Breaking the financial services sector down into five key industry subsectors is a good way to examine its full scope. Those five areas are banking, asset management, insurance, venture capital and private equity, granted there are several other services one could consider part of the broader sector. Each component of the sector fuels U.S. and global economic growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the “financial activities supersector” employed over 9,000,000 people as of May 2024. Zippia reports that financial services and insurance accounted for 7.78% (nearly $2 trillion) of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2022.
Financial services fund entrepreneurial ventures, fortify companies for domestic and foreign expansion, manage economic risk, guide individual wealth management, and protect the capital of individuals and organizations through insurance and re-insurance policies. The financial markets in the U.S. are a vital destination for investment funds from around the globe, and many of those funds remain in the U.S. As of 2023, 136 of the Fortune 500 companies have their international headquarters in the U.S., according to Statista.
Students in the online Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Concentration in Finance from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) study the financial services sector in depth, preparing for high-level, rewarding careers as financial professionals. The financial services industry’s five key areas each offer numerous unique employment opportunities.
Developments and Innovations in Banking
The banking industry continues to see rapid change as it matures in the digital marketplace. Security risks, new payment systems and big data contribute to the banking industry’s innovations. The U.S. banking system had well over $23 trillion in total assets at the end of 2023, roughly $5 trillion more than at the end of 2019. This substantial growth indicates increased confidence in U.S. financial markets. Even following financial challenges during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the resilience of the U.S. banking industry highlights the nation’s continued economic rebound and growth.
Potential for Growth in Asset Management
Charged with growing their clients’ portfolios, asset managers conduct research and statistical analysis on companies, markets and trends to determine the best financial opportunities — given their clients’ risk tolerance and diversification needs. Global assets under management fell to $115.1 trillion in 2022, but results of the 2023 PwC Global Asset & Wealth Management Survey suggest that figure will rebound and grow to $147.3 trillion by 2027.
Insurance
The insurance industry uses extensive analysis to manage the premium funds it processes after paying out insurance claims. Insurance companies operate under heavy regulation at the state and federal levels and follow complex compliance laws, rules and directives. These companies must maintain mandated reserves that safeguard their clients’ policies while concurrently delivering the best investment returns for their owners.
Venture Capital
To facilitate the job creation and economic growth that comes from exploration and innovation, venture capital (VC) funds support individual companies and products in the U.S. entrepreneurial ecosystem. The U.S. Small Business Administration classifies over 33 million of the nation’s companies as small businesses, making up a surprising 99.9% of all U.S. businesses. These businesses also employ the majority of the U.S. workforce. While a low percentage of small business budgets traditionally come from VC funding, recent public initiatives seek to reorient the VC landscape toward investing in historically underserved populations of entrepreneurs, a move that could improve economic equity while boosting the U.S. workforce and economy as a whole.
Private Equity
Private equity firms create partnerships between investors and companies that need capital. Most of the funding serves the business services and consumer-related business sectors, helping to develop companies and facilitating job growth. Upgrading facilities, employing experienced managers and expanding into new markets are some of the many uses of capital. While the COVID-19 pandemic and related financial woes stoked volatility and declines in private equity deals during the early 2020s, the industry still raised $1.2 trillion in capital in 2023 and directly or indirectly supported the employment of over 12 million people in the U.S. (factoring in private equity-owned companies).
Break Into the Financial Services Industry: Earn a Finance MBA Online
The financial services industry holds the funds of private individuals, small businesses, large corporations and governments. Finding the financial market with the best balance of risk and reward requires expert knowledge of individual financial instruments, a sizable curiosity and investigative prowess, and an innate desire to respect the individual situations of clients. Earning an online MBA in finance helps professionals develop this combination of specialized knowhow and expertise — the tools needed to navigate financial markets in the face of global concerns, volatility, political uncertainty and a continually changing economic landscape.
Learn more about the TAMU-CC online MBA in Finance program.
