what does it mean when someone says "I work in the capital markets?"?

Answer 1

Depends... Narrowly, it means that the person works in a capital markets department within a large financial institution or a treasury of a large non-financial company. Basically, they advise the treasurer on the fastest and cheapest ways to raise money for the company.

There are also capital markets practices in law firms. Those advise their clients on legal aspects of securities offerings and large bank loans.

But there are many people who do not know that the term has a narrow technical meaning, so they can say that about almost any job that involves lending or securities trading...

Answer 2

The capital market (securities markets) is the market for securities, where companies and the government can raise long-term funds. The capital market includes the stock market and the bond market. Financial regulators, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Services Authority in the UK, the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht in Germany, Financial Supervision Authority in Finland, and Securities and Exchange Board of India, oversee the markets to ensure that investors are protected against misselling. The capital markets consist of the primary market, where new issues are distributed to investors, and the secondary market, where existing securities are traded.