Investment banking

Investment Banks help companies and governments issue securities, help investors purchase securities, manage financial assets, trade securities and provide financial advice.

Corporate finance

In a corporate finance position you would work to help companies raise the capital needed for new projects and ongoing operations. You would work to determine the amount and structure of funds needed by a client through equity, debt, convertible or preferred loans, sale-and-lease-backs, or derivative securities. As an analyst starting in corporate finance you would usually work on a client team and would have responsibilities for preparing registration statements, attending road shows where investors are sold securities etc.

Public finance

Public finance is similar to corporate finance except that instead of dealing with corporations, it works with public entities. Numerous political and regulatory considerations must be assessed in the structuring of each deal. The market for municipal bonds is very large and calls for analysts, municipal advisors and traders. Positions in public finance are usually difficult to obtain but offer high rewards. Persons with previous experience in public administration would be attractive to investment banks in this capacity.

Mergers and acquisitions

Setting up deals where one company buys another is an important source of fee income for many investment banks. If you go to work in this area you would help out with a team which acts as advisor to a client, values transactions, creatively structures deals, and negotiates favorable terms. Investment banks have increasingly participated directly in LBOs, spin-offs and bridging loans, often by taking their own investment stake (known as merchant banking). Your duties could involve analyzing the appropriate form of participation. Expect to start running lots of valuation models on spreadsheets and gradually get more client focus as you progress.