What Companies Are in the Finance Field?
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Summary:
Companies in the finance field provide a wide variety of services that help people move and invest their money every day. The field consists of well-known companies like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, as well as newer fintech and payment processing companies like Venmo and Rocket Mortgage. Finance spans banking, investment, insurance, credit cards, real estate, and more.
Modern-day finance reaches far outside the sphere of investment banking and financial trading markets. Now, the financial world appears in almost every facet of life, from the mortgage on your house to the money you send to your best friend with Venmo. Private equity companies have grown to behemoths and now own some of the largest companies that we interact with on a daily basis. Just open your phone, and you’ll see financial companies throughout your apps. As finance is the lubricant of capitalism, it is an intrinsic part of navigating our everyday lives.
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Types of finance companies
Companies in the financial field encompass a broad swath of industries and platforms related to money, finance, and payment. Here are some of the main industries in the financial sector:
- Investment banks
- Goldman Sachs
- Renaissance Technologies
- Morgan Stanley
- Traditional banks
- Bank of America
- Brokerages
- Charles Schwab
- Real estate companies
- Keller Williams
- Payment processors
- Venmo
- Insurance companies
- AIG
- Commodities traders
- Louis Dreyfus
- Fintech companies
- Soft Bank
- Rocket Mortgage
- Silver Lake Partners
- Credit card issuers
- Visa
What are some companies in the finance field?
You probably associate blue-chip investment banking firms, such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, with the financial field, along with retail banks, such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo. But finance also includes brokerages, such as Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard, that offer personalized investment advice. Various other companies fall under the financial services umbrella, including hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, and REITS (real estate investment trusts). Finally, companies on the retail finance end that process payment transactions and issue credit, such as Visa and PayPal, are also considered to be in the family.
Below, we go into more detail about some of the most prominent companies in the finance industry and how they contribute to the global economy.
Investment banks
These firms help you decide how to invest your money using different types of trading.
Goldman Sachs
Headquarters: New York, NY
Among the blue-chip investment banks, Goldman Sachs might be the most prestigious and well-known. Started in 1869, Goldman Sachs is synonymous with Wall Street finance and, as of this writing, is the second-largest investment bank in the world. The company offers a complex assortment of financial products and strategies, including investment banking, stock trading, options trading, derivatives trading, money management, and quant trading, among others. Goldman Sachs executives have traditionally also had various financial positions in the United States government, particularly the Federal Reserve.
Renaissance Technologies
Headquarters: Setauket, NY
Renaissance Capital is one of the largest and most successful hedge funds in the world. The company is known for its revolutions in quant trading and its emphasis on using mathematics when investing. The CEO and founder, Jim Simons, was a mathematics professor at MIT and Harvard before his foray into finance. Renaissance Capital is also famous for hiring traders and strategists with backgrounds unrelated to finance, such as astronomy and quantum physics. Its famously secretive Medallion Fund has returns that are the envy of the whole industry. Getting a job at Renaissance Technologies is difficult but can be extremely rewarding from a financial perspective.
Morgan Stanley
Headquarters: New York, NY
Along with Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley is another company commonly associated with the traditional finance field. Morgan Stanley is smaller than its cousin, J.P. Morgan, with a current market capitalization of $136 billion, but it still holds a significant amount of power in the banking industry. The bank and financial services firm deals with everything from IPOs to asset management. The compensation packages at Morgan Stanley can be exceptional for those looking to work for a blue-chip investment bank. Morgan Stanley is listed on the NYSE under MS.
Looking to explore your investment options? Here are some advisors that can point you in the right direction.
Traditional banks
Everyone needs basic banking services, from checking and savings accounts to ATMs and loans.
Bank of America
Headquarters: Charlotte, NC
Bank of America is one of the largest financial institutions in the U.S. It is both a commercial bank where you can open a checking account and an investment bank that offers wealth management services. Just as its namesake indicates, Bank of America is one of the most well-known banks in the U.S. With over $3.16 trillion in assets, BoA is one of the most established players in the financial sector. There are many different positions available in both the retail and commercial arms. Bank of America can be found on the NYSE under BAC.
Brokerages
These companies help you invest in stocks, bonds, and other funds to save for retirement and more.
Charles Schwab
Headquarters: West Lake, TX
Charles Schwab is a financial services company whose name is synonymous with personal finance and retirement planning in the United States. Founded in 1971, the firm had $7.13 trillion under management in 2022. They offer a suite of financial services, including banking, commercial banking, investment consulting, and wealth management advisory services to retail and institutional clients. Originally founded in 1963 by Charles Schwab as a newsletter, it has since expanded to more than 360 branches, primarily in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In terms of personal finance and personal investment management, it is one of the top financial services companies in the world. Charles Schwab is listed as SCHW on the New York Stock Exchange.
Real estate companies
If you’re ready to buy a home or an investment property, real estate companies can help.
Keller Williams
Headquarters: Austin, TX
Keller Williams is one of the largest real estate firms in the United States, bringing in $532 billion in revenue in 2021. You’ve probably seen their name on yard signs, as their agents help people buy and sell homes on the residential real estate market.
Payment processors
These companies make it easy for you to send money to another person or make purchases electronically.
