Investment careers, although challenging, can nevertheless be very rewarding and fulfilling. The investment industry is quite a dynamic industry which is ever changing. If you wish to make a career in the sector, you need to be willing to work hard and put in long hours, but the rewards are well worth it.

A wide variety of investment careers

There are various investment careers that one can embark on in the investment industry. They include:

• Investment managers, who handle the clients’ money and invest it in equities and bonds. Their role also involves providing sound investment advice and options to their clients.
• Research analysts, who undertake fundamental investment research as well as valuation. Their main role is to determine the growth potential as well as the future outlook of the investment in question.
• Investment bankers, who assist in the sale of stock by businesses and governments to members of the public. They can also assist these entities in floating their shares in the stock market.
• Client account managers, whose main role is to maintain good and fruitful relationships with clients by communicating regularly with them about ongoing investments.

A mathematics degree, while not essential, would help you get into an investment career since number crunching is an important skill to have. A finance degree or an MBA would be even better to have. You should also not expect to enter into investment management straight after graduating, but should aim to start off as an investment research analyst first then build up from there.

Wesley Edens: an investment management success story

Wesley Edens is a successful investment manager who serves as a good example of just how much you can achieve in the investment world if you work hard and diligently. Mr Edens is a principal as well as the Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fortress Investment Group LLC. He is in charge of the company’s private equity business as well as a wide variety of publicly and privately traded portfolio companies. In the past Mr Edens has also worked for BlackRock Financial Management Inc. and Lehman Brothers as a managing director in both companies.

Investment careers require you to put in a lot of work and grueling long hours, the compensation can be extremely high. The nature of the work is also not only demanding but also unpredictable. All the same, it remains an exciting and very rewarding way to make a living.