Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Careers

financial-services-sales-50Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents offer financial products that investors can buy or sell. These products include stocks, corporate and municipal bonds, mutual funds, annuities, commodities, and other investments.

Financial services sales agents have different titles such as account executive, registered representative, or financial consultant. Most of these agents work out of a bank, financial service center, or corporate office, but it is not unusual for independent agents, particularly those in the insurance field, to do some of their work from home.

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Career Snapshot

Financial services sales agents work long, stressful hours under fast paced conditions, and some fields like investment banking involve domestic and foreign travel. With the growth of online brokerages and electronic trading, agents spend most of their day using a telephone and computer while working in a call center environment.

Further details on a career as a security, commodity, and financial service sales agent are listed below (statistics from the May 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics and Onet Online):

$71,550

is the average annual salary for securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents.

10%

increase in employment between 2014 and 2024.

55%

have a Bachelor’s degree while 12% have a High school diploma or equivalent.

Education

Financial services companies generally require their sales agents to have a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis on business, finance, accounting, or economics. These companies offer internships and on-the-job training where agents undergo extensive sales training, market analysis, securities analysis, and training on products and services. Agents need to have various licenses to sell financial products like a Series 6, 7, and 63, and they must be registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Job Outlook

Financial services companies are always looking new securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents, and employment is expected to grow by ten percent through 2024. Successful sales agents receive high incomes, which attracts more job applicants than there are available job openings.

Salaries

The median salary for securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents is $71,550 with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $32,680 and the highest 10 percent earning more than $187,200 according to the BLS.gov 2015 reports. Many agents work on commission only, and some earn a salary plus commission.

Job Duties

Insurance agents, investment bankers, stock brokers, and floor traders perform different functions, but they all contact potential clients, monitor financial markets, and evaluate clients portfolios. Analyzing industries, evaluating individual companies, and buying and selling securities and commodities are some of the other job duties of a financial sales agent.

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Skills & Traits

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Skill Set:Required Abilities:Tools Used by Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Individuals:Typical Work Activities:
• Active Listening
• Critical Thinking
• Reading Comprehension
• Speaking
• Decision Making
• Deductive Reasoning
• Oral Comprehension
• Written Comprehension
• Inductive Reasoning
• Oral Expression
• Desktop/notebook computers
• Laser fax machine
• Computer data input scanners
• Multi-line telephone systems
• Financial analysis software
• Working with Computers
• Getting Information
• Processing Information
• Using Relevant Knowledge
• Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

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