Example Career: Financial Risk Specialists

Career Description

Analyze and measure exposure to credit and market risk threatening the assets, earning capacity, or economic state of an organization. May make recommendations to limit risk.

What Job Titles Financial Risk Specialists Might Have

• Analyst
• Risk Analyst
• Risk Specialist
• Securities Analyst

What Financial Risk Specialists Do

• Analyze areas of potential risk to the assets, earning capacity, or success of organizations.
• Analyze new legislation to determine impact on risk exposure.
• Conduct statistical analyses to quantify risk, using statistical analysis software or econometric models.
• Confer with traders to identify and communicate risks associated with specific trading strategies or positions.
• Consult financial literature to ensure use of the latest models or statistical techniques.
• Contribute to development of risk management systems.
• Determine potential environmental impacts of new products or processes on long-term growth and profitability.
• Develop contingency plans to deal with emergencies.
• Develop or implement risk-assessment models or methodologies.
• Devise scenario analyses reflecting possible severe market events.
• Devise systems or processes to monitor validity of risk assessments.
• Document, and ensure communication of, key risks.
• Draw charts and graphs, using computer spreadsheets, to illustrate technical reports.
• Evaluate and compare the relative quality of various securities in a given industry.
• Evaluate the risks and benefits involved in implementing green building technologies.
• Evaluate the risks related to green investments, such as renewable energy company stocks.
• Gather risk-related data from internal or external resources.
• Identify key risks and mitigating factors of potential investments, such as asset types and values, legal and ownership structures, professional reputations, customer bases, or industry segments.
• Inform financial decisions by analyzing financial information to forecast business, industry, or economic conditions.
• Interpret data on price, yield, stability, future investment-risk trends, economic influences, and other factors affecting investment programs.
• Maintain input or data quality of risk management systems.
• Meet with clients to answer queries on subjects such as risk exposure, market scenarios, or values-at-risk calculations.
• Monitor developments in the fields of industrial technology, business, finance, and economic theory.
• Prepare plans of action for investment, using financial analyses.
• Produce reports or presentations that outline findings, explain risk positions, or recommend changes.
• Provide statistical modeling advice to other departments.
• Recommend investments and investment timing to companies, investment firm staff, or the public.
• Recommend ways to control or reduce risk.
• Review or draft risk disclosures for offer documents.
• Track, measure, or report on aspects of market risk for traded issues.

What Financial Risk Specialists Should Be Good At

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Financial Risk Specialists Should Be Interested In

• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

What Financial Risk Specialists Need to Learn

• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.