Key employers: The most well-known in the sector are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Credit Suisse, Barclays, Deutsche Bank
Global Investment Banks guide transactions that financially shape big businesses. They give clients innovative solutions to meet their financial needs – whether merging with another company or raising capital for an expansion project. It is very demanding work with huge rewards. Investment banks advise corporations on the best decisions for economics success – consolidating companies together, obtaining the majority of equity from a firm, funding, selling stocks to the public, etc.)
For example, an investment banking team might advise one company on the acquisition of another to accelerate their growth in a particular market, in a new market or consolidate while saving costs. You’ll work in-depth with a company, do industry research, financial analyses, models, client pitches and the origination and execution of transactions.
Investment Bankers collaborate with a broad range of clients across a variety of sectors. They have experts who are specialised in a definitive industry and work across disciplines as teams to provide multi-faceted approaches towards targeting a problem.
(You may be new to the world of finance in this area- see Finance section Chapter 8, 9 later to understand basic concepts.)
You initially join as an Analyst and get on a programme to become an Associate.
There are various divisions:
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Focused on advising firms on beneficial amalgamations to dominate the market, to make cardinal decisions about when to leave a merger, and how to work with equity players.
- Corporate Finance Advisory: Offer guidance on administrating deals with shareholders; how to organise funds to support the company’s growth and keep shareholders happy; techniques for risk analysis of capital decisions; the best ways to make a deal based on the partner in question; keeping credit low so as to make sure bank funding is not a problem; the ease of selling assets at a moment’s notice without a change in valuation.
- Equity Capital Markets: Support customers on methods to garner investment without debt, assessing the value of one’s company accurately so as to not dissuade investors from buying into equity; selling stock (Initial Public Offerings- IPO) ; sales of stocks post IPOs – changes occur as the costs are driven by the market supply and demand; and the ability of shareholders to buy rights at fixed intervals.
- Debt Capital Markets: Recommend corporations on how to go about funding their debt repayment (this is a less risky form of investment versus equity investment but can have lower potential), whether through loans or by searching for funding in equity, bonds and highly liquid assets.
- Leveraged Finance: Strategists advise firms in the art of securing debt based funding through either leveraged loans (loans involving sizable uncertainty) or high-yield bonds in cases of dire financial need.
They also provide industry-specific expertise and guidance, working with the appropriate industry groups to generate ideas around potential transactions.
Industry-specific groups include:
- Consumer and Retail
- Diversified Industries
- Energy
- Financial Institutions & Governments
- Financial Sponsors
- Healthcare
- Real Estate & Lodging
- Technology, Media and Telecommunications
You’ll begin your training with 8-10 weeks of accounting, modelling, financial and credit analysis and take authoritative exams to assess your readiness for your chosen field. These jobs involve continuous learning and re-learning due to dynamic changes in the market and practical usage of competencies you have gained.
Indispensable Skills: Exceptional problem solving, organisation and communications skills; ability to learn quickly and execute accurately; comprehensive knowledge of global markets.