Financial management is a very sensitive sector. Employers and their valued clients are quite selective about the skills they wish to recruit inside their financial processes. Investment banking and various other services related to investment management such as capital services offer extremely lucrative career prospects and salaries.
However, in order to join this sector, professionals must be competent in 7 main areas. Falling under financial management, investment management is one of the most premium sectors in the finance industry, and thus, firms have high expectations when looking for candidates.
There is no need to worry as there are executive programmes such as IIM Calcutta’s Investment Banking and Capital Markets programme that can help working professionals learn all the essential skills, tools, and concepts needed to join this sector. Let us learn more about the 7 core competencies that solid Investment Management certifications are sure to teach.
Top 7 Core Competencies
Due to the nature of the sector, understanding the basics of finance is compulsory. An executive programme in Investment and Financial Management such as one offered by the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta teaches you foundations of finance as well as financial accounting and financial economics. However, these are not core competencies and are just simply foundation modules.
Now, let us learn more about the core competencies that are crucial for roles such as investment banker or capital markets specialist.
Debt Capital Markets: Investment management professionals are expected to be masters of various aspects of debt such as debt structuring, debt valuation, and debt financing. Debt capital markets also teach you loan portfolio management, credit appraisal, and debt origination.
- Equity Capital Markets: Investment banks and firms deal with equity valuation, equity origination, and equity financing. Thus, these organizations also expect their investment bankers and managers to know about issuance mechanisms and underwriting.
- Mergers, Acquisitions, and Restructurings: In investment management, one must also study corporate deals, takeovers, corporate restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, asset valuation, and leveraging. There are various modules taught in investment management programmes such as business advisory or leverage financing that will allow you to help companies make these deals and transactions.
- Portfolio Fund Management: These programmes teach portfolio management concepts such as asset pricing models and factor investing. Handling the portfolios of valuable clients is essential and banks or firms demand their personnel to be experts in portfolio management. Learning portfolio investment strategies, portfolio theory, alternate investments, and private equity is essential.
- Securities Market Research and Valuation: For security market research and valuation, investment management programmes teach corporate valuation, industry analysis, and cash flow estimation. You also learn report evaluation and how to carry out industry analyst research.
- Securities Market Sales and Trading: For security market sales and trading, these executive programmes offer training in high-frequency finance and derivatives trading. You also get a good understanding of securities market trading strategies and market microstructure.
- Securities Market Regulations: Investment management deals with security market regulations that pertain to security issuers and security market issuances. Relevant programmes teach you about capital market regulators, capital market investors, corporate governance mechanisms, and market infrastructure institutions.
Other than the 7 core competencies, there are also some necessary technical skills, leadership skills, and soft skills that are required. These skills are also covered by executive programmes.
Conclusion
The Executive Programme in Investment Banking and Capital Markets by IIM Calcutta and Imarticus Learning is your key to a successful future in these lucrative sub-domains of finance. Finishing the programme successfully also fetches you a certification from IIM Calcutta and you are able to join IIM Calcutta’s Executive Alumni status where you can engage in peer-to-peer networking.
