Financial services are all about enabling people to make choices about spending, saving and investing their money. The industry plays a crucial role in our daily lives and makes an important contribution to the economy. Its work enables us to afford a home, a car or a education and to plan for retirement. It provides the capital we need to invest in innovation, and the liquidity required for businesses to expand and operate efficiently.
It is a vast sector which covers a large number of different areas of financial expertise. For example, investment banking provides a range of services including advising and underwriting on mergers and acquisitions, as well as offering corporate finance advice to companies seeking to raise money. Wealth management offers bespoke services to high net worth individuals, from providing them with access to investment funds and other asset classes to managing their portfolios according to their specific requirements.
Financing services consists of raising the required funds for various financial instruments through financial markets like debt or equity for a company, individuals, institutions and government. It also includes a wide variety of other activities such as bill discounting, factoring of debtors, shifting of short-term funds in the money market and credit rating.
A career in the financial services is rewarding, challenging and varied. It is a sector where interpersonal skills are as important as technical skills. There are many opportunities for those who want to develop a career in the sector and make a difference.