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How Can Credit Risk Analyst Become Financial Analyst

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How Can Credit Risk Analyst Become Financial Analyst

A credit analyst measures the creditworthiness of a company or an institution and facilitates credit risk management. Usually employed by banks, smaller investment companies and credit card companies, their general job role involves assessing whether a loan applicant is creditworthy or not. By first gathering relevant to the same and posting a detailed analysis of the same, they either approve or disapprove the credit application of the applicant. Credit analysts employed with larger financial institutions also have the added responsibility of monitoring if a client is at a possibility of defaulting if an applicant’s account needs to be closed or if a client needs an extension on his line of credit.

What is the Job of a Financial Analyst Different from that of a Credit Analyst

Often sounding similar, the job of a financial analyst involves working on a much larger scale. He assesses the creditworthiness of a business or a company. A counterparty or an investor risk is always involved in this case, along with a lot of involvement in foreign bank sectors, interbank funding, lending and borrowing of securities, or foreign exchange. It is also a financial analyst’s responsibility to measure and forest the risk of both the counterpart and its settlement, before getting into the process of lending. Also, it is a must for financial analysts to conduct thorough research of any market or sector that involves a potential business, often on the basis of which they are required to build financial models to forecast potential situations that may arise in the future.

Qualifications Needed for a Credit Analyst to Become a Financial analyst

Most credit analysts need to have a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or mathematics, however, on-the-job training is often provided to individuals with a degree in any of these fields. Some employers require credit analysts to have completed a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) course, depending on what level they have been hired at. Often, to be hired at higher designations, credit analysts need to have some relevant work experience as well.
To become a financial analyst, an undergraduate degree in accounting, mathematics, business, finance or economics comes of use. In certain situations, a degree in engineering or computer science or an MBA increases the prospects of being hired as a financial analyst. You are an experienced credit analyst, and completing a CFA course may turn out to be useful for you before you turn your career path from a credit analyst to that of a financial analyst.
In relevance to required skills, both professions are fairly similar since decision-making skills are important in the financial avenue, the only difference being, that credit analysts are more centric towards individuals and smaller companies whereas financial analysts are more focused on financial institutions, larger business organisations and market trends. Both the fields need a strong background in analytics and affinity towards strong, well-built research.

After completing the relevant degree, here are a couple of steps in which a credit analyst may pursue the career of a financial analyst:

  • Bag an internship- As mandatory as this might not be, a financial analyst internship may give you that initial boost in your career. While you can gain hands-on training here, you can also get a clearer picture of the career switch that you have decided to make along with the kind of work expected to come your way. Also during an internship, you can build networks with other experienced financial analysts or find yourself a mentor to guide you on your career journey. Networks built during internships often last all through your career. Also, an internship increases your chances of being hired as an entry-level financial analyst as well.
  • Secure a job- Post completion of an internship, you can pursue entry or mid-level financial analyst designations; not only do stints like these help you gather relevant industry experience but also brush up your weaker skills. Tasks like analysis of income statements, maintaining financial statements or working on financial models along with forecasting models only help you work your way up the career ladder.

Once you have achieved all relevant milestones in the path of becoming a financial analyst, including meeting educational requirements, relevant industry experience, certification of a CFA course and an entry or mid-level job to start out, your quest to pursue a career in the same will be rewarded for sure.

Also Read: What is Credit Risk Analysis & Why it is Important

The Perfect Course For Those Dreaming Of A Job In Finance

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Latha Rani shares her experience of the course and the journey that led her to land a job at Goldman Sachs.

