A Day in the Life of an Investment Banker (2024)

FAQs

What is the day to day life of an investment banker? ›

Investment bankers meet with clients, send emails, prepare offers, conduct financial projections, work on signing new clients to the company, providing initial public offerings (IPOs), and mergers and acquisitions. These are some of the tasks an investment banker must do on a daily or weekly basis.

How Many Hours Do Investment Bankers Actually Work? Investment banking is not a normal 9-to-5 job — investment bankers can work anywhere from 60 to over 100 hours per week, depending on the company and the deals at hand.

No, investment bankers are not happy for the most part.

In fact, investment bankers rate their career happiness 2.7 out of 5 stars, which puts them in the bottom 9% of careers, according to a 2021 U.S. News study.

Yes, investment banking hours, especially in your first year or two, are always bad (think: 70-80 hours in the office per week). But junior bankers also tend to exaggerate their hours, often by not subtracting downtime or breaks during the day.

The well-known bulge bracket banks like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Bank of America tend to work analyst-level investment bankers at the industry standard scale of 60-80 hours per week. Example Bulge Bracket Banks: Goldman Sachs.

A career in investment banking can be stressful given several positions in the field like product control accounting positions can be demanding simply because they necessitate frequent engagement with traders. The same is true for management and regulatory reporting positions when deadlines approach.

Investment bankers meet with clients, prepare offers, run financial projections, and work on pitchbooks, that help generate new clients. The work is lucrative but the days are long and stressful. Superior social skills are required for success in the field.

At 60 hours, you can have one full free day off and generally only have to do some light work on the other day. You might not get to choose exactly when that time is, but in general, this is survivable. You'll see from the schedule that most people get into work around 10am in banking.

Investment banking analysts generally work 80-110 hour workweeks – expect to have very little free time outside of the office, especially during the first year on the job.

The downsides of an investment banker's life are lengthy working hours, unpredictable work nature, stress, no error tolerance, work pressure, and conducting unimportant tasks.

Why are investment bankers so rich? ›

Investment banks earn commissions and fees on underwriting new issues of securities via bond offerings or stock IPOs. Investment banks often serve as asset managers for their clients as well.

Unless the goal is senior management, most people in finance are out of there by age 50. That's not at just the biggest investment banks, either. In January, Charles Schwab Corp.'s Chief Financial Officer Christopher Dodds announced plans to quit in May, at age 47, to pursue greater “work-life balance.”

For investment banking analysts however, it is actually very difficult to get fired – although out of an analyst class about 10% of the class somehow manages to get fired every year.

Finance professionals aged over 40 are almost as likely to have less than six and five hours' sleep as those aged between 20-25. Exhaustion peaks between 30 and 35 and again at 40+.

The work includes three primary tasks: presentations, analysis, and administrative. After two years of working for the investment bank, top performing analysts are often offered the chance to stay for a third year, and the most successful analysts can be promoted after three years to investment banking associate.

Other investment bankers take Ritalin or Adderall, which are given to children with ADHD but which are stimulants for adults. But the mainstay is probably coffee, energy drinks and other concoctions containing caffeine.

It is predicted that AI will take over many of the more routine tasks currently done by junior investment bankers while giving senior bankers greater leverage. Firms will need to evolve and elevate the junior banker role to stay competitive.

What is the best personality type for an investment banker? ›

The top personality traits of investment bankers are extraversion and conscientiousness. Investment bankers score highly on extraversion, meaning that they rely on external stimuli to be happy, such as people or exciting surroundings.

Key Takeaways. Of the two careers, investment banking requires greater quantitative acumen and skills in math. The educational requirements for becoming a lawyer are much more rigid than those for becoming an investment banker.

It is possible to become a millionaire as an investment banker, but it is not easy. Investment bankers typically earn salaries in the $200,000 to $700,000 range, with bonuses that can bring their total income up to several million dollars per year.

No matter what major you pursue, investment banking will require strong math and analytical skills with a firm understanding of economics and how it affects corporate finance. Also, internships during your bachelor's program can help you build working experience and enhance networking in the financial field.

How much sleep does investment banker get? On a weekday, people lower on the totem pole come in ~9am/9:30am and leave anytime between 12:00am/3:00am on average. So you're really left with ~6 hours of sleep assuming you consider time to get ready for bed, getting ready for work, etc.

Contrary to popular perception, a bank won't just ask you to pull an all-nighter on a whim. You won't be working 'til you drop because it makes you look good. You'll be putting the hours in because it's necessary for the business and you're part of the team that's all in it together.

If you have more than 2 – 3 years of full-time work experience after university, it will be very difficult to get in at the Analyst level (estimated age cut-off of 25, but it may be more like 27 – 28 depending on when you started the degree).

Investment bankers may work on weekends. They typically respond quickly to new developments in the market. Other times, they may work with clients who require their input as soon as possible or on projects requiring around-the-clock availability.

