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Financial Analyst

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Financial Analysts play a crucial role in businesses by helping organisations make informed decisions about investments, budgeting, and financial planning. They analyse financial data, prepare reports, and forecast future trends to support strategic decisions. Financial Analysts often work for banks, investment firms, consultancies, or large corporations. Their day-to-day tasks may include analysing company accounts, evaluating economic trends, and presenting findings to management. Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and proficiency with spreadsheets and financial software are important in this role.

Financial Analyst

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📊 Statistics

Average Salary

The average salary for a Financial Analyst in the UK is around £35,000 to £50,000 per year, with experienced professionals earning up to £65,000 or more.

Job Opportunities

There are over 25,000 people employed as financial analysts or in similar roles across the UK, with job demand concentrated in major cities such as London, Manchester, and Edinburgh.

Entry Requirements

Most Financial Analysts in the UK have a degree in finance, accounting, economics, or a related field. Many also hold professional qualifications such as the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

🚀 Careers in this path

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Investment Analyst

Focuses on researching and evaluating investment opportunities for clients or organisations, often specialising in stocks, bonds, or other assets.

Corporate Finance Analyst

Works within a company to analyse financial data, support business decisions, and help with budgeting, forecasting, and investment planning.

Credit Analyst

Assesses the creditworthiness of individuals or companies, helping lenders decide whether to offer loans or credit.

Achieve Strong Academic Foundations

Complete Secondary Education with Relevant Subjects

Focus on A-levels or equivalent in Maths, Economics, or Business Studies.

To become a Financial Analyst, it is important to build a solid foundation in subjects like Mathematics, Economics, and Business Studies. These subjects develop analytical and problem-solving skills essential for interpreting financial information. Good GCSE results in English and Maths are also valued, as these are often required for progression to further study.

Pursue a Degree in a Related Field

Apply for a university degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, or a related subject.

Most Financial Analyst roles require a degree, often in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, or Business. Courses usually last three years and may include opportunities for placements or internships. Entry requirements typically include strong A-level results and a keen interest in finance and business trends.

Gain Practical Experience

Secure Internships or Work Placements

Gain experience through internships, work shadowing, or summer placements in financial organisations.

Practical experience is highly valued by employers. Many financial firms offer summer internships or year-long placements for university students. These opportunities provide hands-on experience with financial tools, exposure to real-world financial decision-making, and valuable networking opportunities.

Develop Technical Skills

Learn to use financial software and spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Excel.

Financial Analysts rely heavily on software like Excel to analyse data and build financial models. Learning to use these tools efficiently, and gaining familiarity with data visualisation and financial modelling, will make you a stronger candidate for analyst positions.

Start Your Career and Progress

Apply for Entry-Level Financial Analyst Roles

Seek graduate schemes or junior analyst roles in banks, investment firms, or large companies.

Begin your career by applying for graduate schemes or entry-level financial analyst positions. Tailor your CV to highlight your academic achievements, relevant experience, and technical skills. Strong communication and analytical abilities are also important for success in interviews.

Pursue Professional Qualifications

Consider further qualifications such as the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) or ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

Professional qualifications like the CFA or ACCA are highly respected in the finance industry and can help you progress faster in your career. These qualifications involve passing a series of exams and gaining practical experience, and can lead to senior positions or specialist roles.

🎯 View Apprenticeships

Explore relevant apprenticeships that can help you kickstart your career in Financial Analyst. Apprenticeships offer hands-on experience and training while earning a wage.

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Career Progressions

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Sample Qualifications

A Financial Analyst and an Investment Analyst both focus on analysing financial data to support investment decisions. They require similar skills in evaluating market trends, financial modelling, and providing insights to inform investment strategies.

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • a graduate training scheme

University

You'll usually need a degree at upper second class or higher. Most degree subjects are accepted, but you may find these particularly useful:

  • economics
  • maths
  • business studies
  • accountancy
  • finance

If your degree is not related to business or finance, you could do a relevant postgraduate qualification like a master's in business administration (MBA).

A course with a placement year or a summer internship with give you valuable experience and an advantage when applying for work.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

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Apprenticeship

You can get into this job through a senior investment and commercial banking professional degree apprenticeship. This is at level 7, which is equivalent to a master's qualification.

This will usually take about 18 to 24 months to complete. You will take professional exams as part of the apprenticeship and at the end you will be able to apply for membership of the relevant professional body.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship

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Other Routes

You could start as a graduate trainee in an investment bank or a stockbroking firm. Trainees must pass an exam that is recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority. These include:

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Career tips

You may find it useful to have knowledge of a specific industry for some jobs, for example experience in areas like energy, engineering or life sciences could be helpful.

Language skills, particularly French, German or Japanese, can also be useful if you're working with overseas clients and markets.

Professional and industry bodies

You could join organisations like the CFA Institute and Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment for professional recognition and training opportunities.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming an investment analyst from:

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