Getting a prestigious job in the finance sector is as difficult as it can get even for those with a master’s degree in Finance. Latha Rani, a bachelor in Management Studies, and a former employee in Retail industry tell us about her experiences and how the Financial Analyst Course by Imarticus Learning helped her land her dream job at Goldman Sachs.
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Latha Rani, I did my Bachelor’s course in management studies and I was working in the retail sector before joining this course. I always had this wish to make a career for myself in the Finance Sector so while searching for courses related to the Finance Sector, I stumbled upon Imarticus which quickly caught my eye. I became interested in the Investment Banking Training Course offered at this place, so I looked for the Imarticus Learning reviews, enquired about the same and got myself a counseling session. On visiting the learning center, the counselor readily guided me to a path to realizing my Investment Banking dreams and hence I enrolled for the course.
Tell us a bit about your experience at Imartcius Learning
From the day of the counseling to the last day of my course, I have got lots of help and advice from counselors and faculty members alike. The teachers here are dedicated, they train you in every aspect of your development be it soft skills or your basics, these people guide you in such a way that even if you are from a non-finance background you won’t feel left behind.
Imarticus gave me the right platform to build my skills and launch my career in the right direction, I am thankful for the experience.
Give us your Imarticus Financial Analyst Program Review and tell us if you would recommend this course
To start with it, I think the most important part of this course is the fantastic trainers at Imarticus. The approach here is beyond the range of textbooks and the trainers really put in their best when it comes to guiding you with their expertise and developing your skills and understanding of the subject.
As mentioned earlier, the methodology of teaching is so inclusive that you won’t feel left behind even if you don’t belong to a Finance background. The classroom lectures are interactive and interesting and doubts are always welcomed.
All in all, they make you a person who is ready for a career in Investment Banking and I would highly recommend this course to anyone seeking a career in the Finance Industry.
Your thoughts about Imarticus learning’s Placement Services?
Even though I didn’t expect much from this course when I first came here, the learning experience at Imarticus was one of the best like those you expect from only the premier institutes in the world. If we talk about the placement services, the people involved in the placement are so dedicated that they help you at every step that leads you to your dream job. It’s more like a ladder that they provide you first by helping you refine your resume and then preparing yours for the biggest interviews of your life.
When you see the biggest investment banks in the world picking up people trained by Imarticus Learning, you know how well the placement services at this place work and how dedicated they are to your cause and your dreams.
I got placed at Goldman Sachs and I would recommend you to look to Imarticus Learning in order to make your dreams a reality.
Interested in a Finance Course? Click here to know more about Financial Analyst Course by Imarticus Learning. To know more about this, you can also contact us through the Live Chat Support system or can even visit one of our training centers based in – Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Chennai, Banglore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, and Ahmedabad.

What are the Top 3 Skills For Financial Analyst

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What are the Top 3 Skills For Financial Analyst

The high-flying well-paying career in financial analysis is a combination of many attributes and goes well beyond good academic grades. The economic and accounting analyst of today needs to have a wide bouquet of characteristics. To stand out from the crowd, your resume, certification of skills and portfolio can help get an interview. From there, it is all about your ability to convince the interviewer that you are the right fit for the job.

The Financial analyst will require non-transferable and non-technical skills like

• The quantitative skills of a seasoned professional
• Razor-sharp analytical and problem-solving skills
• Fantastic grasp on the use of inferential logic and an innovative approach
• Excellent presentation skills in Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Above-average data and reporting skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and communicative ability
• Communicative and collaborative team skills
• Ability to withstand stress, long working hours, pressure, work demands and ambiguity in work-schedules
• Financial discipline and integrity
• A quick absorptive learner who is capable of clear decision making and financial interpretations where no SOPs exist.

