FSC - Module Overview

Financial Services Careers

Introduction

financial services careersWhen a student asked TD-Ameritrade CEO, Fred Tomczyk, why someone would want to work in the financial services industry, Tomczyk stated four reasons: 1) to help people achieve their goals; 2) to never stop learning; 3) to stay on the cutting edge of technology; 4) to keep you young in terms of fresh perspectives and energy.

In this module, you will have an opportunity to investigate careers in the fields of banking, investing, and insurance. You will discover skills you need to acquire as well as education and licensing requirements for the fields.

Essential Questions

  • What careers are available in the banking industry and what are their requirements?
  • What careers are available in investing industry and what are their requirements?
  • What careers are available in the insurance industry and what are their requirements?

Key Terms

stockbroker: A trader or trading company with responsibility for the acceptance and/or execution of an order

investment adviser: An individual who furnishes investment advice for a fee

financial planner: helps people deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning

financial consultant: a professional who renders investment advice and financial planning services to individuals, businesses, and governments

trader: a trader is someone who buys and sells financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, commodities, and derivatives

mutual fund manager: the individual responsible for making portfolio decisions for a mutual fund, pension fund, or insurance fund

investment banker: an employee of a financial institution that assists corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and acting as the agent in the issuance of securities. An investment bank also assists companies involved in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, etc.

agent: a state-licensed professional who represents an insurance company in selling and servicing policies

adjuster: one who investigates insurance claims or claims for damages and recommends an effective settlement

actuary: A person who compiles and analyzes statistics and uses them to calculate insurance risks and premiums.

underwriter: evaluate the risk and exposures of potential clients. They decide how much coverage the client should receive, how much they should pay for it, or whether even to accept the risk and insure them. Underwriting involves measuring risk exposure and determining the premium that needs to be charged to insure that risk.

insurance broker: an independent insurance agent who works with many insurance companies to find the very best available policies for his or her clients

policy and claims check: Process new insurance policies, modifications to existing policies, and claims forms. Obtain information from policyholders to verify the accuracy and completeness of information on claims forms, applications and related documents, and company records. Update existing policies and company records to reflect changes requested by policyholders and insurance company representatives

loan officer: a person who serves as an intermediary between lending institutions and borrowers

teller: an employee of a bank who deals directly with most customers

customer service representative: employee of a bank tasked with providing phone support and personal support to customers who call for assistance

trust officer: bank employee who administers trust accounts

trust: a legal entity that can hold title to the property for the benefit of one or more other persons or entities

mortgage broker: a licensed lending professional who represents several different lenders

branch manager: oversees a division or location of a bank

marketing: processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service

human resource management: management of the workforce of a business to ensure sufficient staff levels with the right skills, properly rewarded and motivated

IT: information technology - deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store and transmit information

training officer: bank manager responsible for creating, implementing, and facilitating training opportunities for a bank's employees.

proof operator: responsible for operating proof machines to encode checks and deposits so that they can be read by an optical recognition device

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