Investment clerk

Investment clerks assist with the administration of investments such as stocks, bonds or other securities and perform general clerical duties in the investment sector of a financial company.

The following job titles also refer to investment clerk:

investment administrator
investment administrators
investment assistants
investment secretaries
investment secretary
investment assistant

A high school diploma or equivalent is generally the minimum required to work as an investment clerk. However, most people in this role have an associate’s degree or more in finance, accountability, business, or a related field.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Investment clerk is a Skill level 2 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to investment clerk.

insurance clerk
financial markets back office administrator
foreign exchange cashier
bank teller
back office specialist

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of investment clerk. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of investment clerk with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

securities trader
securities broker
education administrator
bank account manager
financial broker

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of investment clerk.

• Customer service: Processes and principles related to the customer, client, service user and to personal services; these may include procedures to evaluate customer’s or service user’s satisfaction.
• Banking activities: The broad and continuously growing banking activities and financial products managed by banks ranging from personal banking, corporate banking, investment banking, private banking, up to insurance, foreign exchange trading, commodity trading, trading in equities, futures and options trading.
• Office software: The characteristics and functioning of software programs for office tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, email and database.
• Electronic communication: Data communication performed through digital means such as computers, telephone or e-mail.

These skills are necessary for the role of investment clerk.

• Handle paperwork: Handle work-related paperwork ensuring that all relevant requirements are met.
• Organise business documents: Put together documents coming from the photocopier, the mail, or the daily operations of businesses.
• Use different communication channels: Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
• Maintain records of financial transactions: Collate all the financial transactions done in the daily operations of a business and record them in their respective accounts.
• Implement instructions: Being able to implement written or oral instructions.
• Use office systems: Make appropriate and timely use of office systems used in business facilities depending on the aim, whether for the collection of messages, client information storage, or agenda scheduling. It includes administration of systems such as customer relationship management, vendor management, storage, and voicemail systems.
• Handle mail: Handle mail considering data protection issues, health and safety requirements, and specifications of different kinds of mail.
• Perform office routine activities: Program, prepare, and perform activities required to be performed everyday in offices such as mailing, receiving supplies, updating managers and employees, and keeping operations running smoothly.
• Disseminate messages to people: Receive, process, and pass messages to people coming from phone calls, faxes, postal, and emails.
• Write work-related reports: Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.
• Perform clerical duties: Perform administrative tasks such as filing, typing up reports and maintaining mail correspondence.
• Present reports: Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.
• Offer financial services: Provide a broad range of financial services to clients such as assistance with financial products, financial planning, insurances, money and investment management.
• Provide financial product information: Give the customer or client information about financial products, the financial market, insurances, loans or other types of financial data.
• Handle financial transactions: Administer currencies, financial exchange activities, deposits as well as company and voucher payments. Prepare and manage guest accounts and take payments by cash, credit card and debit card.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of investment clerk. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Financial products: The different types of instruments that apply to the management of cash flow that are available on the market, such as shares, bonds, options or funds.
• Securities: The financial instruments traded in financial markets representing both the right of property over the owner and at the same time, the obligation of payment over the issuer. The aim of securities which is raising capital and hedging risk in financial markets.
• Accounting techniques: The techniques of recording and summarising business and financial transactions and analysing, verifying, and reporting the results.
• Economics: Economic principles and practices, financial and commodity markets, banking and the analysis of financial data.
• Financial markets: The financial infrastructure which permits trading securities offered by companies and individuals govern by regulatory financial frameworks.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of investment clerk. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Trace financial transactions: Observe, track and analyse financial transactions made in companies or in banks. Determine the validity of the transaction and check for suspicious or high-risk transactions in order to avoid mismanagement.
• Communicate with customers: Respond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.
• Digitise documents: Load analog documents by converting them into a digital format, using specialised hardware and software.
• Communicate with banking professionals: Communicate with professionals in the field of banking in order to obtain information on a specific financial case or project for personal or business purposes, or on behalf of a client.
• Obtain financial information: Gather information on securities, market conditions, governmental regulations and the financial situation, goals and needs of clients or companies.
• Ensure proper document management: Guarantee that the tracking and recording standards and rules for document management are followed, such as ensuring that changes are identified, that documents remain readable and that obsoleted documents are not used.
• Organise facilities for office personnel: Manage the booking schedule for conferences and meetings of internal or external nature. Shop around and book reservations for travelling or hosting for office personnel.
• Deliver correspondence: Distribute mail correspondence, newspapers, packages and private messages to customers.

4312 – Statistical, finance and insurance clerks

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References

1. Investment clerk – ESCO