Financial services put consumers’ money to work, whether it’s investing in the next great technology, financing someone’s house or just giving them a place to keep their money. They also help redistribute risk, pooling cash from many savers into investments that would be too expensive for just one person to afford.
Banks, for instance, manage deposits and loans. Credit card companies, such as Visa and MasterCard, provide payment systems. And financial markets utilities, like exchanges for stock, derivative and commodity trades and real-time gross settlement systems or interbank networks, are all part of the financial services industry as well.
Today, the lines between these sectors are blurred. Banks offer a wide range of services once reserved for brokerage firms or mutual funds. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of the 1990s, for example, made it possible for banks to offer investment, commercial banking and insurance services. And as deregulation of global markets allowed more companies to merge, the once distinct sectors of financial services became more consolidated into multi-service financial conglomerates.
A career in financial services offers excellent pay and a chance to build an interesting and varied skillset. But the broad scope of the industry can make it hard to know where to focus your efforts. We here at Phyton Talent Advisors have some advice to help. We’ve broken down four key areas of the financial services industry to help you narrow your focus and decide if this is a good fit for you.