All You Need To Know About Investment Banking!

Investment banks can be categorised into four types that include regional boutique banks, elite boutique banks, middle market and bulge bracket banks.

Let’s delve deeper into each category.

  • Regional Boutique Banks: The regional boutique is considered as the smallest category of investment banking based on the typical deal size and firms operation scale. These investment banks specialise in a particular niche, for example, a Merger and Acquisitions investment bank. The employee count is also very small as compared to other investment banks.
  • Bulge Bracket Banks: The bulge bracket category includes high-profile investment banks in the industry who have an international presence. The clientele ranges from high net-worth individual to large corporations. They have multiple offices in different locations and have employee count in thousands. For example Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, etc.
  • Elite Boutique Banks: The elite boutique category includes those investment banks who are almost at par with bulge bracket investment banks in terms of deals managed by them. The monetary value of these deals is often higher than $1Billion. These banks also have an international presence but the scale of operations is somewhat limited when compared with bulge bracket category. For example JP Morgan Chase & Co.
  • Middle-Market Banks: Middle-market banks fall somewhere between the regional and bulge bracket category. The average deal range for banks in this category is between $50 million to $500 million. They majorly operate domestically but some can have a limited international presence as well. For example Cowen Group.

Is Investment Banking a Good Career?

Many fresh college graduates aspire to make a career in the investment banking industry. Most of them are thrilled by the lucrative remuneration and perks attached to the title of an investment banker. However, not everyone turns out to be a successful investment banker. Is the investment banking career a good one for you? Well, the answer to this question depends on how committed are you to your career.

The investment banking career is a demanding one, the role of an investment banker is multidimensional. It requires honing a range of skills including both soft skills and technical skills to achieve success. The day-to-day of an investment banker includes doing research for your clients, staying updated on the financial news, conducting complex financial analysis, projecting prospects, meeting with various stakeholders and building relationships on behalf of the investment banks, etc.

The rewarding remuneration is justified by the workload it entails. The job of an investment banker is a high-pressure one, demanding most of your time. On average, the investment bankers work for 12-16 hours a day, it is far from 40 hours’ work-week that a normal job has. The pay scale is also very high, compensating you for every bit of your time and effort. If you are willing to invest your time and effort that is required to be successful as an investment banker then it is surely a good career option.

How Do You Become an Investment Banker?

Investment banking has been one of the most sought after and lucrative career prospects. Most people aspiring for a career in the field of finance have their eyes set on the title of an investment banker. The primary reason why most people consider investment banking as their ultimate career goals is the type of remuneration this job role has to offer. The pay scale is unmatched by any other industry, even an entry-level position has very rewarding perks.

How can you become a successful investment banker? The answer to this question depends on what stage of your career you are presently at. If you are yet to graduate you have the utmost flexibility to choose your path. The best way to start is by pursuing your bachelor’s degree in a relevant field like economics, commerce, finance, accounting, statistics, etc. This degree alone can help you get into the investment banking industry at an entry-level position.

The best way to kick-start your career in this field is by pursuing an MBA degree with a specialisation in Finance. Another equally rewarding way is to enrol for an investment baking related course which will provide you with hands-on knowledge and skills relevant to the job that you will be doing as an investment banker. Being a successful investment banker takes time, determination and commitment to your job.

What Is An Investment Banking Course?

Investment banking is a specialised division in the banking and finance industry that primarily focuses on helping individual and corporate clients to raise capital from the market. Investment banks act as mediators between the party seeking funds and the investors who are looking to gain a profitable sum on their investment. It also provides financial consultancy on an array of financial instruments for investment purpose by assessing the risk and return profile of the individual.

Investment banking courses are programs specifically created to provide comprehensive knowledge of the capital markets and the investment banking division. The curriculum of these programs is designed to provide both theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of the investment banking landscape. The main objective of the investment banking courses is to impart hands-on knowledge and skills required to become a successful investment banker.

The investment banking course takes a holistic learning approach and focuses on core subject matters including strategic planning, financial management, financial analysis, corporate finance, valuation, alternative investments, equity, portfolio management, quantitative analysis, ethics, etc. The course also provides contextual insights into the primary functions of investment banking that includes Mergers & Acquisitions, corporate restructuring, leveraged buyouts, Initial Public Offering launches, etc.

