Business and Financial Operations · Holland code ICE

Financial Quantitative Analysts

Develop quantitative techniques to inform securities investing, equities investing, pricing, or valuation of financial instruments. Develop mathematical or statistical models for risk management, asset optimization, pricing, or relative value analysis.

Also called: Investment Strategist, Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Analyst, Quantitative Equity Analyst, Investment Portfolio Control Consultant, Quantitative Research Analyst, Quantitative Strategy Analyst, Research Analyst.

O*NET 13-2099.01

At a glance

US median annual pay: $81,100; Middle half earn $61,290 to $110,410. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Master's Degree; 60% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive 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.

Apply mathematical or statistical techniques to address practical issues in finance, such as derivative valuation, securities trading, risk management, or financial market regulation.
Research or develop analytical tools to address issues such as portfolio construction or optimization, performance measurement, attribution, profit and loss measurement, or pricing models.
Interpret results of financial analysis procedures.
Develop core analytical capabilities or model libraries, using advanced statistical, quantitative, or econometric techniques.
Define or recommend model specifications or data collection methods.
Produce written summary reports of financial research results.
Maintain or modify all financial analytic models in use.
Provide application or analytical support to researchers or traders on issues such as valuations or data.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Mathematics4.4 / 5
Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.8 / 5
Speaking3.8 / 5
Active Learning3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Mathematics4.6 / 5
Economics and Accounting4.2 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.7 / 5
English Language3.0 / 5
Engineering and Technology2.7 / 5
Administration and Management2.1 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

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.

Realistic10
Investigative95
Artistic14
Social10
Enterprising41
Conventional80

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)

actuarial consultant · DE Aktuar/Aktuarin · FR actuaire
statistician · DE Statistiker/Statistikerin · FR statisticien/statisticienne
business valuer · DE Unternehmensbewerter/Unternehmensbewerterin · FR expert en évaluation d'entreprises/experte en évaluation d'entreprises
corporate investment banker · DE Anlage- und Vermögensberater für Geschäftskunden/Anlage- und Vermögensberaterin für Geschäftskunden · FR banquier d'affaires/banquière d'affaires
investment manager · DE Investmentmanager/Investmentmanagerin · FR directeur des investissements/directrice des investissements
financial analyst · DE Finanzanalyst/Finanzanalystin · FR analyste financier/analyste financière

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Finance and investment analysts and advisers (2422)268,700 employed
Actuaries, economists and statisticians (2433)85,900 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 +1.36. 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 (13-2099).

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