How are careers in Security Markets better than regular MBA Finance roles?

MBA in Finance

MBA education has been primarily intended at readying graduates in engineering, science, accounting, economics or social sciences for careers in industry, across various functional areas, such as marketing, human resources, information systems and finance.

The typical two-year MBA programme covers general management subjects in its first year. A specialization is offered through various electives in the second year. Depending on the faculty strength across various institutes and their areas of expertise, the quantum and coverage of electives may vary. The typical MBA student would bide his time until the end of the first year, before making a conscious choice on a career stream, Finance being one of the alternatives among a basket of Marketing, HR and Information Systems. However, since year 2000 onwards, Finance made the transition from being ‘a’ career choice to ‘the’ career of choice, attracting the brightest and best students who were also sought-after by a growing financial industry. The Indian financial sector has not witnessed the rough ride that severely impacted the developed western economies between 2008-2011. There are several MBAs who, after completing the 2-year programme, have expressed their dissatisfaction at the content as well as delivery that they had experienced due to at least two reasons. Firstly, an MBA (Finance) has skills which prepare him/her for jobs in the manufacturing or service sector other than capital markets. Secondly, the skills of an MBA (Finance) are substitutable with those of a Chartered Accountant or a Cost & Management Accountant, insofar as the manufacturing sector and the generic services sector are concerned. More specifically, jobs in the capital markets sector are more demanding in terms of specific skill sets. These knowledge and skill gaps are acutely felt by generic MBAs at the time of seeking jobs in capital markets or during the process of getting immersed in capital markets. Barring the top 25 to 30 MBA institutes in India, the quality gap in education for the Indian capital markets is severely felt by Indian students. This gap exists both in the conceptual understanding as well as practical exposure. A large number of today’s successful capital market practitioners in India have learnt their trade the long-cum-hard way: on-the-job.

Specialized Programme in Capital Markets

So, what lies beyond accounting and corporate finance that are taught by B-Schools?

The capital markets demand a specific set of knowledge and skills, from an amalgam of economics, finance, quantitative methods and law. Each of these fields is witnessing dynamic changes and the curriculum design and delivery processes need to keep abreast with the ‘cutting-edge’ expectations of industry. Each of the core areas of economics, finance, quantitative methods and law are customized beyond the limits covered in a generic MBA, specifically for applications in capital markets. The Indian securities market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is considered to be one of the more agile and proactive regulators in the world of capital markets. SEBI has embarked upon a continuous programme of reforms, making the capital market processes robust. The National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange are ranked among the world’s top five exchanges in terms of volume. Over the past 25 years, the mutual fund sector and the treasury & risk management departments of banks have attained depth and sophistication, especially with a more liberal foreign exchange regime and the presence of more international investors. The government of India also got a report commissioned on the development of Mumbai as an International Financial Centre. These developments require that the financial districts in the country need to be populated by the right personnel.

Curriculum design and delivery needs to incorporate various processes to impart knowledge and skills based on the latest research. It helps to a great extent if the faculty members have a ringside view of policy formulation, regulation and experience in the trading rooms, boardroom decision-making and road-shows. The learning experience goes beyond classroom interactions and cases to simulations, workshops, exposure visits, seminars and conferences, whose primary intent is to provide the right exposure through role models. Such an educational experience adds dimensions of depth and focus and provides an edge to the participant who enters the capital markets, fully equipped and confident.

Apply to PGPSM at National Institute of Securities Markets

Note: This is a sponsored article and has NOT been written by the PaGaLGuY Editorial Team. It is intended from an informational perspective only and it isupto the readers to research and verify the claims andjudgements in the article before reaching a conclusion.