Emurse

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents account for 1 in 5 wage and salary jobs in this industry (table 1). Although the occupation encompasses a variety of job titles and activities, all of them involve placing orders or buying and selling securities, commodities, or other financial services. The most common types of sales agents deal directly with the public and often are called retail brokers, account executives, registered representatives, or financial consultants. Securities brokers typically buy and sell stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other financial services, while commodities brokers deal primarily with futures contracts on metals, energy supplies, agricultural products, and financial instruments.

When a client places an order for one of these items, brokers relay the order through the firm's computers to the floor of an exchange, to a dealer, or to an ECN. Upon confirmation of the trade, the broker notifies clients of the final price. As part of their job, brokers often provide advice to clients about possible investments, taking into consideration the client's financial situation, tolerance for risk, and savings needs. Because sales is one of their major responsibilities, brokers also spend a considerable amount of time soliciting new business.

A small number of sales agents deal exclusively with large investors, such as insurance companies, pension funds, and mutual funds. These agents typically are called institutional representatives or institutional brokers, and they provide many of the same services as a retail broker, but on a larger scale.

Sales agents referred to as traders, market makers, or floor brokers actually make the trades on the floor of the exchange or over the computer. These agents match buyers and sellers of a particular security or commodity, sometimes using their own or their firm's money to close the deal.

Keeping track of transactions and paperwork constitutes a large portion of the work in this industry, which is why its largest occupational group is office and administrative support workers. Brokerage clerks, the largest occupation in this category, handle much of the day-to-day operations within a brokerage firm. The largest group of brokerage clerks, called sales assistants, takes calls from broker's clients, writes up order tickets and enters them into the computer, handles the paperwork for new accounts, informs clients of stock prices, and performs other tasks as needed. Some sales assistants obtain licenses to sell securities, allowing them to call broker's clients with recommendations from the broker regarding specific investments. Other brokerage clerks may compute transfer taxes and dividends and keep daily records of transactions and holdings. At some companies, a number of brokerage clerk positions are considered entry level, with promotion potential to securities sales agent jobs or other higher level jobs.

Because more clients are choosing to trade without the use of sales agents or brokers, customer service representatives are playing a larger role in securities firms. While some may have licenses to sell securities or other financial products, most are not in the business of sales or offering advice, but mainly take questions from current customers. Customer service representatives usually work in central call centers, where they handle account transfers, redemptions, and address changes; answer tax questions; and help clients navigate the Web, among other services.

Management, business, and financial occupations account for about 30 percent of total employment, a larger proportion than in most industries. This category includes a myriad of people with expertise in finance and investment policy; accountants and auditors, who prepare the firm's financial statements; and general and operations managers, who run the business. Financial analysts generally work in the research and investment banking departments, reviewing financial statements of companies, evaluating economic and market trends, and making recommendations concerning the potential profits from investments in specific companies. Financial analysts also may attempt to determine fair market values for companies wishing to trade their stocks publicly or for those firms involved in mergers or acquisitions. Analysts in large firms usually specialize in a certain industry sector, such as finance, transportation, or utilities, or in a market, such as government financing.

Personal financial advisors, also called financial planners, provide advice to both individuals and businesses on a broad range of financial subjects, such as investments, retirement planning, tax management, estate planning, and employee benefits. They may take a comprehensive approach to the client's financial needs or address only a specific issue. Advisors also may buy and sell financial products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and insurance, for their clients.

Financial managers are employed throughout the industry, preparing financial documents for the regulatory authorities or directing a firm's investment policies. In many departments, managers act as senior advisors and oversee teams of junior analysts or brokers while continuing to be actively involved in working out deals with clients. Portfolio managers and commodity trading advisors are responsible for making investment decisions for clients with large sums of money to invest. These clients include mutual funds, pension funds, trust funds, commodity pools, and individuals with high net worth. Portfolio managers must know the investment goals of their clients and ensure that the investments they make meet those goals.

The increasingly computerized environment in this industry requires the expertise of computer software engineers, computer programmers, and other computer specialists to develop and operate the communications networks that provide online trading.