The Vanderbilt MS Finance program is unique in its design as we offer a flexible curriculum based on your career interests and skill sets. Please see below for suggested career paths that MSF students typically pursue in the MSF program. Click here for more information about the curriculum.
Career Paths: Quantitative Finance curriculum track
1. Trading and Principal Investments
- Sales & Trading - Sales and trading is the investment bank’s distribution arm. This group is responsible for selling all of the financial products (stocks, bonds, and their derivatives) developed by the investment banking area. As such, they serve as the vital link between the sellers (corporations, government entities) and the buyers (investors). Although frequently lumped together, sales people and traders perform different functions. Sales professionals have a list of institutional clients whom they serve by making them aware of new offerings, advising them on how to manage their portfolios and selling them financial products. The sales department can be divided by account size, security type (debt or equity), geography, or product line. Areas within sales and trading include:
- Investment Research
- Proprietary Trading
- Private Equity/Merchant Banking
- Risk Management
Recent MSF Student Placements:
- Chicago Mercantile Exchange - Risk Management Specialist
- Citigroup – Fixed Income Yield Book Analyst – read Jason Heath’s success story here
- Dayton Power & Light - Trading Control Analyst
- Merrill Lynch - Credit Derivatives
- Morgan Keegan - Research Associate
2. Other Investment Banking Business
- Asset/Investment Management/Brokerage
- Treasury and Securities Services
- Insurance
- Mortgage Banking
Recent MSF Student Placements:
- Equity Management Associates - Investment Associate
- Piedmont Investment Advisors – Equity Analyst – read Claire Lyon’s success story here
Career Paths: Corporate Finance curriculum track
1. Investment Banking
- Corporate Finance (Coverage and Product Groups) – Individuals in corporate finance groups advise clients on strategic transactions. They may win new business from clients and execute strategic transactions, such as a merger, on behalf of clients. Many bankers become industry specialists to include the Financial Sponsors Group, the Mergers and Acquisitions Group, the Middle Market Group, and the Restructuring Group.
- Capital Markets (Product Groups) – Bankers in Capital Markets raise capital for clients, usually across all industries. Equity and fixed income capital markets raise capital directly from investors by issuing securities. Other specialties within capital markets include Equity Linked Capital, Structured Finance, and High Yield Capital Markets.
Recent MSF Student Placements:
- DaVita M&A – Senior Financial Analyst – read Vijay Radhakrishnan’s story here
- Porter, White & Co. - Financial Analyst - read Logan Gewin's success story here
- Raymond James – Investment Banking Analyst
- Salem Partners - Wealth Management Associate
- Stephens – Investment Banking Analyst – read Sean Kras’s success story here
2. Other Investment Banking Business
- Commercial Banking
- Credit Card Services
- Operations
Recent MSF Student Placements:
- ABN AMRO - Management Associate
- Citi Cards – Management Associate Program – read Alex Quintana’s success story here
- HSBC - Management Trainee
3. Corporate/Industry Finance
Corporate finance includes two key functions: accounting and finance. Accounting concerns itself with day-to-day operations-bookkeeping. Accountants balance the books, track expenses and revenue, execute payroll, and pay the bills. They also compile all the financial data needed to issue a company's financial statements in accordance with government regulations. Finance professionals analyze revenue and expenses to ensure effective use of capital. They also advise businesses about project costs, make capital investments, and structure deals to help companies grow. In spite of their different roles, finance and accounting are joined at the hip: The higher levels of accounting (budgeting and analysis) blend in with financial functions (analysis and projections). Thus, finance and accounting are often treated as one, with different divisions undertaking particular tasks such as cash management or taxes.
- Divisional Financial Analysis - In this area, you work with each division's business team to prepare financial plans, make forecasts, and compare actual financial results to forecasts. You may also evaluate the financial consequences of alternative strategies. Responsibilities include everything from analyzing new business opportunities to restructuring a business or developing a capital-spending program. The primary concerns are to find better ways of using company assets, to reduce costs, and to research ways to develop better forecasts. Financial services evaluates the risks versus potential return of any course of action and develops recommendations so that managers can pick the most profitable strategies, depending on their goals.
