What Financial Analysts Actually Do
Financial analysts work across a wide range of settings — investment banks (sell-side equity research), asset management firms (buy-side research and portfolio management), corporate finance departments, commercial banks, insurance companies, and consulting firms. The common thread is quantitative analysis of financial data to support investment or business decisions.
A sell-side equity research analyst covers a portfolio of publicly traded companies — publishing research reports with buy/sell/hold recommendations for institutional clients. A buy-side analyst at a mutual fund or hedge fund does similar analysis but for internal portfolio management rather than external publication. A corporate financial analyst works inside a company on budgeting, forecasting, and strategic financial planning.
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is the most globally recognized credential in investment analysis and portfolio management. It requires passing three rigorous exams covering ethics, financial statement analysis, equity, fixed income, derivatives, portfolio management, and alternative investments. The full charter typically takes 3–5 years to complete while working. In asset management and research roles, the CFA is the credential that separates serious practitioners from everyone else — and in many organizations it's effectively required for senior advancement.
Three Settings — Very Different Jobs
Work at an investment bank's research division, covering companies in specific sectors. Publish research reports, financial models, and investment recommendations consumed by institutional investors. Strong career for people who love deep fundamental analysis. Path to buy-side roles or eventually portfolio management.
Work at a mutual fund, pension, endowment, or asset manager. Analyze securities and make recommendations to portfolio managers (or eventually manage money yourself). Higher pay ceiling than sell-side, more directly tied to investment performance. The CFA is especially valued here.
Work inside a company — financial planning and analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and business unit performance reporting. Better hours than banking or research. Clear path to CFO for high performers. The CFA is less critical here — the CPA or MBA is often more relevant for corporate finance advancement.
Analyze bonds, credit quality, and interest rate environments for asset managers, banks, or insurance companies. Often overlooked relative to equity — but significant in size, well-compensated, and deeply covered in the CFA curriculum. Strong demand at insurance companies and pension funds.
The CFA Exam Path
What You Can Earn
Entry-level financial analyst (corporate): $60,000–$80,000
Sell-side equity research analyst: $80,000–$130,000 (base) + bonus
Buy-side analyst (asset management): $100,000–$200,000
Portfolio manager (mid-career): $150,000–$400,000
Senior PM / CIO (top-tier firms): $500,000–$2,000,000+
CFA charterholders at major asset managers earn a median of approximately $177,000 according to CFA Institute surveys, with significant upside at senior levels through performance-based bonuses and profit sharing.