Investment Banking

Though high levels of commitment and responsibilities are part and parcel of this line of work, the payoffs are generous.

Investment bankers act as corporate advisors for various entities regarding financial activities, and their responsibilities include the issuance of securities, overseeing mergers and acquisitions, providing financial analysis, managing initial public offerings and handling investments for corporate pension funds, charities, or high-networth private clients.

Before a company acquires another, investment bankers also carry out financial and strategic analyses, assess the price and worth of the acquisition, offer directions on how to bid and pay, as well as communicate the news to the public markets.

Clients may even give a renowned investment banking team the autonomy to deliver and execute deals on their behalf.

General overview

Employers typically offer newcomers structured training programmes that last a month or so to provide them with the necessary key skills.

Most successful applicants start out as analysts, and will be assigned a senior mentor as they begin navigating a steep learning curve. With experience, graduates can move up the ranks to become a junior investment banker, liaising with clients as well as performing financial analyses, and condensing and collating data for them. Later on, seniority will allow opportunities such as managing and overseeing the execution of projects and deals.

In most companies, investment bankers are grouped into teams based on specialisations, but come together with members from other teams while executing a deal. To that end, hopefuls can look forward to expecting plenty of interaction across teams and departments.

However, trends are changing with the landscape, and investors are now moving away from high-risk ventures, placing greater emphasis on risk management and raising capital as opposed to mergers and acquisitions.

Required skills

As applications from a range of disciplines are welcome, a finance-related degree is not a prerequisite. However, to be successful, a candidate will need to demonstrate an interest and good understanding of business and financial markets.

Another chief requirement for working in this field is the ability to think laterally and discern trends and patterns. Because investment bankers are client-focused communicators with valuable financial expertise, excellent interpersonal skills are a must alongside energy and a readiness to deal with many different people while providing the best customer service possible.

Pros and cons

Be prepared to perform under immense stress and heavy pressure for extended periods of time. Twelve-hour work days are common, as is working on weekends.

However, while investment banking is a demanding area, it is a rewarding career choice with early responsibility, financial rewards and exciting work. After all, not many other industries offer chances to work on deals that fill the pages of the Wall Street Journal, or put professionals in touch with chief executive officers (CEOs) of large corporations at a relatively early stage of their career.