Investment Banking Analysts
Overview
Introduction
Investment banking analysts are entry-level professionals who provide support to associates and investment bankers in areas that include equity and debt offerings, valuations, private placements, leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic advisory work. They build financial models, carry out financial analysis and due diligence, create presentations, conduct research, and handle support duties such as fetching coffee and making photocopies. Analysts are typically hired straight out of college, participating in a two-...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Sell-side analysts earned salaries that ranged from $56,500 to $107,000 in 2019, according to the 2020 Robert Half Salary Guide for Accounting and Finance Professionals. PayScale reported that financial analysts earned average annual salaries of $60,196 in November 2019. Additionally, they typically received other compensation, including average bonuses of $4,044, commissions of $10,27...
Work Environment
Analysts are considered the “workhorses” of the investment banking industry—working 80-100 hours a week and pulling all-nighters to complete reports and handle any other task given to them by associates and investment bankers (often as they were about to walk out the door to go home). Suffice to say, analysts do not have a lot of downtime or get a lot of sleep—especially during their first year...
Outlook
Job opportunities should be good for investment banking analysts, although competition for jobs is fierce. In its Salary Guide 2020, Robert Half International indicated that, in the fields of accounting and finance, the supply of professionals was low and demand was high as the new decade began. Hiring managers were paying close attention to candidates' skills in areas such as data ana...
