A Career in Making Money

The lucrative world of investment banking is a thrilling ride for those who like making money, finds Arsh Gupta
“The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.”
– Phillip Fisher
This is testament to the fact that investing without an education and research will ultimately lead to regrettable investment decisions. It is the job of investment bankers to do this research and analyse it, as well as network and advice.

THE INVESTMENT BANKER
An investment banker works in a financial institution or a bank and is responsible for bridging those who have money with those who need money. In this role, he/she invests in markets, analyses and interprets numerical data, assesses and predicts financial risks and returns, provides investment advice, prepares legal documents, and liaises with accountants, lawyers and financial experts.
“Investment bankers are much more powerful in the US, than in India.” says Anubhav Singh, an investment banker form Yes Bank. Investment bankers are generally very well-paid individuals, but these positions require specific skills – number-crunching ability, excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the capacity to work very long, gruelling, and often, odd hours. “On my second day of work at another banking firm, I had to come to office at 2 am in the morning,” says Singh.

REQUISITE EDUCATION
Being an investment banker requires having a master’s degree in business administration (MBA). At a lower level, one may study either arts, science or commerce, but must focus more intently on maths, economics and business.

GETTING A JOB
Internships are a good way to get into the bustling corporate sector and they also add up in your resume, making it fancier. The JP Morgan Investment Banking Internship and Citi Bank internships are popular among aspiring investment bankers. “Big banks have now started coming forward to top colleges.” says Singh.

THE SUNNY SIDE OF INVESTMENT BANKING
* It is a highly rewarding job, both monetarily and otherwise
* It is a fast-paced career with exciting new developments regularly
* Opens doors to entrepreneurship

THE FLIP SIDE
* Challenging and stressful because of the intensive work load
* Tough competition
* Long and odd hours

SCOPE IN INDIA
Investment banking is one of the more popular career options among the youth of India, since it is a money-spinning job that provides opportunities to grow. “Investment banking and its financial services are pretty established now,” says Singh. Banks are always in need of skilled investment bankers who can contribute towards the growth of the organisation. With globalisation, the scope of investment banking has widened and new job opportunities have opened up. As an emerging economy, India is an exciting place to be for investment bankers.

CAREER FACTS: INVESTMENT BANKING
JOB PROFILE: Investment bankers help people, companies and governments make money, and provide advice on various financial matters like fund and debt management, mergers, acquisitions and privatisation.
INCOME: The average starting pay for an associate is Rs. 6-7 lakhs per annum. Experience strongly influences salary for this job.
SKILLS SET: Investment banks want employees with a combination of strong analytical and interpersonal skills. Some jobs lean more towards one skill set than another (e.g brokers need to be mainly sales people). A typical job of an equities analyst requires both analytic and interpersonal skills.
STUDY: * Kaizen School of Business Management, Mumbai
* Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
* Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India University (ICFAI) , Tripura
* Symbiosis School of Banking Management, Pune
* Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi

HOW TO BE AN INVESTMENT BANKER
* As a student, choose a degree that focuses on banking or a closely allied subject like finance, economics, business or accounting.
* Presentations are a big deal in investment banking. Make sure you sharpen your presentation skills in college.
* Intern during your vacations. The ideal place would be a big investment bank, but you could also try at smaller firms (the ‘boutique’ investment banks). If you can’t get an internship in either of these places, you could work at a regular bank.
* Network, network, network. Join LinkedIn groups for investment banking. Talk to friends and alumni from college who have become investment bankers. Stay in touch with colleagues from past internships. Always keep your ear to the ground.

Top Investment Banks

* BNP Paribas
* Citi Group
* Deustche Bank
* JP Morgan
* ING Group

 

Volume 4 Issue 1