A Career in Investment Banking

by Tony Jacowski

Besides being lucrative, Investment Banking is one of the most competitive areas for aspiring candidates to enter the banking industry. Mostly, investment banks seek to recruit candidates who come from top universities and business schools. In order to start a career in investment banking, you need to have excellent analytical abilities, communication skills and aptitude for numbers.

Career Options

Investment banking is one of best options for candidates who possess drive, confidence and stamina. It is not meant for the feint of heart, as investment banking requires very a strong personality. Stamina and drive are both important, as financial services industry employee work long hours, particularly when they have to deal with deadlines. Generally, the working hours of an employee in investment banking ranges between 60 to 70 hours. However, during busy times, working hours may extend through the weekend.

Investment banking is composed of different sectors within which you can choose a suitable career. Investment banks also have various divisions within different sectors. When applying to a bank, candidates should make up their mind about which area they would like to join. The choice of area depends on their abilities and interests. Some of the sectors in investment banking are as follows:

Corporate Finance: Corporate finance includes a range of areas such as debt and equity capital, appropriate capital structures and mergers and acquisitions. Advisory services include sector specialists, who are supported by several general service teams.

Sales And Trading: Sales and trading is considered to be one of the most popular areas of work in the field of investment banking. A number of employees are required to work within the sales and trading departments. The work calls for hard working people with the ability to think fast and make key decisions in just seconds. The basic role of a sales and trading employee is to inform clients about the opinion of the bank on certain assets and markets.

As sales and trading staff spend most of their working hours in talking to clients, it is important for employees to have strong communication skills. Additionally, employees working in the sales and trading department in investment bank need to have a complete understanding of the research produced by their company. They should also be able to present sophisticated arguments in a convincing manner to a very sophisticated client base.

Research: Employees working with the research department provide clients with up-to-date reports on certain areas of interest. Analysts in the research department specialize in a specific business sector or area, thereby developing reports that can be safely distributed to clients. Besides having effective analytical abilities, good analysts working with the research department in investment banking need to have effective communicative skills, ability to think clearly and present clear ideas with confidence to the clients.

If you have a great amount of drive, determination and stamina, a career in investment banking could prove to be very lucrative, exciting and rewarding.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.