What Is An Investment Analyst, And How To Become One?

September 14, 20222 Minutes Read

Link Copied!

What is an investment analyst?

An investment analyst is a person who works in finance and comes up with and suggests investment plans for clients or employers. They spend a lot of their time researching and analysing stocks, bonds, commodities, and other types of funds and assets. Then, they use this information to make financial models and projections, which they use to write reports and give their suggestions. Investment analysts work for banks, brokerage firms, and private equity firms, among other places in the finance and securities industries. Some analysts focus on a specific area, such as a particular industry, location, or type of asset.

How to get a job as an investment analyst:

The process of becoming an investment analyst can be broken down into the following steps:

Get your Bachelor's.

Investment analyst jobs usually require at least a bachelor's degree in a field related to the job. A degree programme gives you the skills and knowledge you need to be successful in this field. The coursework includes economics, advanced math and statistics, corporate finance, and accounting basics.
Gain relevant experience

Look for financial internships to learn more about the industry. This gives you a chance to use the skills and knowledge you've learned in school in the real world. In some cases, companies use internships to find good candidates who they can hire after they graduate.
Get an industry certification

Getting a Chartered Financial Analyst certification is usually needed to work as an investment analyst (CFA). For admission, you must have a bachelor's degree, four years of work experience, or both (which adds up to four years). You have to pass three tests as part of this certification programme.

You can apply for a job as an investment analyst once you get your CFA certification. Take the initiative at your job, and always keep upskilling so you can continue to grow. You can opt for free online finance courses like the ones provided by Glow & Lovely Careers (formerly known as Fair & Lovely Career Foundation). Consider pursuing a master's degree as well. It can help you advance your career as an investment analyst.

What does an investment analyst do?

The main job of an investment analyst is to figure out what their stakeholders need, predict how potential investments will turn out, and look for ways to help stakeholders reach their financial goals. A typical day at work includes:

doing research and collecting financial information about businesses and markets
Meeting with clients or bank reps to find out what their financial goals and needs are
studying how stocks, bonds, and markets have done in the past and how they are doing now
Collecting and analysing financial data to look at portfolios and opportunities
helping investment bank employees come up with new financial products
Using spreadsheets and other financial software to put together reports on portfolios, transactions, and projections
Putting together presentations to show financial predictions or try to get investors interested
giving advice on specific investment opportunities, companies, or markets

Take a free career guidance test to know more about the job and if it is the right one for you. You can take one at Glow & Lovely Careers (formerly known as Fair & Lovely Career Foundation).

Get Inspired with

Blog and News

View All

November 23, 20222 Minutes Read

Career In Machine Learning

Machine Learning is the use of Artificial Intelligence to let machines learn how to do a task without being programmed to do that task specifically. (In short, machines learn on their own without any help from people!) This process starts with giving them good-quality data. The data is then used to build different machine-learning models and algorithms, which are used to train the machines. The type of data we have and the type of task we want to automate will determine which algorithms we use. Now that we know the basics of Machine Learning, let's look at how this knowledge can be used to build a career.

Machine Learning is very popular because it saves people a lot of work and makes machines work better by letting them learn independently. Because of this, there are many popular and well-paying jobs in Machine Learning, like Machine Learning Engineer, Data Scientist, NLP Scientist, etc.

** Data Scientist:** A Data Scientist uses advanced analytics tools, such as Machine Learning and Predictive Modeling, to collect, analyse, and make sense of a lot of data in order to get insights that can be used to make decisions. The executives of the company then use these to decide how to run the business.

**Machine Learning Engineer: **A Machine Learning Engineer is an engineer who uses programming languages like Python, Java, Scala, etc., along with the right machine learning libraries to run different machine learning experiments.

** NLP Scientist:** "NLP" stands for "natural language processing," which is the process of making machines understand how people talk. This means that one day, machines will be able to talk to people in their own language. An NLP Scientist's job is to help make a machine that can learn how people talk and translate what they say into other languages.

Business Intelligence Developer: A Business Intelligence Developer uses Data Analytics and Machine Learning to collect, analyse, and make sense of large amounts of data. They then turn this information into actionable insights that company executives can use to make business decisions. In simpler terms, it means using data to help businesses make better decisions.

