Hey Nairalanders,

I created this thread so that those who are interested in pursuing a career in investment banking can come together and share ideas and advice which may be helpful in starting and maintaing a succesful career in this field.

Professionals already in this field are also welcomed to this platform.

I am a recent graduate of economics with a great interest in investment banking so i will come around here to drop tips i find relevant.

Thank You all.

Investment banking career overview

The investment banking division (IBD) of an investment bank helps governments, corporations, and institutions raise capital and complete mergers and acquisitions (M&A). An investment banking career is extremely demanding with analysts frequently working 100 hour weeks. The competition for positions is intense, compensation is very high, and the work is very high profile. The tradeoff, however, is long hours, a military-like culture and a lot of grunt work.

The IBD of the bank is further divided into industry groups, such as the TMT investment banking group.



Personality in investment banking

The personality of someone suited to work as an analyst or associate in the IBD of an investment bank has the following character traits:

Highly ambitious
Competitive
Detail oriented
Quantitative ....

continue reading.
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/map/banks/investment-banking-career-profile/

A story about how i began to have interest in the Field of finance.


Fresh out of Secondary School, i wanted to study economics and i remember my father telling me economics being an academic course was not as marketable as accounting and i should rather study accounting. I had no idea of accounting but i told him i was going to write the ATS/ICAN professional exams during the long session breaks.

In my first year, courses like BFN(banking and finance) and ACC(Accounting) allowed me learn more about finance and i started developing interest in it, like naturally, as if that was what i was made for. When i started ATS, I got more exposed, and i met alot of people and I also recognised the benefits of writing professional examinations.

I remember bring excited (I still am) any time i was taught anything concerning share issue,investment portfolios, underwriting among various other topics. I pushed further to learn more, I read alot of online stuffs on the net and just like that I made a conviction to pursue a career as an investment banker.

Today, i beleive the most significant step i have taken or decision i have made towards realise my dream is the decision to write ICAN.

Strategic Financial Management is by far the best subject i have learnt l. It has exposed me to different concepts in Finance, i cant really emphasise this, topics i learnt about concern raising of capital, capital structure, coporate reconstruction, dividend policy, portfolio theories among many others.

My advice to everyone willing to get on this career path is to endeavor to carry out lots and lots of personal research on the career path and also enrol for professional examinations relating to that area.

For a career in finance the relevant professional examinations includes the following:

1. CFA(chartered financial analyst). The most recognised in the world.
2.ACCA(Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). Though an Accounting qualification, having this qualification will give you a deep insight into corporate finance ,mangement, taxation and financial management
3. ICAN(Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria)
4.CIS (Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers)

There are other professional qualifications out there which are also very good.

HIERARCHY OF THE INVESTMENT BANKING PROFESSION


I will like to talk about the hierarchy of the investment banking profession but before i continue I state explicitly that everything i post here is a result of personal research and i do not have any IB experience yet.

The purpose of this is to educate myself and other interested individuals on this career path.

Back to the topic, what i noticed is that the hierarchy of IB career path is quite similar across companies with just a little difference. The hierarchy is as follows:

1. Analyst (Entry level)
2. Associate
3. Vice President
4. Senior VP/ Director/ in some companies its called Principal
5. Managing Director(Top of the game)

Please note that this hierarchy varies among companies.

Subsequently, i will be talking further on the major roles and job descriptions of each of the above.

Stay tuned..

The Analyst.

This is the junior position of IB. This is the level you will come into as a fresh graduate. Since its the junior position then definitely you should expect a lot of task to be handed to you.

For entry into this position, i will say it is preferable to have studied a finance or management based course (such as Accounting, Economics, Finance, Business Administration) to have a greater advantage. It is also possible to land yourself this role in an investment Bank despite not studying any of the above courses.

The job description of an analyst may vary among companies but there are major/primary roles which are common to all, they include;

1. Presentations
2. Analysis
3. Administrative

You do most of the Excel and PowerPoint work, take notes, send emails and call people, and even take care of random tasks(i guess) like fixing printers.


On the average, you will have to work about 3 to 3.5 years as an analyst before you get promoted to the next level which is the Associate.

The Associate.

Up next on the ladder is the Associate. At this stage you get more client exposure as you may have to hold meetings, put a lot of calls through to them. You will also be more of a supervisor to the analyst as you would be charged with the responsibility of checking the analyst’s work and making sure he doesn’t screw up. You spend most of your time managing the analysts and making sure the VP’s orders get executed. You are more like the middle man between the Top Management and Analyst.

The Associate position is also an entry position in an IB. You can come into an IB as an associate with MBA. As initially stated, a 3rd or 4th year analyst gets promoted to become an associate.

It takes 3 to 4 years of working as an associate before being promoted to VP. It may also take longer in cases where there is no need for a new VP and at such points an associate might have to consider moving into another IB.

The Vice Prsident

The first senior banker position that you could hope for is that of a vice president. The tasks of the VP include monitoring the work of junior bankers, i.e. analysts and associates, and making sure that they deliver what the top management wants. Once you rise to a senior position, you get much more interaction with clients and focus on building relationships and winning new business.

It takes averagely 4 years as an associate before being promoted to vice president.

You will probably spend between three and four years at the position before moving up, although you might advance more quickly depending on your performance.

