Legal, finance and accounting
Financial services professional - Investment management professional
Provide investment-related financial services to stakeholders specific to investment banking, investment management, or investment operations
Summary
The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide investment related services to a range of stakeholders specific to their specialism.
- The role of an investment banker is to assist companies in raising capital to support their activities. They handle complex transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, and business structuring. Investment bankers also provide financial services to other companies and organizations, helping them manage and grow their financial assets. They use their expertise in markets, statistics, and data analysis to assist stakeholders in increasing invested assets and avoiding financial loss. Additionally, investment bankers offer valuable financial expertise to help stakeholders make informed business and investment decisions. Their responsibilities include performing valuations on a company's worth, providing financial strategies, advising clients on investment opportunities, managing Initial Public Offerings (IPO), that is, the first time that a private company sells shares of its stock to the public on a stock exchange. They comply with legal and regulatory agencies, and facilitate acquisitions and mergers, among other tasks.
- The role of an investment manager is to deliver financial services to clients managing their wealth through a portfolio. They engage closely with stakeholders to achieve financial objectives and enhance investment prospects using financial analysis and market expertise. Investment managers oversee a diverse range of financial assets and investments within a larger portfolio, devise short- and long-term strategies for acquiring and divesting assets, and manage portfolios to ensure favourable performance before providing reports. Stakeholders of investment managers usually possess existing investment accounts and expect managers to work with them collaboratively, providing guidance and addressing queries regarding potential investments and associated risks. Some Investment Managers may work in trading investment activities such as analysis of market data and trends or constructing investment portfolios and selecting assets to maximise returns.
- The role of an investment operations professional is to ensure accurate processing and settlement of investment transactions within regulatory, compliance, and commercial frameworks. They focus on settlement and clearing of trades within the global financial system, handling trades for various financial instruments for clients worldwide. Clearing involves verifying records created by traders to match records maintained by the entities from which securities were purchased or sold. Settlements ensure securities are exchanged for the correct amount of money and involve tasks such as preparing documentation for sales and ensuring banks receive payment for bought or sold shares.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with a range of stakeholders. Investment bankers and investment managers will interact with stakeholders such as corporate clients, regulators, team members, subject matter experts and specialists within financial services. Investment operations managers interact most frequently with internal stakeholders such as investment bankers, wealth mangers and investment analysts. They will also work in close collaboration with other operational elements of the organisation such as regulatory and compliance teams, risk teams, project and strategic teams and subject matter experts.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for managing their own workload and contributing to meeting the objectives of the wider team and organisation. They will work at pace and with accuracy ensuring that they are up to date with regulatory requirements, market trends and analysis. All have an element of risk management which is core to the role.
Typical job titles include
- Investment analyst | Investment banker | Investment manager | Investment operations leader | Trading analyst | Wealth manager
Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)
K1:
The structure of the financial services industry, its sectors, and the role of specific organisations.
K2:
Regulation and legislation related to the handling of financial investments, including GDPR, anti-money laundering, fraud prevention, and cybersecurity frameworks.
K3:
External factors, the wider landscape, and their impact on financial services delivery, for example, government budget announcements and economic changes, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and strategic analysis frameworks such as PESTEL, SWOT, and Balanced Scorecard.
K4:
Risk and governance frameworks, how these impact their role, how to facilitate compliance, and the implications of non-compliance for their organisation.
K5:
Approaches to identifying stakeholder segments, assessing their needs, and selecting appropriate service channels for both internal and external stakeholders, applying the principles of excellent customer service and effective stakeholder relationship management.
K6:
Principles of data analysis and research, including their application to meet business and customer needs.
K7:
Data visualisation techniques, such as producing graphs, dashboards, and charts appropriate for technical and non-technical audiences.
K8:
Organisational values, including approaches to ethics, sustainability, and equity, diversity, and inclusion.
K9:
Financial asset classes and their derivatives, financial products, and financial services relevant to their role, including their features, benefits, and risks, such as green financing options.
K10:
Principles and approaches to risk management in financial investment activities.
K11:
Approaches to communication with stakeholders, including conveying complex messages to non-technical stakeholders with emotional intelligence.
