FINANCE CAREERS

Today’s finance careers require an increasingly complex understanding of the international marketplace and the wide array of factors that impact financial transactions.

With the online Master of Global Business Administration (GBA) from The Fletcher School, you will build the contextual intelligence and distance vision that can help you reach the next level of your finance career.

• Contextual intelligence involves being able to recognize, interpret, and plan for the external factors that impact the international business landscape.
• Distance vision is the ability to anticipate trends, risks, and opportunities and understand how they will influence business in the more distant future.

Mastering these valuable skills can help prepare you to advance in your current finance career, accommodate the increasingly international demands of today’s finance jobs, or move into a new job in finance within an organization that works across borders.

The online GBA program combines graduate-level business and international affairs courses to help you think beyond the next quarter and strategize for the longer term.

HOW THE GBA CAN HELP YOUR FINANCE CAREER

A job in finance—whether in corporate finance, banking, public finance, or impact investing—requires expertise you can build in Fletcher’s online GBA program. You will refine your core finance skills while acquiring a deeper understanding of the macroeconomic, policy, regulatory, and legal factors that influence international markets.

As a student in the online GBA program, you will take courses in four disciplines: business foundations, global context, international law, and analytical tools.

Business Foundations

The two required business courses ensure that you have in-depth understanding of core business skills:

• Corporate Finance and Global Capital Markets can be directly applied to your finance career, developing deep skills in valuation, financing decisions, and financial planning.
• International Strategy and Innovation helps you understand how to assess competitiveness, externalities, and emerging markets—skills that can be applied across sectors and industries.

These core courses are complemented by elective business courses on topics including accounting, marketing, supply chains, and leadership, all from an international perspective.

Global Context

Within this discipline, you will gain a foundation in the contextual factors that influence finance careers today. All students take a core class in either politics of the global economy or international macroeconomics. From there, you can choose electives in areas such as international security, emerging markets, and environmental policy.

By developing a deep working knowledge of international economics, policy, and politics, you can differentiate yourself in your finance career and help future-proof your organization from a wide range of risk factors.

International Law

GBA students take at least one class in international law, building knowledge about legal issues and the impact of regulation on areas such as mergers and acquisitions, international taxation, anti-bribery laws, intellectual property protection, market access, and foreign direct investment.

By understanding the international regulations, systems, and laws that govern—or fail to govern—businesses, you can grow your career in finance by becoming an invaluable asset to your organization.

Analytical Tools

Classes in this discipline ensure you can apply practical skills to business challenges and opportunities every day. These classes will provide a foundation in data analytics, strategic decision-making, and managerial economics, with the ability to tailor your skills to a career in finance through cases, papers, and research.

By improving your analytical thinking and increasing the range of models and skills you have at your disposal, you can make more informed decisions and grapple with uncertainty, making you indispensable in your finance career.

FINANCE CAREER PATHS

A master’s in global business prepares you for a variety of careers in finance. Many finance jobs that involve international markets may be available in areas such as those listed below.

Private Equity

Private equity firms raise capital from outside investors and then use this capital to buy companies, improve them, and sell them for a higher ROI (return on investment). A finance career in private equity involves fundraising, operational management, and investing.

In this competitive market, unique international skills are a critical differentiating factor.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is when a firm or individual invests in business interests in another country. With a finance job in FDI, you can help contribute to the global economy, particularly in developing and emerging market countries.

Professionals in this inherently international career path benefit from understanding the complex legal, political, and regulatory factors taught in the GBA program.

Impact Investing

Impact investing focuses on generating a positive social or environmental impact as well as a financial return. A finance career in impact investing enables you to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges while meeting strategic financial goals.

The GBA program equips you with the ability to gauge both financial success and measure social impact, which prepares you for a successful career in impact investing.

Public Finance

Careers in public finance involve the management of a country’s revenue, expenditures, and debt load. Public finance jobs may require you to oversee activities such as collecting revenue, managing budget or expenditures, and implementing a financing strategy.

Infrastructure Finance

Infrastructure finance careers focus on how governments, private companies, or a combination of the two fund capital and infrastructure projects. A job in infrastructure finance involves raising and allocating funds for infrastructure either publicly or privately.

The GBA positions you to succeed in this field by helping you develop a deep understanding of the political and economic environment surrounding these investments.

Portfolio Management

Portfolio management careers involve strategic decisions about investment mix and policy. With a finance career in this area, you may be responsible for investing a fund’s assets, implementing an individual’s or organization’s investment strategy, and managing portfolio trading.

FINANCE CAREER SALARIES

Finance career salaries vary widely by job title, sector, and amount of experience. Private sector organizations often are able to offer higher salaries than those in the public or nonprofit sector.

To succeed and continue to rise in your international finance career, you will need an analytical mind, extreme attention to detail, and a deep knowledge of the complicated contextual factors that affect global markets.

ARE YOU READY TO ADVANCE YOUR FINANCE CAREER?

Build the global context and critical business skills to adapt your finance career to international markets.