Careers in Finance

The MSFSB Program gives students fundamental tools and expertise that can be used across many sectors of the business world.  As a result, there are many career opportunities for graduates.  

Corporate Finance
Graduates work for a company to fund its projects, analyze projects, make financial plans, and to manage working capital. Their main goal is to create value for a company. Activities typically include designing and implementing financial policies, evaluating and financing projects, managing cash resources, and interfacing with the financial community and investors. Key job titles include treasurer, cash manager, controller, financial analyst, budget analyst, credit manager.

Asset Management
Asset managers (or money managers) manage stocks, bonds, and/or derivatives for their clients. Typically they work for mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds, endowment funds, etc. Managers have their own unique way of managing assets, but they typically use sophisticated quantitative techniques. There are many different types of assets available in the market including corporate bonds, municipal bonds, asset-backed securities, stocks, preferred stocks, options, and futures. Typical job areas in asset management include portfolio management, sales, security analysis and research.

Commercial Banking
Commercial banking provides banking services to individuals, small businesses and large organizations. The commercial banking sector employs more people than any other financial sector. Job opportunities  include credit appraisal, mortgage services, account management, trust services, leasing, credit card banking, loan issuance, operational handling, and international finance and trade credit.  

Investment Banking
Investment banking helps companies and governments issue securities by forming a syndicate or network of investors. Leading investment banks include Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. There are many other regional investment banks.  Typically investment banking includes facilitation of mergers and acquisitions, seasoned equity offering, project financing, structured financing, and derivatives, equity and fixed income research, among others.

Insurance: Overview 
Insurance involve helping individuals and business manage risk to protect themselves from catastrophic losses and to anticipate potential risk problems.  Typically insurance companies deal with annuities for their clients.  Insurance professionals work in a variety of areas in insurance including as an underwriter, a sales representative, an asset manager, a customer service representative or an actuary.