K12:
Approaches to assessing wider industry demographics and the competitor landscape.
K13:
Mathematics and statistics that underpin financial models, including compound interest, cash flow models, discounting, option pricing, and valuations and credit risk.
K14:
Fundamentals of digital financial packages and applications, including the maintenance of key databases and spreadsheets.
K15:
Principles and properties behind systems, applications, and digital technology, including statistical and machine learning models, their practical applications within the organisation, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence.
K16:
Principles, tools, and techniques of workflow management, time management, and prioritisation for meeting deadlines in financial operations.
K17:
Approaches to measuring performance outcomes and productivity, including impacts on wider organisational priorities.
K18:
Principles of maintaining internal documentation to ensure a clear and identifiable audit trail of decision-making and analysis, including collaborative use of digital tools.
K19:
Principles of accounts and financial statements, including capital structures used to analyse corporate entities.
K20:
Approaches to Know Your Customer (KYC) activity, including the macro and microenvironments of each customer, their challenges and motivations, and the internal and external factors that impact those challenges, motivations, and financial decisions.
K21:
Approaches to client portfolio sales, management, and growth.
- Reference:
- OCC1465B
- Status:
Occupational standard in development
- SOC 2020 code:
- 0
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
S1:
Use emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills to build ethically sound and trusted relationships with stakeholders.
S2:
Work with stakeholders to establish their existing position, needs, and expectations, and to identify needs they may not recognise, utilising specialist expertise as required.
S3:
Use internal systems or financial services digital systems and administrative processes in compliance with organisational policies and procedures.
S4:
Identify and communicate risks to the relevant management or compliance personnel within the organisation, and follow the appropriate organisational processes to address or mitigate risk.
S5:
Select and use project management techniques applicable to the circumstances to support the delivery of projects, or parts of a project, as required.
S6:
Contribute to the development of strategic and operational plans for their organisational area.
S7:
Manage and report on progress and operational plans to stakeholders, such as senior leaders and team members, regarding their area of responsibility.
S8:
Gather, analyse, and evaluate financial information from a range of perspectives to draw sustainable, evidence-based conclusions.
S9:
Make sustainable financial investment services decisions using a structured approach.
S10:
Undertake financial investment risk management activities, such as credit risk management, market risk, operational risk management, and conduct risk management.
S11:
Plan and organise workloads, prioritise tasks, and manage time to meet key performance indicators or deadlines.
S12:
Communicate financial services concepts and present data insights in a manner appropriate to diverse audiences, adapting communication techniques accordingly.
S13:
Engage and network with stakeholders, including senior management, to build positive working relationships and deliver organisational objectives.
S14:
Keep up to date with developments in digital technology and relevant legal, regulatory, commercial, and sectoral changes, and alert others to their impacts.
S15:
Identify opportunities to drive more effective performance for own role and improve services and or processes.
S16:
Use digital tools to assist with financial investment tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, handling data securely and safely, including backing it up in accordance with organisational policies.
S17:
Adapt and respond to new requests or unforeseen events to maintain high-quality delivery of financial tasks.
S18:
Interpret the accounts and financial statements of companies and financial institutions.
S21:
Use trading and risk management tools under supervision.
S22:
Support the development and ongoing management of stakeholder solutions, investment strategies, and portfolios.
S23:
Generate qualitative and quantitative insights and provide bespoke client market and product information to deliver accessible and ethical information that meets client needs.
- Reference:
- OCC1465B
- Status:
Occupational standard in development
- SOC 2020 code:
- 0
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
B1:
Takes responsibility for personal and professional development, such as producing and following a development plan.
B2:
Acts professionally and ethically when undertaking investment activities, demonstrating organisational values.
B3:
Is a team player, collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders.
B4:
Adapts to changing circumstances and contexts, maintaining personal resilience and learning from experience.
B5:
Creative, innovative, and enterprising when seeking solutions to problems within their remit.
B6:
Displays empathy, contributing to a diverse and inclusive culture, and uses self-awareness and emotional intelligence to respond to challenges.
- Reference:
- OCC1465B
- Status:
- Occupational standard in development
- SOC 2020 code:
- 0
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
