The five qualifications needed to succeed in investment operations

First a disclaimer; if you have aspirations to work in Scotland's growing investment operations sector qualifications aren't everything.

Most recruitment consultants will tell you that experience is the key differentiator, but companies north of the border are increasingly demanding their employees are formally qualified if they're to be promoted beyond the junior ranks.

Assuming you're keen to undertake qualifications to make yourself more desirable to investment operations companies north of the border, here are five you should be thinking about.

1) Diploma in Investment Operations

If you're already working in the industry, this is still considered an advanced qualification, but if you're trying to break in, the Diploma in Investment Operations (offered by the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment) is the clearest indication that you're heavily committed to a career in the sector.

You'll need either industry experience or the Investment Operations Certificate (outlined below) to realistically be prepared to pass this, but even then the study requirements are relatively arduous.

The qualification involves firstly taking the Advanced Certificate in Operations Risk or Advanced Certificate in Global Securities Operations (both of which require 170 hours of study) before moving on to the Global Operations Management module - a further 200 hours of recommended study.

"This is the benchmark qualification for investment operations," says Stephen Barclay, vice-president at Morgan Stanley in Glasgow. "It's a substantial investment of time, and demonstrates a deep technical understanding of the industry."

2) The Investment Operations Certificate

Again, if you take this under your own steam - as a recent grad, or even while at university, for example - this qualification (also know as the Investment Administration Qualification) will give you a good grounding in the industry. Otherwise, if you're a new recruit in industry, you'll be required to undertake it anyway.

The course, run by the CISI, entails an introduction to the securities and investment industry, followed by a module on financial regulation, before candidates choose a technical unit based around their particular area of expertise - asset servicing, derivatives administration, risk or IT, for example.

The majority of investment operations firms in Scotland will pay the professional fees for their employees taking this course and, if that wasn't enough to sway you of its importance, some HR managers have told us that they won't promote people into any sort of managerial capacity unless they have the Investment Operations Certificate under their belt.

3) Introduction to Investment Operations

One for the novices; this course, run by Scottish Investment Operations (SIO) and also Caplin Financial, is a seven-day taster aimed at giving an overview of the financial services industry and (of course) the investment ops sector.

"If you're a graduate, you are desirable to investment operations firms in Scotland, but you don't have any knowledge or experience specific to the industry, so this course helps bridge the gap," says Alan Thornburrow, chief executive of SIO. "What's more, a lot of people still aren't aware of what exactly investment operations entails, so it's a chance to gain an insight into the industry."

4) The Investment Accounting Diploma

In theory, this isn't specific to investment operations, but a number of bodies launched this qualification at the tail end of 2009 in response to a growing need to address a skills gap in the sector.

SIO, The Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIOBS) and Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAS) all back the course, as do various firms based north of the border like BNP Paribas, Citi, Morgan Stanley and State Street. It's safe to say any aspiring fund accountants could do worse than undertaking it.

"Our research showed that there was a strong desire from companies in Scotland for a formal qualification to deliver a strong overview of accounting for investments, and this is a response to that," says Thornburrow.

5) The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification

The ACCA might not be the best accountancy qualification to take if you want to break into a banking or corporate finance role, but it's the one favoured by investment operations firms in Scotland looking to recruit fund accountants.

Both Thornburrow and Barclay say it's the preferred accountancy qualification, followed by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and then the ICAS certification.

Craig Vickery, head of ACCA Scotland, says the broad range of topics covered by the qualification make it "for those looking to work in an industry such as Investment Operations due to the range of issues that those dealing with fund and wealth management will encounter during

their career."

Obviously, considering the large investment of time, and the need for work experience, required to complete these courses it's worth attempting to convince an employer to sponsor you through study or securing a position whilst part-qualified.