Experts say a stock broker license shows a certain level of knowledge about financial markets Courtesy of WSE

Gaining a brokerage license is a more popular career step today than it has been in years. This year some 817 people took exams for the license, with a total of 151 passing, bringing the number of licensed brokers in Poland to 2,217. Of the 374 people who took this year’s second and final sitting of the exam, held earlier this month, some 86 passed.

Competitive advantage

Demand for the qualification has been weaker in recent years. So what has changed?

“Many people are trying to escape the crisis through knowledge. In uncertain times – both in terms of investing in the stock market and success in the labor market – more knowledge is needed,” Paweł Cymcyk, a member of the board at the Polish Association of Brokers and Investment Advisers was quoted by Rzeczpospolita as saying.

What is the main motivator behind gaining the qualification? “Most of those taking the exam are young people who, thanks to the qualification, will later find their first serious work more easily,” Łukasz Dajnowicz, a spokesperson for the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, told the daily.

“A lot of people who decided to apply this year for a stock broker license were students about to graduate or fresh graduates,” said Joanna Pluta, an analyst at TMS brokerage house and a stock-market blogger for WBJ. “This could be related to the crisis, as young people starting their professional careers amid hard circumstances on the labor market are striving to gain as much of a competitive advantage as possible. A stock broker license is a good way to improve one’s CV,” she added.

Those taking the exam echo that view. “It’s not so much the knowledge as the simple license that is indispensable for development. I want to treat it like a foretaste of the investment advisor’s license, and a further career,” Krzysztof Doliński, who this time was unable to pass the exam, told Rzeczpospolita.

Valuable knowledge

As usual, active investors also applied for the license, wanting to increase their own theoretical knowledge. Employers confirm that holding such a license makes it easier to pursue a career in financial institutions. Jarosław Skorulski, the head of Allianz TFI, told the daily he looks favorably upon those who pass the exam.

“The license is evidence of a certain level of knowledge about the capital market, which is also useful in, for example, the sale of financial products,” he said. “That’s why people with the qualification have a better chance [of developing their career],” he said.

Many of those who take the exam have dreams of a big career. Those who manage to break into the elite group of Polish brokerage houses earn handsomely. Remuneration for brokers in the largest institutions is, on average, 10 times higher than the average Polish salary.

Brokers hit hard

But is working for a brokerage a safe career path in times of crisis? Perhaps not, since according to Ms Pluta, many stock brokers were hit hard by the crisis.

“Brokerage companies were strongly hit by the turbulence in the financial market, mostly due to falling stock prices and growing risk aversion among investors – hence the falling investment activity,” she told WBJ.

“The companies focusing on IPO services before the crisis also incurred huge losses. The only brokerages which remained unhurt were those which diversified their activity – for example those which offered access to the FX market, which is characterized by broader investment opportunities and therefore is more appealing to investors during hard times,” she added.