Career Path Guide
Although there are multiple paths you can take to become an investment services assistant, a very effective route for entering this profession is to follow these general steps:
1. Determine if this profession is suited to your personal and professional interests
2. Pursue a bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Math or a similar field
3. Work in the financial services industry as a student, in a role such as research assistant and/or find work as an intern
4. Get a permanent position in the financial/investment services industry upon graduation
5. Apply for jobs as an investment services assistant once you're able to satisfactorily perform each duty listed on job postings that interest you
6. Obtain financial services industry licensure after you’ve gained sufficient experience, in order to further advance your career
Read on below to learn more about what these professionals do for a living, what it takes to get into this field, how much you could earn, and other details of this occupation:
Will I need relevant work experience?
Some employers will require that you have one to three years of directly related experience in an investment services environment. This could include working as an investment analyst, researcher, or investment sales professional.
Employers that require this experience do so because they want to see that you have the industry-related competencies and expertise to support a team of investment professionals.
Success Tip: Get ahead of the game by getting relevant work experience while you're a university student, either through an internship, or by means of a part-time or summer job in the financial services industry. Speak with your career services office for more guidance on how to properly pursue such opportunities.
What college/university education will I need?
Most employers however require hat you have a bachelor’s degree in finance, business administration, economics, math or a related field in order to be considered for a position as an investment services assistant.
What is an investment services assistant?
An investment services assistant is the primary account and relationship support for teams (or individuals) of investment services professionals, which may include financial advisors, planners, consultants, private asset managers, and other professionals.
They typically provide administrative, research and customer service related support for the investment services team within which they work.
What do they do?
Although their duties can vary, investment services assistants are generally responsible for the following:
• Responding to internal and external inquiries
• Assisting in the preparation of marketing material and any marketing related functions, including client mailings and newsletters
• Interacting with clients to obtain information needed to effectively manage the account
• Scheduling appointments
• Creating and documenting various materials related to the client experience
• Working with the investment team to clear up issues with reports that team leaders identify, such as index discrepancies, compliance issues, transaction errors, etc.
• Continually analyzes systems, processes and procedures in order to drive continued improvement
• Creating client presentations and ad hoc reports with performance information as requested by team leaders for client meetings
• Executing trades in client accounts as needed in a manner that is consistent with organizational guidelines
Will I need specialized certification?
Depending on the responsibilities of your job, some employers will require that you have completed the Canadian Securities Course (Canada) or the Series 7 and 63 licensing courses (United States) in order to be hired on.
Is this a good career choice for me?
In order to fully thrive in a career as an investment services assistant, you’ll need to be well-suited for it. If you have the following personal and professional attributes, then this career might be right up your alley!
• You have a keen interest in the field of finance and investments
• You’re willing to work under pressure and face tight deadlines
• You’re willing to be a ‘go-between’ for clients and investment team members
• You have an aptitude for working with numbers
• You’re willing to do administrative, customer service and other investment “grunt work”
• You’re willing to work long hours
• You have high ethical standards, and can demonstrate integrity, credibility, confidentiality and responsibility in all client interactions
• You have the analytical skills to conduct thorough, objective research
• You can take direction from others in your work
• You have strong administrative and organizational skills
• You have the desire to continually grow, learn and develop skills and knowledge through external and internal education
Who employs investment services assistants?
Investment services assistants are typically employed throughout the financial services industry by banks, credit unions, financial investment brokerages, investment fund companies, investment/wealth management firms and insurance companies.
Current job opportunities
Our job board below has a listing of "Investment Services Assistant" postings in your area of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia.
What career advancement opportunities are there?
If you’re willing to stick it out through the good times and the bad, and display high levels of competence, determination and dedication, a wide variety of career advancement opportunities will present themselves to you.
For example, you might start earning greater levels of pay and be given more responsibility, or you could move into the role of investment advisor, financial planner, assistant portfolio manager, or any number of other roles within the field of finance and investing.
Please Note: Some career advancement opportunities will require additional education and certification, beyond what it takes to become an investment services assistant.
What careers are similar to this one?
Is this career close, but no cigar? Listed below are careers that might do the trick; they are either in the same field, or they involve many of the same skills, competencies and/or responsibilities as “Investment Services Assistant”:
• CPA
• Investment Portfolio Manager
What scholarships are there for aspiring investment service assistants?
The “Relevant university majors” section below lists fields of study that are relevant to becoming an investment services assistant . You can search for relevant scholarships by finding those majors on our "Scholarships” page.
Success Tip: Apply for any and all scholarships that you even barely qualify for; there are millions of dollars worth of scholarship money that goes unused every year due to a lack of applicants in Canada and the United States!
Sources for this career guide
The following resources were used to gather information for this career path guide:
• Students: “Investment Advisor.” (n.d.). Canadian Securities Institute. Retrieved August 10, 2017
• Occupations: “Personal Financial Advisors.” (January 17, 2013). Alberta Learning Information Service. Retrieved August 10’17, 2017.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: “Financial Analysts.” (May, 2016). United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
Please Note: Some of the information used in this career guide was gathered from actual online job postings, which due to their brief existence online are not listed here as references.
Relevant university majors
We have career guides for over 60 university majors in our database. Below we've outlined those that are most relevant to becoming an investment services assistant. Click on the links to see what else you can do with these majors!
