A healthy financial services sector is a huge economic driver that provides millions with solid jobs. It also helps individuals acquire the money they need to buy cars, homes, education, and more. It enables them to save for retirement, down payments and other goals, protects their property from loss through insurance, and allows businesses to expand and grow by providing them with the capital they need through loans.
A lot of people think that banks, brokers and mortgage lenders are completely different entities, but they’re actually all part of the same industry. In fact, the financial services industry is much more expansive than just those three sectors and includes many more categories.
Financial services are essentially anything that touches money in some way. It covers a wide range of products and services such as the deposit-taking activities, lending of all types (including mortgages), securities trading and underwriting, credit rating, depository and custodial services, and investment management, including pension fund management. It also consists of a variety of other important business services such as debt resolution, global payment systems like Visa and MasterCard, credit card machine networks, foreign exchange services, wire transfer services, and accounting and auditing.
The lines between the various segments of the financial services industry are beginning to blur, however. This is mostly due to rapid advances in technology that have made it easier for companies to offer a wider range of products and services than ever before. It has also allowed financial services companies to combine into larger conglomerates in order to earn and offer more than they could if they were separate entities.
For example, a large bank that offers mortgages, brokerage services and other financial products may start to acquire smaller companies in the insurance segment and add them to its holding company in order to make it easier for consumers to do business with one company for all of their financial needs. This type of acquisition is becoming more common in the industry as firms are looking for ways to expand their offerings and compete more effectively with other financial services providers.
Ultimately, the financial services industry plays an essential role in the world economy. It helps individuals, small businesses, corporations, and even government agencies manage their finances in a safe and convenient manner. This allows them to gain access to loans and other funding that they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to obtain, protects their assets and possessions through insurance, and it provides investors with the opportunity to earn a return on their investments.
So next time you’re thinking about applying for a job in the finance industry, remember that there are plenty of opportunities to consider and most of them pay well above average. In addition to that, the career paths in finance are usually quite flexible and don’t require a lot of schooling or experience to get started. The team at Phyton Talent Advisors works with professionals in the financial services industry every day, and we see how much they love their jobs.