- Corporate Development and Strategic Planning - Corporate development involves both corporate finance and business development. Finance experts in corporate development study acquisition targets, investment options, and licensing deals. They often assess the best firms to buy or invest in, such as pre-IPO cutting-edge technology companies with complementary products that could either extend the company's product line or mitigate a potential future competitor. Corporate development jobs require planning and analysis know-how and the kind of skills that investment bankers working merger-and-acquisition deals put to use.
- Treasury - The treasury department is responsible for all of a company's financing and investing activities. This department works with investment bankers who help the corporation raise capital through stock or bond issuances, or to expand through mergers and acquisitions. Treasury also manages the pension fund and the corporation's investments in other companies. The department also handles risk management, such as safeguarding corporate assets by using insurance policies or currency hedges.
- Cash Management - This is a company's piggy bank. The cash-management group ensures the company has enough cash on hand to meet its daily needs. The group also invests excess cash in overnight short-term investments. It also negotiates with local banks to help regional business units get the necessary banking services at the best price.
- Taxes - Activities in this area involve administering taxes (that is, paying taxes on time-or finding tax strategies to avoid paying them) and planning how to decrease the company's tax burden. Responsibilities include working with attorneys on tax litigation, researching tax laws and reporting requirements by nation (if the company is international), and keeping up with new government rules and regulations. Large companies often have an entire department dedicated to recommending methods to minimize the tax impact of any business decision such as a new division launch, a capital-spending plan, or purchasing a new company. Investments and pensions are also managed with an eye toward minimizing taxes. The tax department helps structure transactions, makes recommendations on the timing of acquisitions or sales based on what else will be written off that year, and can decide what corporate-reporting structure reduces taxes.
- General Accounting - General accountants are responsible for tracking the firm’s business transactions and for preparing both internal and external financial packages. External financial information includes consolidated financial statements, the footnotes thereto, and any financial related SEC reporting documents. General accountants also track the corporate budget, cash flow, and ensure appropriate levels of working capital. Many general accounting positions lead to positions such as controller or CFO.
- Internal Audit - When most people think of an audit, they think of a large Big Four accounting firm that tests to verify the accuracy and completeness of a company’s financial statements. However, in addition to having an external auditor, most large companies also have an internal-audit group that regularly visits individual company branches to check the company's accounting systems, to evaluate internal business processes, to assess internal controls, and to make recommendations to executive management. The internal-audit group reviews the quality of the data, making sure it's both accurate and complete. Internal auditors also evaluate whether the corporate-accounting procedures are effective and universally applied. Finally, internal auditors introduce or revise procedures to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The internal audit function generally reports directly to the CFO or CEO.
Recent MSF Student Placements:
Cummins - Credit Analyst
FedEx – Financial Analyst
The Hartford Insurance Company - Actuarial Analyst - read Kari Boersma's success story here
KPMG Structured Finance – Senior Associate Adviser – read Liang Wang’s success story here
PricewaterhouseCoopers - Associate-Valuation Group-Transaction Services
Career Paths: other tracks
1. Financial Economics/Finance PhD preparation
Gain valuable training to apply to Ph.D programs; doctoral programs value the additional maturity and financial, accounting, and econometrics training provide by the MS Finance program.
Recent MSF Student Placements:
Arizona State University Finance PhD program
Vanderbilt University Finance PhD program – read Shage Zhang’s success story here
2. Consulting, Real Estate, etc
We will work with you to customize a path that fits your specific career goals.
Recent MSF Student Placements:
Accenture - Corporate Strategy
Archon – Real Estate Analyst – Read John Lewis’s success story here
Carreker - Associate Finance Analyst - Read Leon Muis's success story here
Proflowers.com - Business Analyst-Marketing - Read Kiran Akkineni's success story here
Redhill Realty Investors – Acquisitions Analyst
Redwood Trust - Associate - Read Zach Eskelson's success story here
Scott Madden Management Consulting - Associate Consultant
Vanderbilt Resources
You'll receive one-on-one career planning assistance, including:
Personalized career advice and guidance from the MS Finance staff and MBA peer coaches
Interview preparation - mock interviews with staff, peers, and employers
Resume and cover letter writing assistance
Job search databases
Networking visits to financial hubs
MS Finance career workshops and seminars
On-campus interviews with employers
Employer information sessions
Inclusion in a MS Finance resume book that is widely distributed to employers
MBA peer coaches
Career Resources
and more...
