Investment Bank Careers If you want to get into investment banking and are a recent graduate, you are most likely to find entry through the analyst program of the bank of your choice. On the other hand, MBAs are often employed as associates. Associates and analysts always work within a special focus group, but do not have authority over the group, especially the analysts. Keep this in mind while you are on the road to a career in investment banking. Despite the fact that you will be starting on the lowest level, you would probably still like to have a notion of the investment banking hierarchy. Usually, big investment banks have product groups with managing directors (MDs) at the top of the hierarchy. These people keep in touch with the clients in the industry, which are of the caliber of Boeing. The managing directors are assisted by various professionals such as directors, vice presidents, analysts, associates, and administrative assistants. They provide support by attending client meetings, carrying out transactions, preparing pitch briefs, and more. The teams are usually formed with the participation of someone from corporate finance. People in the field of corporate finance work in assisting companies to raise capital for ongoing operations and new projects. Your task will be to determine the structure and amount of the funds needed by the client through debt, asset-backs, equity or derivatives. If you start as an analyst in corporate finance, you will probably be responsible for preparing registration statements, looking for new investors in securities, and more. Then, there are careers in capital markets. There are two types of capital markets – debt and equity. Debt markets are subdivided into high yield bonds and investment grade bonds. Capital markets officers assist clients in originating new issues of debt or equity. They communicate with bankers, whose clients are interested in issuing. After that, capital markets officers analyze market conditions and give advice about when and how to issue. Other jobs in the field of capital markets include Trade Floor Technology Consultant, Investment Banking Associate, Equity Administrator, Futures/ Options Trader, and others. These professional provide a large variety of financial products, including structured finance and securitization, debt and equity sales, money market securities, derivatives, etc. If you get a job in mergers and acquisitions, you will be a part of a team that advises a client, structures deals, evaluates transactions, and works to negotiate terms. Your job responsibilities might involve analyzing the forms of participation. Those who want to work as Mergers and Acquisitions Analysts should have a university degree in Economics, Finance, Business, Mathematics, or a related field. They should have strong quantitative and analytical skills as well as knowledge of corporate finance, financial modeling, and financial accounting. Key responsibilities include providing analytical support for evaluating strategic transactions. Financial analysis includes preparing comparable trading tables, cash flow models, and precedent transaction tables. The Mergers and Acquisitions Analyst develops transaction presentations and provides help for internal services, including trend analysis, market research, and target competitor assessments. Jobs in the field of project finance are related to assistance in funding infrastructure and oil projects. Among the banks active in this field are Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse. They work with companies as well as with government institutions. Such forms of financing are among the most important influxes of foreign capital into Eastern countries like Indonesia and China. Project finance is very sustainable and remains available long after other sources of borrowing have dried up. It is important to be a real professional in this field.