Investment: Investment Banking Careers

Investment Banking Careers Entry level

Banking Investment / January 1, 2020

I performed all these as an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse in New York and San Francisco. It was a tremendous experience.
Your job as an Investment Banking Analyst is split into the following roles -

1. Financial Modelling -
Use MS Excel to build historical and projected financial statements of companies. Analyze cash flows, valuations, financial ratios etc. As part of the financial modelling you will have to do a tonne of research on getting the data. You will spend a lot of time on Yahoo Finance, , reuters, bloomberg, equity research reports etc.

You will build financial models to sell companies, buy companies, IPO companies, issue secondary shares, interest rate swaps, bond issues, bond refinancing, LBO, project financing, reverse merger, stock buyback etc etc.

If you want to be a great IB Analyst, this is one area you need to be a rockstar on. If you have nailed down financial modelling, then really nothing else matters. You can wear the most tattered clothes, look like a looser, be anti-social, not know the difference between a Cabernet and a Pinot Noir and still you will get the best deal flow and command respect with your team. Every MD/VP will want you on their deal team.

That's it - only this matters period. So stop wasting your time socializing, networking, picking shirts with the right thread count, reading the WSJ, flirting with the assistants and only focus on being a financial modelling rockstar!

2. Making pitch decks -
These are essentially sales documents you are making to impress clients so your bank can get the deal. They are not always boring as is widely believed. If you are working with a smart MD, then you will get to work on some kick-ass analysis even as part of a pitch deck.

If you have any ninja skills with MS Powerpoint, image editing softwares, creative designs etc this is where you need to display them.

Typical slides could include, industry overview, comparable trading, competitors performance, possible strategies, possible financing options, positioning etc.

3. Check
Yes, Check, double check and triple check everything model and pitch before you turn it in to your associate. You will spend as much time checking your work as you spend making it. There is 0 room for error in a banking model or pitch book.

4. Wait
Yes, you will spend amazingly large amounts of your time just waiting for someone else to double check your model that you have already triple checked. You will wait for their comments, you will wait for a Director to call you at 1am after he/she received your fax with the latest version, you will wait long hours at printers to collect your prospectus. So you better be a patient person, heading into this profession.

These 4 activities will constitute about 80% of your life as an analyst. You will spend another 15% on conference calls, client meetings, making hotel reservations etc. And you will sleep for the remaining 5%.

Source: www.quora.com