What can I do with an FRM Certification?

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

 

Introduction

The Global Association of Risk Professionals states that 90% of employers for qualified FRMs belong to the Banking and Finance industry.

Given the program’s intense nature, the qualification is directly suited for risk management positions. Even, so there are many other roles that you can explore with this achievement.

 

Become a financial risk analyst

The risk management role focuses your options in an industry where everyone is eyeing the top position.

However, going in for an analyst role can be equally rewarding. There are various specialties to choose from, all for which you will receive adequate preparation from the FRM course:

 

Credit risk analyst – Many financial institutions have unpaid loans worth several million dollars out there. It’s the same case for enterprises whose services have not been paid for.

When you are brought in as a credit risk analyst, your job would be calculating credit risk and steering businesses from such sticky wickets.

 

Liquidity risk analyst – Many businesses have worrying liquidity concerns if the ongoing pandemic is anything to go by.

The 2008/9 financial crises revealed the same underlying issues in financial institutions and enterprises.

Your work as a liquidity risk analyst will be ensuring that the businesses have enough money to sail through operational requirements and unforeseen circumstances.

 

Operational risk analyst – There are many risks inherent in the day to day business processes. Your work will be to measure, predict, and mitigate these risks for growth and profitability.

Risk modeler – You will be relied upon to create accurate simulations and projections of risk and help businesses steer clear out of these situations with foresight and optimized strategies.

After attaining FRM certification, that will be an easy job for you.

 

Portfolio risk analyst – Should you start your consultancy firm after FRM accreditation? If your answer is yes, then you can be a portfolio risk analyst for your clients.

You will use your skills to analyze the risks around their current and planned investments and help them make better decisions that grow their money.

 

Fixed-income risk analyst – The government needs you. State and federal governments have a lot of risk in their products, and your work will help guide better financial decisions with regards to market fluctuations.

 

Derivatives or Commodity risk analyst – In the hedging world, your wits and smarts after certification will make you a highly efficient person in quantifying and analyzing derivative risks.

You could work for Unilever, Volkswagen, or even Johnson and Johnson to help them manage and mitigate their risks.

 

Market risk analyst – For brands with ambitious plan of expansion, they need someone to keep a watch on the market. There are too many technological disruptions now coupled with changing regulations.

Here, you will help quantify such risks and provide the needed solutions.

 

Regulatory risk analyst – Some businesses are being crushed under fines and penalties from regulatory bodies, while others are losing growth potential from self-constraining when it comes to industry guidelines.

Your job will be to help these enterprises to the line with full compliance and unhindered growth.

 

Become a risk strategist

You can do this in a staff role or a consultative capacity. The job will rely heavily on enterprise risk management skills.

That entails juggling all forms of risk and helping businesses better overcome them for growth and profitability. This is a strategic role with lots of influence in decision making.

Managing enterprise risks will be too costly if they were left alone in the first place.

To navigate that, you will need a deep understanding of all forms of financial risk management and a broader knowledge of business processes.

 

Become an investment banker

There are plenty of risks that investment bankers have to deal with every day.

Many investment banks now have a risk consulting team made up of qualified people like you to help them steer clear of danger and attain profitability.

 

Become a consultant

Businesses and individuals pour millions into securities each day from equities to bonds and real estate. Plenty of risks exist in all of these investment outlets.

A person with risk management skills can help these traders foresee risks ad make the best trades.

Your skills will come in handy in investment and portfolio management, estate planning, and capital gains management. Risk mitigation will not necessarily be your defined role.

In some cases, you will advise clients to take on risks when evaluations reveal that the reward is greater.

 

Start a compliance consultancy

One of the non-conventional ways to put your FRM certification to good use is starting your own agency.

You can specialize in compliance matters in diverse industries and help companies avoid the hefty fines and penalties that have become the norm today.

Your job will be monitoring risk thresholds and defining allowances. You will be required to enable strategies that build awareness and raise alerts when thresholds are crossed.

The regular monitoring of all business processes by firms like yours would be pivotal in helping companies expand despite strict regulations.

You will probably tie your offerings with auditing and assessment responsibilities for a comprehensive service package.

By serving as an internal or external auditor for a business, you will better understand their compliance levels and advise the best way forward.

 

Join a credit rating agency…or start one

These agencies evaluate an enterprise’s overall financial health, place in the market, competition, and growth potential to establish their creditworthiness.

This helps lenders give credit to businesses that have the best potential to repay loans.

 

Join a research team

These companies compile and analyze data and make projections about the future performance of enterprises, stocks, industries, and many other things.

Your job may be to analyze GDP trends, interest rates, company quarterly reports, PMI data and build risk models.

Research roles are deeply involving and entail a multi-disciplinary approach from data science to behavioral science, statistics, risk management, and economic theory, among others.

You will fit in here just fine, given that the role is heavily quantitative.

 

The bottom line

FRM certification broadens your career possibilities in the financial world. The above-listed roles are exciting, and they carry excellent compensation packages and opportunities for growth.

Start your journey today and accelerate your career.

 

Thank you!

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