I get inside the different pages by the expert columnists.  A lot of the commentary in the magazine is also quite humorous and makes a change from the rather staid and stuffy reporting seen in rival publications. 

Value for Money with Up to Date Finance News

Barron’s Magazine might be quite expensive but it does come weekly which make the annual $99 Dollars subscription fee offer value for money in my view.  If you are an investor like me then you will already be aware of the importance of getting the most timely financial information – and Barron’s certainly seems to offer that.  Whether you want to know the latest oil prices, details on the latest corporate takeover, or what’s hot or not in finance, then it should tick all the boxes for you. 

No Over the Top Advertising Space

Another plus point to Barron’s is the fact that it does not have large and over the top advertising space on any of the pages.  There are a few ads, but these are always placed contextually and don’t interfere with your reading.  The ads usually blend quite well into the articles so you almost tend not to notice them. 

It’s Like Forbes Magazine but Without the “Fluff”

How I like to describe Barron’s Magazine, is that it is like the Wall Street Journal or Forbes… but without all the fluff.  You can either subscribe to it via post in traditional magazine format, or get it via email with a login to the Barrons.com website.  In the most simple terms possible I would say that Barron’s Magazine is a must read for people who love stock market numbers.  If you want to keep ahead of the competition and make better investment choices and picks then it could work for you.  Personally I love it and could not do without it nowadays. 

Author Bio: James Geddens is a 32 year old investment trader based in New York who reads Barron’s Magazine each week.  If you want to know more about Barron’s then you should click here for more info on this independent subscriptions website that hosts information about most financial magazines.

What book runners do in investment banking

US-PDGov

Book running is a function of investment banking that coordinates the sale of new securities. In this sense a book runner is a securities underwriter; however the book runner is considered the primary facilitator of the underwriting of financial securities such as stock, convertible bonds, and bonds. A book runner does not have to be an individual, but also refers to a firm or corporation such as an investment bank per Reuters news agency.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase are all book runners because they are investment banks that facilitate the capitalization of businesses. For example, in June 2011, the Internet Networking website LinkedIn became a public corporation. In becoming a public corporation new shares were issued by LinkedIn's securities underwriters. LinkedIn's lead underwriter or book runner was Morgan Stanley according to USA Today.

Book running is regulated by the the Securities Act of 1933, and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended in 2010. The particulars of securities underwriting, and hence book running are detailed in this act. For example, Section two, part 40 of the Investment Company Act defines 'underwriter' as any person who, for more than the price of commission, buys and sells securities from an issuer, or who sells securities for a securities issuer for purposes of distribution.

In terms of the aforementioned definition, the primary underwriter is the book runner. Book runners must also be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC and are monitored by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. According to FINRA, individual securities dealers whose employing firms are FINRA members must also be registered  with the regulator. Book running or securities underwriting subsidiaries are listed at the Federal Reserve Bank website.

If a large initial public offering such as the one scheduled via a Form S-1 by Groupon, Inc. on June 2, 2011 with the Securities and Exchange Commission has multiple underwriters, there can also be more than one book runner. To illustrate, the SEC filing states Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs as the underwriters. However,  in July 2011 Groupon, Inc. filed an amendment to its original Form S-1. This amendment added 11 additional underwriters to work on the Groupon, Inc. IPO. Of these 11, one additional book runner was added, specifically J.P. Morgan.

In summary, book running is a financial colloquialism referring to the more formal term of lead underwriter that is a task performed within investment banks. Lead underwriters are the regulated financial institutions or investment banks responsible for selling and distributing financial securities for the purpose of capitalization. Capitalization itself is performed for a number of reasons including initial public offering as is the case with Groupon, Inc. Book runners are utilized for their experience, know how and capacity to raise capital for businesses and other organizational entities via financial markets.

Biography: Jeremy Grantham

Jeremy Grantham is an investment banker who currently serves on the Board of Directors of a large asset management partnership called GMO, LLC.  Grantham was born in Doncaster, U.K during the late 1930's and attended the University of Sheffield to study Economics. Following this Grantham relocated to the United States and earned an M.B.A. at Harvard University in 1966 before continuing his lifelong career in financial management.

Prior to co-founding his own companies, Grantham first worked for Royal Dutch Shell as an economist, Keystone Custodian Funds as a portfolio manager and Cresap McCormick & Paget as a management consultant.  Grantham then co-founded a company called Batterymarch Financial Management, and in 1977,  Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo, LLC i.e. GMO, LLC, a global financial management company that oversees tens of billions of dollars. Grantham is also a father and advocate of environmental management. He has donated millions of dollars in the name of environmental sustainability to the London School of Economics.

According to a CNBC interview with Maria Bartiromo in November 2001, Grantham held the belief that emerging markets still have some run in them and that limited resource commodities should increase in value over time. In regard to current conditions, Jeremy Grantham expressed concerns regarding the quantitative easing program undertaken by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank as having a bubble creating wealth effect that can have very negative consequences within the next few years. Still however, Grantham stated U.S. currency devaluation and competitiveness could also have an impact on markets.

Grantham is a widely sought after financier whose GMO LLC letters are keenly read and quoted by financial journalists of numerous publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. One such letter was published by GMO LLC in October 2010 entitled 'Night of the Living Fed'. In the publication Grantham criticized the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank's approach to solving shortfalls in economic growth. Grantham has been featured at speaking engagements held by the CFA Society of Chicago, and the Morningstar Investors Conference.

Grantham's investment style seems prudent and well calculated for the medium and long term. Speculative investing is probably not Grantham's cup of tea. The insight and analysis exhibited by Grantham's commentary is guided by a combination of global demand, growth and quantitative modeling data coupled with a well-entrenched education and experience with capital investments. Jeremy Grantham is well known for his foresights regarding future market trends, in particular speculative bubbles. All these characteristics essentially make Grantham a priceless and undervalued investment guru.

Sources:

1. http://bit.ly/9GFm5a (University of Sheffield)
2. http://bit.ly/14cx5I (GMO LLC)
3. http://bit.ly/c4Wa5C (Seeking Alpha)
4. http://bit.ly/a8pQv4 (CNBC)
5. http://bit.ly/c0gItk (Bloomberg Businessweek)