The top three essential differentiators for all FAs are

1. An accounting graduate qualification: The financial sector has many standards of evaluation, processes to be adhered to, and best practices to follow that need a deep understanding of accounting practice. The degree in accounting, doing a Financial analyst course, certification in accounting practice, sparkling talent and job experience is an ideal combination for FAs and a successful career in finance. Again, some experience and training in management will go a long way. Digitisation and technological automation have brought substantial data volumes to the finance field and its analysis. One must have practice in the latest tools to leverage new IT and the whole organisation’s financial systems. Use of SAP, Oracle, Excel and such software familiarity is in high-demand. Exposure to management and organisational processes gained even during internships help shape the future of your career.
2. Personality attributes: Today’s analysts are not desk-bound and have to interact with teams, management and intra-team clients regularly as part of their jobs. Thus interpersonal and communicative skills are very positive differentiators that can tilt the balance in your favour. Your reporting skills and being a team player need to be showcased. Financial reporting is an arduous task that needs excellent presentation skills, teamwork and presentations of outcomes and foresight based on large volumes of data in lay-man language and used for management’s decision-making.
3. Software and technological skills: Technology is here to stay in all verticals and knowledge of software, and accounting suites do make a massive difference to both small and large clients. Analytical and quantitative skills with keen problem-solving abilities will help. An FA who can be clear and logical in his analysis, able to present KPI analysis in layman’s language, and who can solve issues as they rise laterally and even without standard procedures being in place is a huge management asset. Commercial acumen helps in gauging the market demands and fiscal financial behaviour, while the use of innovative methods can find value even in the standard practices field. This is mainly because accuracy, records, and streamlining of data collection are all essential steps for predictive analytics.
Job scope and opportunities:
The financial analysis field offers many career roles, titles and routes. The main categories are in
• Investment firms on buy and sell-side.
• Large Investment banks
• The real-estate sector
• Insurance-based firms and companies
• Firms in brokerage
• Financial data-driven companies.
It is a foregone conclusion that changes in technology handling of larger volumes of data mean better analysis of financial data. This drives the need for analysts higher, and the FAs role becomes very lucrative. However, it does suffer from long working hours, a lot of stress and a lack of social life.
Average Salary:
FAs draw a median salary of 65k -110k$ in the US according to Indeed.
Concluding notes:
The Financial analyst in order to be successful in this demanding career has to hone a wide variety of skills that are technical, and also non-transferable skills not taught in regular college courses.
Doing the Financial analyst course from Imarticus Learning is an excellent move to get ahead in the FA career. Besides the basics of a comprehensive global classroom course curriculum taught to ensure the development of practical and technical skills, the course has other invaluable advantages like the mentored specialisation in the financial industry, measurable skills with certification, soft skill training, personality development, resume writing modules and assured placements. Hurry!

Also Read: Future Of Financial Analyst In India

Regression Basics For Financial Analysis

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Regression Basics For Financial Analysis

The best tool in the Financial analyst‘s tool kit is Regression analysis. This analysis uses statistical methods to estimate variables dependency between the dependent and independent variables to forecast the future of the relationship and the bond/ force between them.