**Human-Centered Machine Learning Designer: **Human-Centered Machine Learning is about Machine Learning algorithms based on people. Video rental services like Netflix are a good example of this. They let their customers choose movies based on what they like, giving them a "smart" viewing experience. This means that a Human-Centered Machine Learning Designer builds different systems that can use information processing and pattern recognition to do Human-Centered Machine Learning. This lets the machine "learn" each person's preferences without having to use complicated programmes that have to be adjusted by hand for every possible user scenario.

All of the above five careers require some serious skills. These include Programming, Probability, Statistics, Data Modeling, Machine Learning Algorithms, System Design, etc. You can find free coursesabout many of them at Glow & Lovely Careers (formerly known as Fair & Lovely Career Foundation).

March 30, 20223 Minutes Read

Data Analytics: What Is It and How To Become One Online

Many companies worldwide are experiencing a digital transformation. Hence, there is a lot of data generated but limited knowledge of how to process, manage or use it. This is why one of the most demanded work profiles is that of a Data Analyst. Data analysts use technical skills to make a valuable interpretation of that data and apply it to benefit the business. They collect and analyse data to form meaningful conclusions expressed through visual, written and verbal communication.

The scope of the task is immense, creating a great demand for them. In India, the national average salary for a Data Analyst is ₹6,00,000 per year.

Some of the jobs and fields requiring Data Analysts are

Telecommunications

Insurance

Advertising and digital marketing

Financial services,

Healthcare,

Technology

Transport

Research

Database Administration

Data Engineer

Data Analyst

Data Architect

Data Scientist

Business Analyst

Systems Analyst

Operations Analyst

Quantitative Analyst

Statistician

The education, manufacturing and government industries are expected to adopt big data analytics in the future.

The responsibilities of Data Analysts include collecting, cleansing, transforming, and modelling data to find helpful information to support decision-making processes. In order to make the correct investment decisions, every data-driven business needs data analysts to understand their available data. This also helps them understand customer behaviour, assess risks, and decide on funds.

To become a Data Analyst, you would need the following to fit the following criteria:

Have problem-solving skills and ease to come up with practical solutions.

Be comfortable with numbers

Have an analytical mind.

Enjoy using your mind.

Strong communication, both verbal and written.

Good concentration and focus.

If you fit the criteria, you may find the field of Data Analyst to be a good fit for you. Here's what you need:

Degree and Domain ExpertiseIt is essential to have a relevant degree and domain knowledge to work in the field. But, even if you don't, it is possible if you have knowledge of the required skill sets. A lot of classes online teach you the basics.

Programming skillsYou can learn programming languages such as Python, R, and JavaScript online. To solve complex problems, you will need to write programs.

Learn Data Analytics Fundamentals Data analysis tools are crucial in the field. Familiarise yourself with spreadsheets, excel, programming languages SQL, Python and R; number-crunching tools like Spark and Hadoop; Tableau, Matplotlib, or ggplot2 to create visualisations. Opt for online Data analysis courses from the Glow & Lovely Careers Foundation (formally known as the Fair & Lovely Careers Foundation) to learn fundamental data skills. Learning probability distributions, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, and various classification and clustering techniques will give you a firm footing.

Knowledge of Data Analysis and Visualisation Tools Gain experience in working with databases and data analysis tools. Practice and improve your skills in writing SQL queries and procedures, know Microsoft Excel, Matlab, and IBM SPSS to analyse trends and plan to drive accurate insights.Learn to create different business reports using several data visualisation tools like Tableau, QlikView, and Power BI.

Once you've learned all the required skills, practice on projects with actual data. This will also help you gain hands-on experience with data management, statistical programming, programming languages, data cleaning, data visualisation on all platforms. Use this to develop a portfolio of your work and show it while applying to a job.

September 20, 20223 Minutes Read

Courses and Jobs in Information Technology

Information technology is now used to control and carry out every day-to-day task that isn't industrial or high-risk. Most people confuse information technology courses with computer science, but it is only a part of it. Information technology is a part of everything we do daily, from building a spaceship to getting food delivered to our doorsteps using apps. In this situation, Information technology is the most relevant and financially rewarding field for students.

View All