Venmo
Headquarters: New York, NY
Venmo has become an incredibly popular tool in the U.S. that enables people to send money to each other with ease. Previously, the most popular ways of transferring money were more cumbersome cash or checks. Venmo allows people to send money electronically, sometimes instantly, and doesn’t charge a fee if the money is from a debit card or bank account. (Although they will charge a small fee for credit card use and instant transfers). Founded in 2009, the company was acquired by Paypal in 2012 and is still a subsidiary.
Insurance companies
Many people take insurance for granted until they need it. Insurance companies provide home, car, health, and other types of insurance.
American Insurance Group (AIG)
Headquarters: New York, NY
American Insurance Group, or AIG, as the company is more commonly known, is an absolute behemoth in the insurance and finance fields. Not only does AIG offer home and life insurance but it also insures some of the most complex financial instruments traded on the market. Founded in Shanghai in 1919, AIG moved to the U.S. and heavily expanded in Europe after World War 2. They currently have more than 50,000 employees in more than 80 countries. Working for AIG can help a person understand the way complex financial products, credit, insurance, and risk interact. AIG can be found under AIG on the NYSE.
Commodities traders
These companies buy and sell raw materials, either through physical goods or futures contracts.
Louis Dreyfus
Headquarters: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Louis Dreyfus is a finance and commodities trading company headquartered in Switzerland that facilitates the global trade of commodities as well as other products. The company owns assets like juice plants in Brazil while also trading futures in its Singapore office. Louis Dreyfus’ finance arm encompasses activities related to accounting, taxes, treasuries, controlling, financial planning, and market and credit risk assessment. The company is originally French and dates back to 1859, which makes it one of the oldest companies in the financial field.
Pro Tip
Working for a commodities company trading futures and derivatives can be a great learning experience for those that want to trade options. As commodities are a macro-level investment, knowledge in this type of trading can come in handy when trading stock market options and derivatives for a bank.
Fintech companies
These financial technology companies use new technology, such as blockchain, big data, and AI to compete with traditional financial services.
Soft Bank
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Soft Bank is heavily involved with some of the biggest players in the tech industry. Started in Japan, Soft Bank is most famous for investing a small amount of money in Alibaba, which returned an unprecedented sum. Soft Bank gathers investments from all over the world, including some of the largest sovereign wealth funds. When it comes to tech-related finance companies you could work for, many people consider Soft Bank to be one of the crown jewels. Soft Bank is one of the largest financial services companies in the world and is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, under 9984.
Silver Lake Partners
Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
Silver Lake Partners is a tech-focused private equity firm that has been involved in some of the largest tech-related financial transactions in the world. The company orchestrated a deal in 2013 to take Dell private for a then-record sum of $24.4 billion. Silver Lake Partners has worked with many tech-related name brands, including Skype, Alibaba, and GoDaddy. Working at a private equity company with a brand like Silver Lake can open doors for your career as well as reward you financially.
If you’re ready to start investing in finance companies, find a brokerage that can help.
Rocket Mortgage
Headquarters: Detroit, MI
Rocket Mortgage is the offspring of Dan Gilbert’s original mortgage lending company, Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage could be considered part of both the finance field and the consumer services field. Rocket Mortgage is probably as well known or perhaps better known in the U.S. than Dan Gilbert’s own NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The real difference between Rocket Mortgage and many other lenders was their movement to an online-only platform in the late 1990s. Rocket Mortgage is one of the only large companies in the financial field to be based in Ohio, which offers prospective applicants lower living costs. Rocket Mortgage is listed in the NYSE under RKT.
Pro Tip
If you’re curious about companies in other fields, check out our examples of companies in the basic industries field, the energy field, the transportation field, and the capital goods field.
Credit card issuers
Four companies dominate the U.S. market: Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.
Visa
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Visa is one of the largest credit card companies in the world and, thus, one of the largest payment processing companies as well. The company offers a number of different cards, including credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. The company is based in California, having been founded in Fresno, with current offices in San Francisco. Although Visa was surpassed by Union Pay in 2015 as the No. 1 card-payment-processing company in the world, it is still recognized all over the globe. For those looking to work in a dynamic company outside of northern California’s tech sector, Visa is a great option. The company is currently listed under V in the NYSE.
FAQ
What are some examples of finance companies?
Some of the most prominent financial service companies include payment processing giant Visa, investment services companies Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab, as well as hedge fund companies such as Renaissance Technology.
What industries are in the financial sector?
The financial sector includes all kinds of businesses that help you move and invest money. Some of those industries are banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, brokerages, real estate companies, payment processors, insurance companies, and fintech companies.
What careers are under finance?
Some examples of finance careers include a risk analyst at an investment bank, a futures trader at a large commodities company, a financial advisor, or an engineer at a fintech company.
Who is the biggest finance company?
The largest bank in the world by assets is ICBC in China. In the U.S., Visa, JPMorgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway are some of the biggest companies.
What do financial services companies do?
In short, financial services companies manage money. They provide financial services, including banking, investments, loans, payments, and a variety of other services related to wealth and money.
Key takeaways
- Companies in the field of finance offer a wide range of services related to money management.
- Financial companies include well-known investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, as well as retail banks like Bank of America.
- Payment processing and credit card companies, such as Venmo and Visa, are also considered to be in the financial field.
- Insurance companies, real estate companies, and many online or app-based fintech companies also fall under the finance umbrella.
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