Types of Regression Analysis

The three main types of regression carried out by the Financial Analyst are
• Linear Regression is used where the dependent and independent data sets have a linear relationship.
• Multiple Linear Regression where the dependent and independent data sets have multiple linear relationships.
• Non-Linear Regression where dependent and independent data sets have a non-linear relationship.
Regression analysis in finance
Regression analysis is applied in financial applications and is essential to the CAPM model. In CAPM it is used to determine the relationship between market risk premium and the expected asset returns. Budgeting, forecasting returns of securities dependent on different factors, the forecasting the performance of a business and such are immensely useful examples of regression analysis applications.
Regression analysis is used in most financial applications and used in various disciplines to determine relations, interdependency, and strength of the relationships when it comes to market conditions and such areas. If you are interested in knowing more about regression analysis you should do a financial analyst course where many such techniques are explored. Especially when you do your course at the reputed Imarticus Institute the practical applications of it are explored in your project work, assignments and case studies to improve your FA skills.
The essential skills for an Financial Analyst are
1. An accounting qualification
A career in finance has many standards and procedures to be learnt along with commercial best practices. You will need a formal finance and accounting degree. Postgraduates are not uncommon.
2. Interpersonal skills
Crunching numbers with ease and being able to maintain excellent client relations means excellence in your career will depend on your client relationships and communicative skills.
3. Ability to communicate
If you’ve visited the accountant and come back understanding nothing you are not alone. The FAA must necessarily have the ability to communicate the results and foresight in layman’s language.
4. Financial Reporting
While reporting skills are essential, taking it to superb levels the FA will need excellent presentation skills in Microsoft Excel and presentation suites.
5. Analytical ability
Lateral thinking, analysis of situations and options, drawing conclusions etc need sharp business acumen, domain knowledge, real-time KPI information and the ability to use analytical skills on your feet.
6. Problem-solving attitude
Modern times require a good attitude to resolving conflicts and client problems. In conjunction with client satisfaction, it means a huge boost to your FA career.
7. Knowledge of financial software
Digitization, automation and rapid technological advancements mean the FA needs to be constantly learning the latest software programs and using them to get forecasts for furthering the business. You will need predictive analysis, SAP, Oracle and accounts payable automation programs among many others.
8. Management experience
Team management, leadership and playing the best liaison between management and the business areas the FAs career depends heavily on successful experiences.
9. Commercial acumen
Superb skills in financial analysis techniques, regression analysis, and being able to extract the relationships between the marketplace, fiscal behaviour, budgets and performance are essential to the FA.
10. Innovative outlook
Though there be set routines, techniques and tech systems, an FA who is innovative will always get the best of all fixed parameters.
Some payout statistics:
According to roberthalf.com the Financial analyst in 2017 had a median of 84,300 USD as salary. The range of lowest-paid to best-paid was 64, 390 to 114,980 USD. Your certification like the CFA certification improves your salary proportionately. Personable attitude also scores high as an attribute for success. The FAs job was rated a 15 in best business jobs and 79 among all 100 best jobs reviewed.
Conclusion:
Well, becoming a financial analyst seems to be a promising career path with unending scope since financial analysts continue to remain in demand as long as money exists. If you want to make a difference at the start of your career then do the Financial analyst course at the reputed Imarticus Learning. The benefits far outweigh the costs and it makes perfect logic from the figures cited above.
Why wait? Enrol today!

What is a good Excel book for corporate financial analysis (controller, financial planning & analysis)?

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Financial modeling can be best learned through practice.  If you are just starting to learn financial modeling, reading up on the different financial models will help you clear the fundamentals. Microsoft Excel is one of the most-used programs which are used for financial modeling.

The following books are helpful to clear the basics of financial modeling and planning, and also discusses how to analyze data sets. They also show how Excel can be used for the same models.

Mastering Financial Modelling in Microsoft Excel: This book by Alastair Day will help you master the concept of financial modeling and how they can be generated through Excel. Complex issues are discussed with ease, with solutions to practical problems. Some of the major topics covered by the book are spreadsheet designs, processes, and methodologies.

Various techniques which can be used to check and improve existing models are also given in the book. Tests for every scenario are also given along with different Excel formulas and functions.

Financial Modeling in Practice: A Concise Guide for Intermediate and Advanced Levels: It is an engaging, easily readable book authored by Michael Rees. This is a great book for students as different Excel functions and tools for financial modeling are easily explained with scenarios, explanations, and illustrations.

It also teaches the basics of how to design a model, detail out its structure, and make them accurate, relevant and easily understandable. The book also explores different add-ins such as @RISK and Precision Tree, which are very useful for risk assessment. Different examples of how these models have been used in practical solutions are explained in great detail in the book.

Best Practices for Equity Research Analysis: The book by James Valentine is aimed at equity research, and is useful for anyone who wants a career in this field. The book explains concepts from the business’ point of view. The book explains ideas on valuation, behavioral finance, and due diligence.

The author’s own experiences are clearly stated in the book as well. It focuses on the importance of clear communication through the different models which are generated. Tips and tricks which can be used in Excel are explained in detail in the book.

