Finance
Financial Services is an umbrella term used to group a wide-range of finance related activities from personal money management to technology-based financial platforms. Below is a brief description of the most common financial service categories.
Asset Management is the practice of managing client investment portfolios to maximize returns. Asset managers will conduct equity research, analyze market trends, deploy asset allocation strategies, and manage risk.
Commercial Banking assists consumers and corporations in managing their day-to-day money needs including loans, savings, checking, etc. Commercial banking positions range from tellers, bank managers, loan officers, to marketing positions.
Corporate Finance helps companies manage financial assets to run the company by capitalizing on company value and minimizing financial risk for return.
Equity Research: Analysts gather and scrutinize financial data, industry trends, and economic conditions to produce detailed reports and recommendations concerning companies and stocks.
Fintech firms use technology to enhance financial services, offering solutions like digital banking, payment processing, and investment management to make financial transactions more efficient and accessible.
Insurance/Actuarial careers specialize in identifying and managing risks within a company. They use a combination of research and quantitative analysis to predict a targeted risk level/target.
Private Equity firms provide financial backing to or acquire businesses not listed on a public stock exchange.
Private Wealth Management supports high net worth individuals in developing plans to meet their specific financial goals. This involves financial planning, estate planning, and investment management.
Quantitative Analysis and Trading combines math, finance, and computer science skills to predict the markets and make investment and trading strategies
Real Estate Finance refers to the process of borrowing and lending money as it relates to physical property for residential, commercial, industrial or special use. It is based on understanding the present value alongside the potential value.
Sales and Trading is the marketplace of an investment bank that buys and sells stocks, bonds, and derivatives. Salespeople work with asset managers, hedge funds, insurance companies, and other buy side investors to pitch ideas and to buy or sell securities or derivatives.
Venture Capital firms invest money in emerging technologies or companies positioned for quick growth and/or success.
*For information regarding Investment Banking, please visit the Investment Banking industry page.
Skills to develop for success in this field
Non-Technical:
- Analytical
- Detail-oriented
- Entrepreneurial
- Learning agility (Ability to quickly understand and process new information)
- Organized
- Research
- Sales-oriented
- Strong work-ethic
- Resiliency
- Verbal communication (Ability to engage with team, clients, and Pitch)
- Written communication
Technical:
- Accounting
- Excel
- Finance Division Specific Knowledge
- Financial Market Knowledge
- Problem-Solving/Design: The approach to dealing with problems: intake, assessment, solutions, and the ability to present process in an easy-to-understand way
- Statistical Data Skills (Common tools to be familiar with are Stata, R, Python)
- Valuation Methods and Financial Modeling Skills
Online Resources specific to the industry
- The NCA Finance Newsletter: a bi-weekly newsletter curated with jobs, internships and upcoming recruitment events. To opt-in, log in to your Handshake account and select: Profile > My Career interests > Industries > Select one or more of the following: financial services, investment banking, investment/portfolio management, commercial banking and credit.
- Vault is a comprehensive resource for information on what it is like to work within an industry, company or profession. For specific information about Investment Banking go to: Vault > Careers > Industries > All Industries > Investment Management
Job posting and other career informational sites relevant to the field:
- Bloomberg: provides the reader with a network of data, people and ideas, delivering business and financial information, news and insights.
- Bloomberg Terminal: The Bloomberg Terminal is in the Northwestern Library. It is a dedicated computer terminal for accessing financial data electronically and features company financials, market data spanning more than 20 years, charts, statistics and current news reports.
- Investopedia: provides financial and investment dictionaries, advice, reviews, and overall ratings.
- Finimize: a daily newsletter that explains what's happening in the world of finance in 3 minutes.
- Morning Brew: a daily newsletter designed for young business professionals. Each morning’s email has a stock market recap and a few short briefs on important business news of the day.
- Rock The Street, Wall Street (RTSWS), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering young women in finance and related fields. This free platform provides access to internships, scholarships, job opportunities, and career development events.
- Street of Walls: provides finance industry-specific resources, from helpful articles researching investment banking, private equity and hedge funds, to training offerings focused on topics such as investment banking interview and technical prep.
- The American Finance Association: TAFA is an academic organization devoted to the study and promotion of knowledge about financial economics. It publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Finance.
- Wall Street Oasis: an online community with finance forums for aspiring professionals looking to break into investment banking, private equity, asset management, and other corporate finance careers. *This resource may have fees associated with usage.
- Wall Street Prep: WSP’s foundational, modeling, and industry specific content can accelerate your understanding of financial concepts and technical training. They have a robust ‘free resources’ section!
Key information or knowledge for this field
- Economics is not a required degree to pursue financial service positions. However, it is important to demonstrate an interest in finance on your application. With that in mind, it can be beneficial to pursue relevant coursework, student groups, or research.
- It is important to highlight your analytical skills and quantify your bullet points on an application.
- Understand the credential requirements for specific position functions. This is common for Actuarial Science, Accounting, and certain asset management roles. For example, employers may target students for insurance related roles that have completed the first actuarial exam.
- Given the nature of the work in this industry, it is crucial to follow financial news, the stock market, and both domestic and international economic data.
- Networking is an important part of the recruitment process. Begin your networking efforts by talking with upperclassmen who have been through the recruitment process, engage with alumni, and attend networking events.
- Recruitment timelines may vary based on country and region. In the United States, financial services will largely recruit in the summer and early Fall. However, a few large firms open applications for all divisions as early as spring (alongside their investment banking division).
- In order to stay informed about positions, events, and recruitment timelines, create a profile in the bank's career portals you are interested in and sign up for job alerts. This will increase your access to information directly from the source.
- Interviews include a combination of personal interest, behavioral, and technical market-based questions (if applicable).
- Some financial service interviews (such as corporate finance) may have a case component. The case will typically focus on profit-based problems. They are quantitative in nature and the math used is algebra. It may involve identifying the key figures presented in the case.
Relevant student groups and professional organizations
Northwestern Student Groups:
External Professional Organizations: