Business and Financial Operations · Holland code CEI

Financial and Investment Analysts

Conduct quantitative analyses of information involving investment programs or financial data of public or private institutions, including valuation of businesses.

Also called: Analyst, Financial Analyst, Investment Analyst, Securities Analyst, Credit Products Officer, Equity Research Analyst, Planning Analyst, Portfolio Manager.

O*NET 13-2051.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $102,740; Middle half earn $79,290 to $133,340. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Advise clients on aspects of capitalization, such as amounts, sources, or timing.
Analyze financial or operational performance of companies facing financial difficulties to identify or recommend remedies.
Assess companies as investments for clients by examining company facilities.
Collaborate on projects with other professionals, such as lawyers, accountants, or public relations experts.
Collaborate with investment bankers to attract new corporate clients.
Conduct financial analyses related to investments in green construction or green retrofitting projects.
Confer with clients to restructure debt, refinance debt, or raise new debt.
Create client presentations of plan details.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative68
Artistic13
Social21
Enterprising68
Conventional76

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

business valuer · DE Unternehmensbewerter/Unternehmensbewerterin · FR expert en évaluation d'entreprises/experte en évaluation d'entreprises
investment adviser · DE Anlage- und Vermögensberater/Anlage- und Vermögensberaterin · FR conseiller en investissements/conseillère en investissements
corporate investment banker · DE Anlage- und Vermögensberater für Geschäftskunden/Anlage- und Vermögensberaterin für Geschäftskunden · FR banquier d'affaires/banquière d'affaires
investment fund management assistant · DE Assistent im Bereich Investmentfondsmanagement/Assistentin im Bereich Investmentfondsmanagement · FR assistant gérant de portefeuille/assistante gérante de portefeuille
investment manager · DE Investmentmanager/Investmentmanagerin · FR directeur des investissements/directrice des investissements
investor relations manager · DE Investor-Relations-Manager/Investor-Relations-Managerin · FR responsable de la communication financière

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Finance and investment analysts and advisers (2422)268,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.38. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-2051).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test