Financial Analysis and Modeling using Excel and VBA: The book discusses the world of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), as used in different Excel models. It is written by Chandan Sengupta and is relevant for both students and financial modelers who want to include VBA in their analysis.

It goes into the detailed features in Excel which are necessary for financial analysis course and modeling. Examples of these models are statistical analysis, Ribbon, data analysis, and PivotTables. This book also teaches financial analysis and modeling through different features of VBA and Excel.

You can learn by the different examples that are given as assignments in the book. Iterative solutions to different problem scenarios are also explained in great detail in the book.

Reliance Capital Downgraded by ICRA

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R-Capital was recently IC-Ratings Association downgraded. What does that mean and how can we use this information?
Why the rating is important:
The IC-Ratings Association forum comprises of representatives from commercial banks, leading institutions in investments and finance, and companies in financial services to benchmark and rates the invest ability factor. It is an independent company listed on stock exchanges both in Mumbai and nationally, as it is a public limited company.

Global alliances:

The ratings are used by Moody’s who offer services to investors, technical and financial services globally to companies, training, research, concept management, spotting capital market trends, and providing investor service, product ratings. Moody’s is also the largest stakeholder on the rating agency.
The ICRA rating:
The rating is crucial to the common investor because

  • It gives comprehensive company information.
  • Provides users of the rating a wider field to choose investments and products from the capital and money markets.
  • Enable company fundraising from a wider market.
  • Assist the monitoring agencies to ensure measurability of performance and transparency in the rating process.
  • Aids intermediaries and institutions in the fundraising process.

The recent downward rating of Rel-Capital by ICRA to A4 from A2 has several negative connotations. The Brickwork and CARE ratings also put them on a watch-list for credit implications that can only be negative for Reliance. The key subsidiaries of Reliance HFL and Reliance CFL were also mentioned as having a negative impact on the financial position while the profile of liquidity stands weakened and Reliance itself faces rating revisions.
Here is the lowdown on the rating factors.

    • The Anil Ambani led group has been impacted by the slow monetization of its services and businesses in the non-financial market thus impacting liquidity which is stuck in investments that are non-core in nature.
    • The critical subsidiaries of Reliance in the Home and Commercial Finance sectors are also stressed. This means that the inflow of money is lower than the debts incurred and due for repayment considering their position over the coming six months.
    • The funds need to be brought in by rapid disinvestments in the assets held by the non-core and core segments of their business and imply that the fund inflow expectations were unrealistic and much higher than the true position. The most critical factor will be whether they can raise these funds in time and pay off the accumulated debts in time. These issues point to huge borrowings and lack of flexibility in capital management.
    • Though management confidence is keeping the situation afloat there is no transparency in the funds-recovery positions of capital advanced to and obtained from Rel-Capital, Rel-Commercial Finance, and Rel-Home Finance. Thus the criticality of the fund’s position and repayment capacity remains unclear.

In response to being downgraded as a good investment choice, the company claimed that the rating was inappropriate and unjustifiable mainly because none of the parameters of operation used for rating had actually changed. They claimed the rating had accounted for Rs 950 crore being the outstanding debt to be repaid by the 30th of September this year and that this was a mere commercial on-paper transaction which did not affect its liquidity position.
Further, they claimed it would be converting into money its Rel-LAM with Nippon at the present valuation of the market to raise Rs 5,000 Cr and includes a 42.88% holding which is earning a good premium on disinvestment. It has also approached SEBI with their prospectus and plans to monetize the holdings in Rel-General Insurance wherein they have a stake-hold of 49%. Speaking more about their monetization drive they also indicated that they would cut by half their debt-servicing demands and raise a total capital of 10,000 Cr Rs in total to regain their ratings.
Conclusion:
The Reliance group of companies appears to be in a grave financial crisis with mounting debts and a debt restructuring and monetization program that will take far too long. The debtors may push hard and lead the company to file for bankruptcy.
In parting, to understand financial ratings and effectively use them in today’s ratings dependent financial markets, you will need some formal training at a well-reputed institute like Imarticus. Enroll immediately in their financial analyst courses which will make you job-prepared, aid your resume with certification and of course, give you excellent hands-on practice, a comprehensive practical oriented- curriculum which allows you to hit your career grounds running!

