Impeccable suits. Polished glass windows. Yes, all of these fill finance students with awe, but also with doubt. Despite studying finance, many students aren’t aware of the various different roles in the industry. While it’s easy to follow the hype and aim for roles typically seen in the media, many different types of finance roles can lead to a fulfilling career.

Sell-side: This term comes from the way banks help their clients raise funds by originating and selling securities. Here’s a list of typical finance jobs in banks:

Investment bankers help clients (often large corporations) raise capital and conduct mergers and acquisitions (M&A). They focus on creating funds to grow the client’s business.
Corporate bankers manage the day-to-day capital decisions and financial operations of their clients by seeking to maximise its company value while minimising risk.
Commercial bankers provide clients (often smaller businesses or individuals) with credit solutions to manage their financial problems.
Salespeople and traders facilitate the transactions of the bank. Work in these roles is very fast-paced as you need to keep on top of movements in global markets.
Equity research analysts and associates cover listed companies and provide a recommendation report on whether to buy, hold, or sell its securities.
Treasury staff ensure that the financial risks faced by a client are properly managed. They analyse both the short-term liquidity of a business and its long-term strategy.

Buy-side: This involves purchasing securities and managing portfolios on behalf of clients. The goal is to maximise portfolio risk-adjusted returns. Work could be performed by an independent company, or a part of an investment bank or professional services firm. Different types of independent firms in this sector include:

Asset management firms pool finances from various investor groups and create different investment portfolios, managing these on behalf of their investors.
Hedge funds pool finances from investors and make a range of different opportunistic, often risky, investment strategies in pursuit of high returns.
Superannuation funds invest the retirement savings of members to secure a comfortable sum for retirement.
Private equity firms help private businesses raise capital. This involves investing in startups, or providing funds to take a company private in a transaction known as a leveraged buyout.

Public accounting: Often finance Graduates work in the M&A department of large accounting firms due to their different cultures and client compositions. Work typically includes transaction advisory (helping companies evaluate and navigate corporate transactions), modelling, valuations, and due diligence.

Hopefully this has provided you with a better understanding of the multifaceted finance industry! Evidently, finance is an extremely broad term that incorporates work of very different kinds. Regardless of which role you aim for, you will perform interesting tasks that can help build your professional experience!