by Arrnica Dayannandan

Created on: December 02, 2008   Last Updated: October 27, 2011

Are you the kind of person who has the professional skills to be a financial analyst? Do you want to pursue a career in this field from the comfort of your home? Do you strike enough balance between your personal life and professional skills, to be able to work from home as a financial analyst? If yes, then read on to know, what you need to arm yourself with, to jump the gun and land that dream freelance financial analyst job, you have always been waiting for.

To become a full-time, salaried financial analyst from home, you need to be adept at the art of financial research. A common trait companies will watch out for, will be your ability to co-ordinate with a team of professionals working from remote locations. These locations could be their homes or they could be office locations. The job almost entails the responsibilities akin to that of a seasoned journalist with wire experience. To beat the competition on your way, you will need to really familiarize yourself extremely well with specifics, such as, say for instance, Securities and Exchange Commission filings - Form 4s, Schedule 13s, Proxies etc. Other qualities that can tick you in for the position, include your orientation towards detail, a tendency to analytically treat information, and of course very strong research and writing skills.

The job being primarily a writing job, since you are operating from home, can entail identification, analysis and summarization of daily inside business or institutional ownership disclosures. Intense research requirements imply the testing of your abilities to zero-in on market trends by making use of quantitative software. A successful candidate will simultaneously demonstrate likewise skills in qualitative analysis. Gradually, as you gain the trust and recognition of your remote employers, you can progress towards taking up greater responsibilities in in-depth research reports and co-ordinating one-on-one with the clients as well as the media, thereby earning more.

Some aspects from your previous work experience, professional background, and work-related skills that will directly put you ahead of other candidates, include a background in financial journalism. Experience in very specific areas such as securities or quantitative analysis, for instance, will help the employer put you ahead of other candidates, when searching for candidates to work on specialized areas. Quick ability to grasp, absorb, analyze and deliver well-framed outputs in writing, within the given deadlines will be a plus. Candidates are also expected to have a thorough understanding of both the financial markets as well as the market audience and participants.

In short, candidates need to demonstrate exceptional skills in functioning independently within the constraints of a remotely managed team. Some technical skills expected are in terms of Excel, online publishing, messaging and researching systems. Armed with these basics, you are sure to land that cherished work from home opportunity as a financial analyst.

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