Equity Markets and Interest Rates- what’s the link? This is with reference to the recent RBI rate cut.

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The 25 bp fall in the RBI’s repo policy rates for the 3rd time is an indicator for the equity markets, interest rates, and investor reactions. With the newly elected BJP government winning a clear mandate, there appear to be large concerns over the domestic rate of growth, the drop in prices of oil, tariffs from the US and a vacillating global market. Reading the trends one would say the premier bank is moderating changes and even suggesting a further drop in rates from the current 5.75% which in itself is a 9-yr low. This has been spurred by the weal economic growth, wide output chasms coupled with the poor investment and consumption growth.
Effect on Equity markets:
The interest rates cause a commotion since it is the cost of borrowing and using another’s funds. The interbank rate and RBI’s lending rate to banks normally takes a year to feel any impact in the economic scenario. However, equity markets see volatility and immediately react to such changes in anticipation of growth or decrease in it as the case may be.
There is no direct impact on the equity markets by the interest rates. Yet, equity markets move in the reverse direction generally and do have indirect cascading effects on the prices and growth in general. A cut in rates implies the stock market could move upwards and a rise in the rates normally sees a slump in it. This is a thumb rule and a prediction without guarantees especially in the present globally volatile equity market scenario.
Here is how the ripple-effects are predicted to be.
GDP growth may slump in 2020: 
The US-China trade war and tariffs imposed on India too saw the GDP projected values slumping to 7 from the current 7.2%. The weakened rural area consumption, poor domestic investment growth, and exports slowing down do not augur well. However, the premier bank also pointed out that we should factor in data from March where the stable political scenario, better financials in Q2 from more business growth, an upswing in stock markets, and greater utilization of capacities can reassure the economic growth.
The trends in Inflation: 
The variations in the monsoon patterns, vegetable prices spikes, escalating global tensions, changes in fuel prices globally, volatility of equity markets, impending trade crisis’s,  and the emerging political and government policy will hugely affect the inflation rates. Currently, the RBI stepped in with a marginal upward revision to 3 to 3.1 from 2.9 to 3 % for the April ending September period.
The policy changes: RBIs change in policy has become accommodative in a bid for timely action. This also implies further changes in monetary policies and cuts in interest rates to spur the flagging markets.
The liquidity position:
In spite of an April-May deficit, the cut-backs in governmental splurges resulted in a surplus of 66,000 Cr Rs for June. Funds injection to the tune of 70 thousand Cr for April and 33.4 thousand Cr for May from the premier bank along with its OMO auction purchases for 3 years of 25 thousand Cr and almost 35 thousand Cr value saw the liquidity positions ease. Another such auction of 15 thousand Cr is also anticipated in June.
The updates:

  • The Jalan Committee report may take some time as it is still working on its recommendations to improve the premier bank’s cash reserves.
  • The RBI though not mandatorily is monitoring the NBFC sector for financial stability and will interfere if required.

Concluding notes:
With moderation rather than being neutral being the key-word, further cuts are predicted. The 6 to 5.75% RBI-lending rate, 5.75 to 5.5 repo rate, and changes in monetary policy are predicted to ease the common-mans burdens by

  • Lower HL EMIs.
  • Automobile and real-estate sectors will get a boost.
  • NBFC lending may rise as payments banks are being reviewed.
  • Bank leverage-ratios set to 4.5 to 4 for DSIBs and for the rest of the banks 3.5%.
  • The inter-ATM bank fee may change.

