Financial services are the institutions, advisors and professionals that help people acquire, manage, invest and grow their financial assets. These include banks, credit unions, credit-card companies, investment firms and insurance agencies. Financial services also offer a wide variety of products, such as checking and savings accounts; credit cards; loans (personal, mortgage and auto); stock and mutual funds; and retirement planning and wealth management.
This sector is crucial to the economy, as it provides a means for individuals and businesses to purchase goods and services and pay for investments. It is also responsible for transferring money from savers to investors, and it plays an important role in stabilizing the economy by providing liquidity to the market.
It used to be that each segment of the industry stayed in its own lane: Banks offered checking and savings accounts; loan associations provided mortgages; and credit card companies, such as Visa and MasterCard, gave out credit cards. However, with consumer demands changing, many of these sectors began to offer more options and merge or acquire each other. Now, a company that offers brokerage services may also offer investment banking; and it’s possible to have a credit card from a bank that doesn’t even have a brick-and-mortar location.
This industry is a broad one that touches everyone in different ways, from small community banks to large hedge funds. It is not uncommon for positions in this sector to be secure, and you’ll often develop valuable transferable skills that can take you anywhere professionally.