If you’re young and academically bright, you believe that you can do anything. For a lot of students and junior investment bankers, this means quitting and starting up your own firm. You see the likes of Evan Spiegel and Mark Zuckerberg and an irrepressible voice tells you that you should be running your own show too. “Now’s the best time […]

In theory, investment banks hire front office employees from a variety of disciplines. On-the-job training in the first few weeks is enough to get any aspiring investment banker up to speed on the technical aspects of the job. In reality, the fact that hundreds of undergraduates apply for every available role means that both experience and an understanding of finance […]

When senior finance professionals unveil their pearls of wisdom about what it takes to move up the ranks in this highly-competitive industry, maybe you should listen. Throughout 2016, we’ve interviewed senior people working across various areas of investment banking and the buy-side. This is our pick of the best advice. Expand your horizons before joining banking “I would encourage the next […]

In the days before I worked in banking, I rather naively imagined banks to be monoliths – the distinctions between what various departments did, or the differences between the various roles within them, was unclear. Even when I started working in the City and the true picture came into focus, it came as a surprise to me that everyone didn’t […]

If you’re a student trying to break into investment banking now, can you be casual about your journey towards your first job? Now that those making the cut are better qualified than ever, laden with internships and impeccable academics, can you take the time to find yourself? Maybe not. But Michael Lavelle, UK and Ireland head of corporate and investment banking […]

Investment banking as we know it is slowly dying. The combination of very low interest rates and an onslaught of regulations has killed the traditional model that worked so well until 2008. EU regulation has capped excessive bonuses, but financial services pay still outstrips the vast majority of other industries. This has to change. 20 years ago, when a friend of mine started […]

The slumping pound is anticipated to make the terrible bonus round in 2016 appear a little less severe at U.S. investment banks in London, but for analysts in the City who have just been paid, Brexit has already provided a short-term boost. Bonuses for analysts are down around 10% at U.S investment banks like J.P. Morgan and Bank of America […]

Investment banks are about to start handing out offers to their summer interns. The summer internship is most banks’ main recruitment vehicle, but this doesn’t mean all interns make the cut. If you’re pondering why you didn’t receive an offer, I’ll be frank – it’s because you simply weren’t good enough. As difficult it is to accept, some summer analysts […]

Women working in investment banking or management consulting are facing an image problem. Acting like a man in a male-dominated industry doesn’t work, but displaying typically feminine qualities is seen as too ‘timid’ to progress. The result? Career stagnation. At least this is the conclusion of a new piece of academic research by INSEAD academics Hermina Ibarra and Jennifer Petriglieri, […]

Most analyst and associate classes at investment banks get filled through internship programs and campus visits. The problem for many hopeful bankers is that the Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgans of the world don’t visit every university campus. In fact, they tend to only target a short list of top schools. So what do you do if you didn’t attend […]