If you are looking to make a career as a financial or banking expert get trained on Financial Analyst courses Prodegree from Imarticus Learning. They also offer a wide variety of skill-oriented courses on data sciences, the latest on Fintech and Scrum Agile courses par excellence. Their certifications get you job-ready from day one. Hurry and enroll.

SBI Share Sale of 1.4 Billion USD

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Being an Indian, we have all heard of SBI at least once in our lifetime and in the best predictability, we have at least one bank account with the nation’s largest lender. SBI which is an acronym for the State Bank of India is an entity completely run and managed by the Government and is a conglomeration of various different financial institutions.
Onwards from 2016, SBI has been on a run to acquire and merge various of its subsidiaries like State Bank of Mysore, Hyderabad etc. and even merged with financial institutions outside of its brand name. But this year in 2019, SBI announced a sale of its stocks for around 1.4 billion USD for its holdings in various financial institutions.
In this strategic move by the country’s largest lender, SBI has chosen underwriters whose sale can raise as much as 1.4 billion USD. As of now, the official announcement for this deal has only been made public on the official PR release by the bank. In its statement, SBI announced that it has chosen Bank of America Corp., CLSA Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc as the main organizers of the sale. Other financial institutions that were chosen include Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and SBI Capital Markets Ltd. which have been chosen to work on this massive deal.
Market experts from around India are predicting that this move is an attempt to bolster SBI’s capital buffers as it plans to churn out loans at a faster pace in the upcoming years. If we take a close at the credit market, it is easy to understand that it has been growing at the fastest pace since the past 5 years, after a slight recession to shadow money lenders.
Once the sale goes through, it is set to add 11.5 Billion USD into the Indian economy as per the data gathered by Bloomberg India. As of now, the finer details of the sale have not been made public and the fundraising target could change in the upcoming days.

When Applying For a Financial analyst Position What Skills Should You Have?

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When Applying For a Financial analyst Position, What Skills Should You Have?

Depending on your career plan, resources, specialization choices, and eligibility choose your certification. These have different prerequisites in terms of educational background, experience, and examinations taken to be finally added on to your resume. All of them provide you with a well-defined skill set meant to ensure you are industry ready and have the required skill sets. Let us explore some areas.

Education
 A graduation degree or even a Master’s in Finance goes a long way. Add certifications that are relevant like the CFA from the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. Those from a non-financial background can do an MBA and take a course on financial analysis as these courses offer boot camps to bring you to speed. Analysts aspiring to work in securities should take their Series 63 and Series 7 exams to be ready for any suitable position.

Non-transferable skills will also need to be developed and aligned with the enterprise’s needs. You must have the following traits.

  1. Interpersonal Communication skills
  2. Ability to solve problems creatively.
  3. Collaborative team skills
  4. Ability to work with ambiguity, pressure, and demands from the startup environment.
  5. Discipline and integrity since you will be working on financial transactions.
  6. A good learner as there may be no prior standards in financial interpretations.Experience
    Most financial analysts gain employment as soon they finish their CFA certification or an MBA from a reputed university. However, other than education and the skills above you will need luck. That’s all. Ignore the payouts and work diligently. In a few years, you will be successful and climb the ladder of success. The payouts get more handsome as time moves on. And the scope is limited solely by you. The industry demands for good Financial Analysts have always been short of supply and have and will never end.Skill sets:
    A Financial analyst has to have a gamut of traits besides training which can be acquired through online refresher courses and extensive research. The importance of continued learning can never be stressed enough. Once you have your skills in place and your certification to validate you are industry-ready, act on taking your skills to the next level.

    The skills of a financial analyst might include:
    • Financial modelling: The modern Financial analysts must be excellent at presenting financial issues in modelling form such as through models like the Sortino Ratio.

    • Financial analysis: This is what the job role demands most from you. You can do accredited online or regular courses to equip yourself. Get certification from CFA under your belt.

