Stockbroking
- Description
- Tasks
- Skills
- Useful Knowledge
- Entry Qualifications
- Professional Qualifications
- Trends
- Resources
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Stockbroking brings together buyers and sellers of financial products in a market where prices are already established. As a stockbroker, you’ll be buying and selling shares on a commission basis for clients – which could include private investors or institutions. Your overall aim would be to help clients maximise returns on their investment. Stockbrokers work closely with investment analysts and traders, monitoring UK and foreign stock market performance, purchasing new share issues, interpreting financial reports and administering and evaluating clients' investment holdings. It requires an ethical and professional approach as anyone working in stockbroking must adhere to regulations set by the Financial Services Authority.
Salary
A trainee stockbroker can expect to earn an annual salary of approximately £25,000. When fully qualified, and with the right experience and skills you could progress to earn in excess of £100,000 per annum. This does not include potential bonuses and additional benefits. Salaries may vary based on location and employer.
- Developing investment strategies to meet agreed investment objectives
- Implementing a defined investment strategy, liaising with clients and dealing with their queries
- Administering and evaluating clients’ investment holdings
- Monitoring stock market performance
- Monitoring instructions received from clients electronically
- Advising clients on changes in the market and recommending buy / sell actions
- Processing or executing trades as per client instructions
- Purchasing new share issues
- Constantly checking that your clients’ records are accurate and complete
- Ensuring details of any problems or delays in processing instructions are reported promptly to the relevant authority
- Constantly networking to maintain relationships with existing investment clients and foster new profitable relationships
- Monitoring Regulatory news service and wider media for announcements, stories, political and economic developments likely to affect the prices of individual companies and markets
- Good attention to detail
- Desire for excellence
- Conscientious
- Proactive approach to work
- Discrete and ethical
- Organised
- Outstanding networking and relationship management skills
- Business communication and interpersonal skills
- Strong client service ethic
- Team working skills but equally confident taking initiative and responsibility for your decisions
- Flexibility, particularly if brokering investment deals across different time zones
- Enjoy working in a lively, fast-paced environment
A new entrant will not always be required to have this knowledge. Employers usually provide training to acquire skills for:
- Sound understanding of securities and equities markets
- Comprehensive knowledge of regulation affecting client deals
- Specialist knowledge of specific securities markets such as derivatives, bonds and funds
The main route into stockbroking is through a formal graduate programme. Employers will require entrants to be numerate and typically ask for a 2.1 degree. Any degree discipline may be accepted, but some employers prefer a management, business, economics, financial or numeracy orientated subject. Each employer specifies exact academic requirements and preferred subject.
As a regulated role, stockbrokers will need to achieve one of the following specific qualifications:
- CFA Society of the UK (CFA UK) Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and CFA Level 1 Qualification
- CISI Level 4 Diploma in Investment Advice
- CISI Level 7 Masters in Wealth Management
- Fellow or Associate of the Faculty or Institute of Actuaries
- Manchester Metropolitan University BA (Hons) Financial Services, Planning and Management
These qualifications meet the Financial Services Authority (FSA) full qualification requirements up to and after 1 January 2013. Please contact the FSA on 0845 606 9966.
International banks, financial investment and fund management houses and specialist brokers employ stockbrokers. Additionally, wealth managers, who carry out an element of the stockbroking role, are found in private banks. Most opportunities occur within financial houses in London and other major cities such as Edinburgh and Birmingham. Due to the global nature of equities and funds there may be opportunities for secure secondments and permanent positions in investment divisions overseas. Many global banks and investment management firms have offices in key financial centres, such as New York, Tokyo and Sydney, and in the main European centres of Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid.
