What You Need To Know About Landing Your First Investment Analyst Position
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The investment banking sector has some excellent opportunities but it is a competitive area to get into. The banking sector has changed a lot since the financial crash of 2008 and analysts in this field have seen a change in their roles as a result. It’s a demanding career path with a lot of responsibilities, but there are also some great earning opportunities if you land a job with a respected investment bank. If you want to start a career as an investment banking analyst, this guide explains what you need to know.
What Do Banks Want?
If you are going to be successful as an analyst in the banking sector, there are certain attributes you must have.
Banks are constantly looking for analysts that have in-depth knowledge of the changing financial demographics. For example, millennials will inherit an estimated $30 trillion from their parents over the next few decades, meaning that there will be a whole new generation of investors. Understanding how these changes influence the financial demographics will impact investment banks and how they adapt to this is extremely crucial.
Analysts also need to have a clear understanding of how the banking sector has changed since the financial crash. Banks are more cautious these days compared to the more aggressive stance they took before 2008.
If you’re aspiring to enter this field, you will need a finance or business degree at the very least, though having an MBA certainly makes you more competitive; Investment banks have high expectations of their analysts.
What Can You Expect?
So, what can you expect as an analyst working in the investment banking sector?
Analyzing Industry Research
As an analyst in the banking sector, most of your time will be spent assessing businesses to determine whether the firm or client should invest in them or not. Most of the time, you will be assigned to a specific industry, like finance, healthcare, manufacturing or emerging markets. You will meet with company executives and investors so you can gather facts, analyze research data and advise the investment banking firm.
Once you have done your research, you will be expected to create presentations and reports on these institutions. Strong communication skills come in handy here. In many cases, you will also be expected to deliver reports and presentations within a very short time frame.
Creating Financial Valuation Models
You will also need to be good at creating spreadsheets and investment models if you want to work as an analyst in the investment banking sector. A huge part of the job involves tracking financial trends, assessing the overall performance of businesses over a given period, and presenting all of this information in a way that is easy to understand.
Finding Analyst Roles
Ideally, you should start working towards a role in the banking sector while still at college. While going through your undergraduate studies, you are expected to take a lot of classes in accounting, finance, statistics, business administration and economics. While at graduate school, you may have opportunities to explore tax laws, risk management, bonds and options trading, to mention a few concepts.
Work experience is vital as well, so if you can land a summer internship at an investment bank or at least in the financial sector, it can be advantageous when applying for positions.
Networking is also a great way to get your foot in the door. Explore investment banks (See Everblu Capital on LinkedIn as an example), try to connect with them and put yourself on their radar. You should also attend industry events and conferences to see if you can meet people there as well. If a hiring manager recognizes your name when they read your resume, this can help you get to the interview stage, at the very least.
During your interview, you are likely to be asked about your work ethics and whether you are willing to work long hours, so be prepared for that. Investment banks also look out for candidates who speak multiple languages, so if you do, put that front and center on your application.
The investment banking sector is demanding and tough to break into, but there are some great earning opportunities in there if you do.
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