    • Data analysis: Digital data today and especially in this field involves Big Data and Deep Learning tools. You will need to update your technical skills to include DevOps, SQL, Python, R etc.

    • Marketing skills: This is one non-transferable skill that you learn from experiential learning. Do a course to stay abreast of the latest technological trends to help reduce your work burden in advisory or forecasting roles.

    • ERP systems: To effectively manage the back-end offices and for automation, you need to be fluent in ERP systems.

    • Strategic thinking: Get creative, and innovative and rely on your own innate skills to develop this invaluable trait you cannot learn from college.

    • Decision-making: The financial analyst services and advise others on making investment decisions. Your acumen needs to be sharp and abilities in decision making clear, precise and data-based when making your presentations.

    • Thought skills: Your head has to be your best ally as you make those calculations and wade through complex equations while landing on your Agile feet at all times. What better way than extensive reading, discipline training and building a hobby to keep you in the developing mode.

    • Attention to detail: Even a tiny mistake on the part of a Financial Analyst will never be tolerated and has a cascading effect on the firm, investors, and profit. No one but you can help yourself! Decide wisely because the Financial Analyst role is definitely not for everyone.

An Overall View of Private Equity in India

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The first quarter of 2018 is already gone, and it is time to take a step back and look at the private equity space in India to see how the numbers panned out in these difficult times.

Let us look at some of the highlights in this quarter

  • A total of 323 mergers and acquisitions and private equity deals happened in the first quarter of 2018. These deals were valued at an average of about $70 million per deal.
  • But the total deal size of $22.5 billion for these 323 deals was down by more than 20% compared to the same quarter of 2017.
  • We were up against a huge deal that had taken place in the same quarter last year, the merger of Idea into Vodafone, valued at $23 million. If we ignore this huge deal, then the other deals of this quarter were 3.3 times the value of the deals last year.
  • The increase in deal size is borne out by the fact that there were as many as 11 deals of size between $50 million and $100 million, and eight deals that breached the $100 million mark.
  • Another interesting fact is that the action started picking up all through the quarter. February saw as many as ten deals bigger than $50 million, while March recorded almost 1.5 times the value of deals as compared to March of 2017, with 5 such mega deals of over $50 million.
  • Real estate and startups were the two standout sectors in this quarter.
  • As many as 1403 private equity deals got announced in real estate in these three months, which means an average awesome of more than 15 deals every day across the world!!
  • This number was the highest recorded in a single first quarter for the last five years, in terms of both deal volume (number) as well as aggregate value.
  • Startups too dominated the private equity space in India, just as they have been doing for almost five years now.
  • The two eye-popping deals in this quarter were the Series E funding of $300 raised by Big Basket and the $100 million Series F funding raised by Swiggy.

All in all, it was a satisfying quarter for Indian private equity. This seems to be a happy beginning for the year, and more such deals can be expected through the year.Investment Banking Banner

Let us look at what the story was for global and markets

  1. 2017 had a lot of difficult political and regulatory environment, but still, big-ticket private equity deals continued to be announced in the first quarter of 2018.
  2. Witness the takeover of Qualcomm by Broadcom at a reported $100 billion (some reports suggest it may be more), the takeover of insurance powerhouse Aetna by CVS Health for close to $70 billion.
  3. In the entertainment space, the biggest splash was made by the takeover of 20th Century Fox by Disney.
  4. Another interesting development was the use of M&A to diversify into a new area of business, like the proposed merger of telecom giant AT&T with the entertainment behemoth Time Warner. Our mouths water at the prospect of what Time Warner and AT&T could do together using their respective strengths.
  5. This trend of consolidation through acquisitions or mergers is expected to continue through 2018 on account of the fiercely competitive landscape which brings to mind the Darwinian theory of survival of only the fittest.

Overall, the Indian private equity reflected the bullish big ticket activity in the World markets including the Asia Pacific, and the year 2018 seems set to be a memorable year for PE as well and M&A.