‘Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.’(Warren Buffet)
Thursday, October 11, 2012
The life of an Investment Broker
Oh the grind of college! Why is it that we put ourselves through sleepless nights working part time jobs and taking full time college courses? I don't think many of us can answer that question. I realize the discipline I'm studying is a good fit for me. However, what I want to do with my finance degree is still way up in the air, and trying to figure out my career path right now is all too overwhelming. There is a wide variety of financial careers in today's job market with many that I'm unfamiliar with. Therefore, I decided to research the financial position of a stock broker.
I recently opened up an online brokerage account with Scottrade, so I decided to start my journey of discovery there. A few months ago after setting up my account I started investing, with the little money I have, in the stock market. The outcome of my investments have not been that great, but I have realized how interested I've become with the market. I check my stocks several times each day. My eagerness to learn more about the market has increased since I started trading and has helped me stay focus in all of my finance classes (particularly my investment class). Therefore, at this point in time I'm considering working for a brokerage company after I graduate. So I decided to call Scottrade's branch office in Walnut Creek to learn more about a possible career at the firm. I was able to speak with Kevin, one of the brokers at the branch. When I told him about my career uncertainty, he informed me that Scottrade offers a lot of different positions. He explained, "Scottrade offers positions with little experience needed, such as paid internships to divisonal branch mangers." The range of jobs offered consist of customer service related positions in branch offices, like Kevin, to positions in their corporate office analyzing stocks. Kevin also made it sound like the company offers employees opportunities to move up in the company.
I was really impressed talking to Kevin about Scottrade. He seemed to enjoy working as a broker for the company. When I asked him what a broker does? He informed me that a majority of his time is spent processing clients stock and bond transactions. You see a broker is the person who allows an investor to buy and sell securities. If I decide I want to sell my Facebook shares tomorrow all I have to do is click the "sell" button on my online Scottrade account. As the broker, Kevin then has to process the transaction (find an investor to sell the shares to). Kevin also spends time talking to clients both in person and through email and phone. "Customer service is a big part of my job," Kevin mentioned he makes several calls a day checking in with clients to offer assistance with their accounts. Building relationships with clients, Kevin explained allows him to offer better advice. He talked about finding their "risk tolerance", meaning how much risk someone is willing to take to earn more profit. Once a broker has an understanding of a client's "risk tolerance" he is able to advise certain investment funds. To find out your own "risk tolerance" check out this link. and the video below.
After speaking with Kevin the idea of a broker seemed like a possible career for myself. The daily interaction a broker has with the financial market appeals to me. I thought to myself, since I'm very interested in learning more about the financial market, a job such as Kevin's would allow me to engage with it everyday. I feel that this job could offer me a great amount of experience and knowledge that I desire regarding the stock market. Therefore, after speaking with Kevin I visited Scottrade's website to learn more about career opportunities and how to get started. I found out that Scottrades headquarters are located in St.Louis, Missouri and Denver, Colorado as well as 500 branch offices nationwide offering a job almost anywhere in the country. However, what was most appealing was that 19% of Scottrades current employee's started as interns with the company. I realize after I graduate, I'm not going to be able to receive a position such as a broker with no financial work experience. Therefore, getting an internship will greater my chances. Knowing that Scottrade offers career opportunities after interning with them has definitely caught my attention.
The breakdown of a broker was helpful to someone like me that knows barely anything about trading. I think that you are on a good track to finding a position that fits within your major. Scottrade seems like a good company to work with because as you mentioned there are so many positions that you can research and discover more about. An internship seems like a good path to choose if you are still unsure about a definite position. Even if you are interning for one position you may get a little insight on some other positions by just being in the field.
I do agree with Anjelia on how I feel that broker is really helpful to people that have limited knowledge about what they are doing. Likewise, I didn't know what I wanted to be once I graduated from my school, yet now I realize that Internship should be the most realistic job that I should aim for since most of the company will not hire people who have a little experience directly before seeing what they have to offer for them. Furthermore, by doing internship first, we can see the environment of the company first, will we fit in or not and will we like the job that being offered to us and so on.
It is interesting to know what exactly a broker does. I am not into any type of finance so I didn't have an idea of what a broker does; However, after reading your post I have a sense of what a broker does and how they help people handle their finances. I agree with Brianto, about doing an internship because it is always good to be able to experience something first before you dive right into it and then realize that you don't like it.
I was really impressed talking to Kevin about Scottrade. He seemed to enjoy working as a broker for the company. When I asked him what a broker does? He informed me that a majority of his time is spent processing clients stock and bond transactions. You see a broker is the person who allows an investor to buy and sell securities. If I decide I want to sell my Facebook shares tomorrow all I have to do is click the "sell" button on my online Scottrade account. As the broker, Kevin then has to process the transaction (find an investor to sell the shares to). Kevin also spends time talking to clients both in person and through email and phone. "Customer service is a big part of my job," Kevin mentioned he makes several calls a day checking in with clients to offer assistance with their accounts. Building relationships with clients, Kevin explained allows him to offer better advice. He talked about finding their "risk tolerance", meaning how much risk someone is willing to take to earn more profit. Once a broker has an understanding of a client's "risk tolerance" he is able to advise certain investment funds. To find out your own "risk tolerance" check out this link. and the video below. 
The breakdown of a broker was helpful to someone like me that knows barely anything about trading. I think that you are on a good track to finding a position that fits within your major. Scottrade seems like a good company to work with because as you mentioned there are so many positions that you can research and discover more about. An internship seems like a good path to choose if you are still unsure about a definite position. Even if you are interning for one position you may get a little insight on some other positions by just being in the field.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Anjelia on how I feel that broker is really helpful to people that have limited knowledge about what they are doing. Likewise, I didn't know what I wanted to be once I graduated from my school, yet now I realize that Internship should be the most realistic job that I should aim for since most of the company will not hire people who have a little experience directly before seeing what they have to offer for them. Furthermore, by doing internship first, we can see the environment of the company first, will we fit in or not and will we like the job that being offered to us and so on.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to know what exactly a broker does. I am not into any type of finance so I didn't have an idea of what a broker does; However, after reading your post I have a sense of what a broker does and how they help people handle their finances. I agree with Brianto, about doing an internship because it is always good to be able to experience something first before you dive right into it and then realize that you don't like it.
ReplyDelete