Securities broker to financial broker
A securities broker already meets 79% of what the financial broker role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
21.7/ 100
1 How much of what a financial broker is expected to do is already part of a securities broker’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the financial broker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A financial broker role treats 13 of its required skills as things a securities broker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- actuarial science
- advise on financial matters
- analyse market financial trends
- apply technical communication skills
- create a financial plan
- economics
What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A financial broker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a securities broker background worth leading with.
- already held trade securities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held operate financial instruments management skills
- already held provide financial product information communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held modern portfolio theory business, administration and law
- already held provide support in financial calculation information skills
- already held review investment portfolios communication, collaboration and creativity
All 23 carried skills, including the 13 the financial broker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 7 missing skills fall into 3 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn maintain financial records required
- still to learn manage financial risk required
- still to learn synthesise financial information required
- optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held handle financial disputes optional
- optional, not held optimise financial performance optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a financial broker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 maintain financial records practise this
- 02 manage financial risk practise this
- 03 synthesise financial information practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 23 skills that carry over
- already held actuarial science knowledge
- already held advise on financial matters skill
- already held analyse market financial trends skill
- already held apply technical communication skills skill
- already held create a financial plan skill
- already held economics knowledge
- already held financial jurisdiction knowledge
- already held financial products knowledge
- already held obtain financial information skill
- already held protect client interests skill
- already held provide financial product information skill
- already held securities knowledge
- already held trade securities skill
- already held banking activities knowledge
- already held communicate with banking professionals skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held maintain records of financial transactions skill
- already held modern portfolio theory knowledge
- already held operate financial instruments skill
- already held provide support in financial calculation skill
- already held review investment portfolios skill
- already held trace financial transactions skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
- optional, not held handle financial disputes optional
- optional, not held optimise financial performance optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
11 held skills the financial broker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse financial risk skill
- not needed by the target role assess risks of clients' assets skill
- not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role electronic communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial markets knowledge
- not needed by the target role forecast economic trends skill
- not needed by the target role perform stock valuation skill
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role stock market knowledge
- not needed by the target role tax legislation knowledge
Common questions about this move
Can a securities broker become a financial broker?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A securities broker already covers 79% of what a financial broker is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 13 of which the financial broker role treats as required.
What skills does a securities broker need to become a financial broker?
3 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 3 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is maintain financial records.
How hard is the move from securities broker to financial broker?
Its learning distance is 21.7 out of 100, which is the adjacent band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.