Is investment banking hard to break into? ›

Accordingly, investment banking firms are incredibly selective with new hires. To become an investment banking analyst, you need the right education. Investment banking firms recruit top-performers from the most prestigious schools, preferring a select few schools.

Give a BS answer like “I work too much” or “I'm too much of a perfectionist.” Give a legitimate weakness, like saying that you sometimes lose focus when working on extended projects, or that you have trouble delegating work to others, and then show how you've been working to improve yourself.

Expected Lifetime Earnings: $4,172,000.

Across the industry, even at the firms which saw slight year-on-year falls, the norm seems to be that the crude percentage chance of getting accepted to an investment banking graduate program is a bit more than 1%, but significantly less than 2%.

Sales & trading compensation is generally lower than investment banking compensation across all levels, but some top traders could out-earn bankers. Investment banker salaries + bonuses for Analysts in the U.S. at large banks are in the $150K – $250K range, with Associates in the $300K – $550K range (as of 2022).

Investment bankers work in finance, making connections between companies that are looking to raise funding and the investors who possess capital. These professionals help businesses secure funding through initial public offerings (IPOs) and assist with purchasing and selling securities as consultants.

Based on the median costs of living in most parts of America, $5 million is more than enough for a very comfortable retirement. Based on average market returns, $5 million can support many households indefinitely.

Rajat Tiwari: The Youngest Indian Ingenious of Global Investment Banking. Like the changing weather of our globe, the investment climate of the global financial world keeps evolving.

"Most people who get entry-level jobs in banking are aged 20 to 25 years-old," says one former trader.

Do you know the Rule of 72? It's an easy way to calculate just how long it's going to take for your money to double. Just take the number 72 and divide it by the interest rate you hope to earn. That number gives you the approximate number of years it will take for your investment to double.

Why is Goldman Sachs laying off so many people? ›

One of Wall Street's biggest banks plans to lay off up to 3,200 employees this week, as it faces a challenging economy, a downturn in investment banking, and struggles in retail banking. It is one of the biggest rounds of layoffs at Goldman since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

Calendar invites and chaos: How Goldman Sachs coldly laid off 3,000 workers in a day. “There are a variety of factors impacting the business landscape, including tightening monetary conditions that are slowing down economic activity,” Solomon had told employees at the end of last year.

How Many Hours Do Investment Bankers Actually Work? Investment banking is not a normal 9-to-5 job — investment bankers can work anywhere from 60 to over 100 hours per week, depending on the company and the deals at hand.

Although it is possible to enter the field of investment banking with only a bachelor's degree in a business-related field, you will likely need an MBA or another advanced degree if you want to progress in your career.

in finance graduates can earn competitive salaries of up to six figures. Graduates with finance degrees might work for employers like private businesses, financial institutions, accounting firms and financial agencies.

The bottom line is: yes. At the bulge bracket banks and top boutiques, analysts are expected to work approximately 90-110 hours per week (or even more under some circ*mstances). A typical day will be somewhere in the range of 10am to 2am; this often includes weekends (or at least part of them).

Investment bankers work in finance, making connections between companies that are looking to raise funding and the investors who possess capital. These professionals help businesses secure funding through initial public offerings (IPOs) and assist with purchasing and selling securities as consultants.

What Is an Investment Banker? Investment bankers are investment professionals who combine financial services industry expertise, analytical prowess, and effective persuasive communication skills to support institutional clients in activities like capital raising and mergers and acquisitions.

Do investment bankers really work 100 hours a week? ›

It is no surprise that the average day in an investment banker's life is long and stressful. Those who manage to survive the adjustment period often go on to have long and financially rewarding careers. Investment banking analysts may work up to 100 hours per week at some firms.

Investment bankers may work on weekends. They typically respond quickly to new developments in the market. Other times, they may work with clients who require their input as soon as possible or on projects requiring around-the-clock availability.

Can you become a millionaire as an investment banker? It is possible to become a millionaire as an investment banker, but it is not easy. Investment bankers typically earn salaries in the $200,000 to $700,000 range, with bonuses that can bring their total income up to several million dollars per year.

On a deal, the client pays for those. And even if the client didn't pay, these expenses are nothing next to multi-million dollar fees. Investment bankers make a lot of money because they sell companies for huge amounts of money while earning a generous commission and spending hardly anything in the process.

In the U.S., the top investment banking companies include the Big Four Banks — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo.

For those seeking a career in investment banking, a bachelor's degree in finance is a prerequisite. Other potential acceptable majors include economics or business supplemented with a minor in finance. In a bachelor's in finance program, student's learn how to perform financial analyses and forecasts.

Once you've built some models, torn through financials, etc, the work isn't usually terribly challenging - the hours and fire-drill work flow at times is what makes it hard. Sterling Archer: Whether or not banking is "difficult" depends on the level that you are.