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The differences between securities analysts and finance analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a securities analyst, becoming a finance analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a securities analyst has an average salary of $84,334, which is higher than the $69,887 average annual salary of a finance analyst.
The top three skills for a securities analyst include incident response, security policies and NIST. The most important skills for a finance analyst are financial analysis, financial models, and financial data.
| Securities Analyst | Finance Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $84,334 | $69,887 |
| Hourly rate | $40.55 | $33.60 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 33,422 | 138,600 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Securities analysts, also known as financial analysts, are responsible for collecting and interpreting data on securities, economies, corporate strategies, and financial markets. They provide clients with recommendations on investments based on in-depth research. This role has various duties and responsibilities that include putting out a buy, sell or hold recommendation in the financial markets, assessing the value and financial stability of companies, and meeting with company representatives to better understand their business practices. Securities analysts are also responsible for devising financial models.
A finance analyst is responsible for evaluating a company's financial data and historical reports to assess investment opportunities and provide accurate financial statements in support of business strategies and company performance prediction. A financial analyst's duties also include suggesting recommendations to boost operations efficiency and grow revenues, researching the current market performance and economic trends to adjust budget goals as needed, and managing client portfolios. Finance analysts must have excellent critical and analytical thinking skills to identify the best actions for the company's profitability.
Securities analysts and finance analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Securities Analyst | Finance Analyst | |
| Average salary | $84,334 | $69,887 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $118,000 | Between $46,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a securities analyst and a finance analyst in terms of educational background:
| Securities Analyst | Finance Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between securities analysts' and finance analysts' demographics:
| Securities Analyst | Finance Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.5% Female, 29.5% | Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 7% |