There are numerous different roles in this sector. I’ve outlined some of the major ones that may be of interest to you:
-
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) – advises clients on large corporate transactions, eg, the sale and purchase of other businesses or parts of businesses, from strategy, through evaluation to exchange.
-
Loan finance – advises clients on how to raise money from banks or other lenders. Specialised areas include leveraged finance (acquiring a target company) and project finance (funding an infrastructure project).
-
Capital markets – advises clients on the best way to raise money on the public markets through issuing equity, shares or bonds.
-
Trading – executes all the trades, usually specialising in a particular kind of asset such as commodities, options and futures. The ability to analyse vast amounts of information and react quickly are key skills.
-
Sales – first point of contact for clients interested in using the bank’s trading services, usually specialising in a particular industry/geography. Studies reports from research teams to develop expertise and advise clients.
-
Research – analyses data, forms opinions and produces reports for use by the rest of the bank. Usually focusing on one industry/geography. Mainly used by sales team but also used by traders, investment banking side and clients.
-
Risk management – ensures that trading risks taken are in line with the organisation’s risk appetite. Runs reports, analyses risk and talks to traders about risk exposure.
-
Compliance – ensures a company complies with its external regulatory requirements and internal policies.
-
Operations – ensures the vast quantities of information, money and products are flowing correctly and transactions are processed every day.
-
Technology – provides all the IT services used by the many business areas.
-
Investment – Investment managers manage money by investing it in a variety of asset classes such as equities, bonds, real estate, alternatives and so on for institutional and retail clients.
-
Private wealth management – provides high net worth clients with professional advice and services that help them manage their finances as efficiently as possible. This can include financial planning, investment management and advice on tax, pensions and inheritance.
-
Private equity – specialises in buying companies, reshaping them and selling them on for a profit. People tend to join PE once they have some experience at an investment bank as they use many of these services to raise capital.