Investment Analyst
Financial services and investment specialists provide expert advice on investment strategies, financial planning, and portfolio management to clients in Australian financial markets. They analyse market trends, regulatory requirements, and client circumstances to recommend financial products and strategies that align with individual or institutional investment goals.
What this job is
Financial services and investment specialists provide expert advice on investment strategies, financial planning, and portfolio management to clients in Australian financial markets. They analyse market trends, regulatory requirements, and client circumstances to recommend financial products and strategies that align with individual or institutional investment goals. These professionals operate within the frameworks of ASIC regulations, ASX listing rules, and professional standards for financial advisers set under the Corporations Act 2001.
Are employers advertising this role?
Falling, down 20.6% over 5 years
Counted across a group of similar roles. These are three-month rolling averages of online job advertisements, not filled positions.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index.
Day-to-day
Analyse client financial circumstances, risk tolerance, and investment objectives to develop tailored financial strategies. Research and evaluate listed securities, managed funds, and alternative investment products against ASIC Product Disclosure Statement requirements. Monitor portfolio performance against benchmarks and market indices, adjusting allocations based on changing economic conditions. Prepare financial advice documents that comply with ASIC's Best Interests Duty and Financial Advice Licensing obligations. Conduct due diligence on investment opportunities, including analysis of financial statements, prospectuses, and underlying asset valuations. Lodge client documentation with AFS licensers and maintain records in accordance with Australian financial services law. Advise on superannuation strategy within the constraints of preservation rules, contribution caps, and concessional taxation set by the ATO. Assess suitability of listed investments and derivatives trading against client profiles and ASX market conduct rules.
Who does this now
About 1,900 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Bachelor degree or higher (ABS skill level 1)
Can employers fill these jobs
Employers hiring for this occupation were generally able to find suitable applicants in 2025. This measures how hard employers found it to fill jobs. It is not a count of jobs, and it does not say whether the occupation is growing.
Requirements
The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.
The honest hard part
You'll need an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) or work under someone else's licence, which means passing the financial adviser exam and meeting ongoing education requirements - a real time and money commitment. The pay ceiling is lower than you might expect if you're not running your own business, and you're personally liable if your advice goes wrong.
Where the jobs are
Some roles exist in regional centres but are limited. Remote work is possible but most employers prefer in-office presence for compliance and client meetings.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 2222, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.
This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.
Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
Skills
- Advise on financial matterscore
- Advise on investmentcore
- Attention to Detailcore
- Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracycore
- Confidentiality and Privacy Compliancecore
- Customer Needs Assessmentcore
- Negotiationcore
- Policy Interpretationcore
- Problem Solvingcore
- Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
- Report Writingcore
- Research and Analysiscore
- Risk Identificationcore
- Stakeholder Communicationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Active Listening
- Complaint Handling
- Continuous Learning and Upskilling
- Digital Literacy
- Goal Setting and Planning
- Microsoft Excel Data Management
- Record Management
- Reporting and Analytics
- Time Management and Prioritisation
Which of these do you have?
Tick the ones you haveCommon questions
Sources
- ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
- ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
- ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.
Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.
What Investment Analyst workers move into, from ten years of tax records.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
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