Insightful thread Haylegbede1,

These articles might add more to the discourse.

http://www.jarushub.com/what-is-investment-banking-about/

http://www.jarushub.com/top-10-mbas-to-land-investment-banking-jobs/

http://www.jarushub.com/advice-on-investment-banking-career-for-a-22-graduate/

http://www.jarushub.com/7-questions-and-answers-with-an-investment-banking-aspirant/

http://www.jarushub.com/how-can-a-2-2-graduate-get-an-investment-banking-job/

Perfect timing.

JARUSHUB:
Insightful thread Haylegbede1,

These articles might add more to the discourse.

http://www.jarushub.com/what-is-investment-banking-about/

http://www.jarushub.com/top-10-mbas-to-land-investment-banking-jobs/

http://www.jarushub.com/advice-on-investment-banking-career-for-a-22-graduate/

http://www.jarushub.com/7-questions-and-answers-with-an-investment-banking-aspirant/

http://www.jarushub.com/how-can-a-2-2-graduate-get-an-investment-banking-job/

Thank you very much jarushub, i appreciate this contribution.

Im actually your lowkey fan

Fkforyou:
Perfect timing.

You are welcome

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR

The role of the senior vice president can be described as a mix between the responsibilities of the VP and the Managing Director. Depending on the bank, you could either focus more on execution and project management work, or work more toward developing relationships with clients and winning new business. While it is difficult to point the exact number of years which you can expect to spend at the SVP position, three years sounds about right.
It is important to note that at some banks the SVP and the Director are separate positions, while in other cases those positions have different names altogether, for example the VP might be called Director, and the SVP – Executive Director.

MANAGING DIRECTOR/ PARTNER

The Managing Director position marks the top of the food chain. You can expect to spend most of your time winning clients and developing relationships. Your main responsibility will be to bring new business to the bank while everyone else below you delivers and tries to make you happy.

ONE FINAL NOTE

While the investment banking career ladder does not only seem but is in fact quite steep while you’re standing at the bottom, climbing will be easier when you realize that with every step you will earn not just more money but also respect, satisfaction, opportunities and knowledge. Or, as AC/DC phrased it once, “it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock’n’roll.”

For more insight on the hierarchy, visit the following sites:
http://www.financeinstitute.com/blog/investment-banking-career-path/

https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/investment-banking-careers/

https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-hierarchy/

They don't seem to place adverts for vacancies. Why?

haylegbede1:
Hey Nairalanders,

I created this thread so that those who are interested in pursuing a career in investment banking can come together and share ideas and advice which may be helpful in starting and maintaing a succesful career in this field.

Professionals already in this field are also welcomed to this platform.

I am a recent graduate of economics with a great interest in investment banking so i will come around here to drop tips i find relevant.

Thank You all.

Hi. Please what aspect of investment banking makes one a great stock investor? Is it IB or equity research?
Also which of the two exposes one to various companies (allows you to be more diversified as you work on many different projects at once) so he becomes an expert that can easily switch to consulting (in big 4) later in life?
Finally, between corporate finance and other divisions, which is likely to be marketable in the future or become extinct?
Thank you

zakir007:

Hi. Please what aspect of investment banking makes one a great stock investor? Is it IB or equity research?
Also which of the two exposes one to various companies (allows you to be more diversified as you work on many different projects at once) so he becomes an expert that can easily switch to consulting (in big 4) later in life?
Finally, between corporate finance and other divisions, which is likely to be marketable in the future or become extinct?
Thank you

To be a good stock investor, an equity research role will help you better than an IB role. In equity research, you get to work in a team of researchers where each researcher covers different companies. By cover I mean, watching the company, creating financial models for the company and making forecasts about their performance, hence giving a buy, sell or hold recommendation. This allows you know the companies that have good value for you to invest in. An IB role on the other hand is more of an advisory role or deal making role where you work on mergers and acquisitions, issuance of capital etc. .that may not necessarily give you the skills of identifying companies or stocks to invest in.

About being able to move to a consulting firm or a big 4, both roles can suffice for that purpose. Having an experience in any of these roles will give you the knowledge and skills needed in a consulting firm in am advisory role.

About the role of the future and which roles may go extinct or which may remain. I must tell you that technology is taking over everything hence if you want to be competitive in finance in the long term you have to be tech savvy. So roles in data analytics, AI among others are the future of finance.

Thank you very much for this enlightening response. I'm grateful.

haylegbede1:


To be a good stock investor, an equity research role will help you better than an IB role. In equity research, you get to work in a team of researchers where each researcher covers different companies. By cover I mean, watching the company, creating financial models for the company and making forecasts about their performance, hence giving a buy, sell or hold recommendation. This allows you know the companies that have good value for you to invest in. An IB role on the other hand is more of an advisory role or deal making role where you work on mergers and acquisitions, issuance of capital etc. .that may not necessarily give you the skills of identifying companies or stocks to invest in.

About being able to move to a consulting firm or a big 4, both roles can suffice for that purpose. Having an experience in any of these roles will give you the knowledge and skills needed in a consulting firm in am advisory role.

About the role of the future and which roles may go extinct or which may remain. I must tell you that technology is taking over everything hence if you want to be competitive in finance in the long term you have to be tech savvy. So roles in data analytics, AI among others are the future of finance.

Was expecting you to be succint, but that was really eye opening...
Thank you!