How good do your maths skills need to be to be a stock broker?


business broker
Ultimate asked:


Do you need to be good at arithmetic or do you need advanced maths skills. i know that there are business formulas but i want to know about maths equations etc.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Investing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “How good do your maths skills need to be to be a stock broker?”

  1. Cmon Sense Says:
    March 31st, 2009 at 4:29 pm

    A stock broker needs to know how to add, subtract , multiply, and divide. More advanced forecasting equations will be done by computer.

  2. Ron B Says:
    April 1st, 2009 at 7:08 am

    I trade every day. I can do what I need to do by using math no higher than the 4th to 6th grade elementary school level. BUT becoming a broker involves much, much more than math.

    Call your stock broker or any broker and ask him or her. You will have your eyes opened very wide!

    VTY,
    Ron B

  3. ziggydiggy1 Says:
    April 4th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    A retail broker’s job isn’t about asset pricing or designing profitable strategies in the market. The job is about teaching everyday investors and transacting on their behalf. I would say that if you can add, subtract, multiply, divide and take the occasional square root you’ll be all set.

    However, institutional or investment banking careers with international banks’ headquarters (i.e. equity sales/trading, M&A, algorithmic arbitrage) often use equations that make your head spin.

    When you compare these different types of jobs math is the last thing that should concern you though. The everyday activities, hours, competition, and job security are far different as well.

  4. jeff410 Says:
    April 6th, 2009 at 12:58 am

    Just good enough to count your commissions. Sixth grade math should do. Being a stockbroker is about sales, not math.

  5. Dave Says:
    April 8th, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    Being a stock broker is about sales, not math, however some brokerage firms require a math test. It’s all basic stuff - adding, subtracting, multiplication, division, square roots, etc.

    Just make sure you can do it long-hand. They may or may not let you use a calculator.

Leave a Reply