Which Course Is Best for Investment Banking?

Investment banking is one of the most promising industries to build a rewarding career. The lucrative job prospects attract a lot of young aspirants who want to build a successful career, this leads to high competition in the investment banking industry. Investment banking courses are designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the core financial subjects. It aims to build your practical understanding of the industry and impart you with relevant technical skills to beat the competition.

Staying ahead in the game requires a lot of hard work and determination. You have to stand out from the crowd; this can be achieved by having an in-depth understanding of the financial industry. Choosing the best investment banking course is subjective and can get tricky at times.

Some important factors to consider before choosing an investment banking course are the technical skills to be gained, the price of the course and the institution’s experience and reputation. The level of specialisation that you require also determines which course would be the best fit for you.

If you are looking for the best investment banking course then join Imarticus Learning’s Certified Investment Banking Operational Program. This placement assured investment banking course can help you to build a successful career in an investment banking industry.

 

AI in the FinTech Industry: What Will 2020 to 2025 Look Like?

The financial industry has, for long, been keen followers of technological advancements for their own benefit. Many big names in the industry have been early adopters of disruptive technologies in a bid to streamline processes, reduce manual labor and negate the chances of error.

Artificial intelligence is a paradigm-shifting field that the financial industry has forayed into very recently, sitting still at the tip of the iceberg. Here is a breakdown of the trends, growth and scope of Artificial intelligence Training in the FinTech industry during the years to come.

AI in FinTech: Global Market Share, Size and Investment Analysis

In 2019, the AI in the FinTech market was estimated at USD7.2 billion. By 2025, this figure is expected to reach a staggering USD35.40 billion, according to a Mordor Intelligence report. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) has been put at 31.5% for the years between 2020 and 2025.

This double-digit surge is no doubt a result of exponential technological advancements and deeper penetration of the internet. Software tools are expected to receive the largest market share because the need of the hour, and the foundation of all further processes, is the extraction of data.

When it comes to deployment, cloud-based AI developments are expected to rake in the highest CAGR in the following years when compared to on-premise deployments. This goes hand in hand with the shift in data storage and management from on-site servers to remote, centrally-controlled cloud silos to facilitate better access and higher security.

Regionally, AI in FinTech is gaining traction across many geographical splits. The current largest market is North America; however, Asia Pacific is expected to see the fastest growth in the coming years. This comes off the back of massive research and development investments in developed economies in the United States and Canada. Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East will also see a surge in AI adoption and advancements, though perhaps not at the scale of Asia Pacific as yet.

AI in FinTech: Trends and Growth

Fraud prevention: AI is expected to be deployed the most to ensure fraud detection and prevention. Naturally, this segment will drive most of the IT expenditure in companies of varying sizes. This trend appears in a bid to keep up with the changing face of fraud in the FinTech industry as well as the greater proliferation of digital channels and the need to secure them all.

Transactional bots: As financial entities solidify their online presence, transactional bots and digital assistants will increase to keep up with remote demands. Apart from managing customer relationships, these assistants will also be equipped to deal with term life renewals, cheque or balance notifications, withdrawal limit warnings and more.

Risk profiling: AI will become a massive driving force in evaluating client credit risk and creating profiles. Using historical client data and outliers, logical algorithms can segregate risks by range, allowing advisors and risk managers to make more accurate mitigation decisions.

AI in FinTech: Challenges

Cultural changes: With changing landscapes and evolving customer demands, cultural shifts within the company are inevitable. Employees at all levels must be reoriented so that the introduction of AI becomes helpful rather than disruptive.

Security: Increased exposure to digital forums, ironically, also means being laid bare to cyber-threats. While adopting artificial intelligence in any form, financial entities must strengthen security systems at the same time.

The final word

In light of the changes to come, it is imperative that new-age students enroll in a FinTech online course that encourages deeper thinking. With every shift in the level of computational power, FinTech industry leaders will be seen integrating beyond-human technologies into nearly every critical stage of their operations. The leaders of tomorrow, then, will benefit from a FinTech online course that preps them to make and implement these changes with minimum disruption and maximum confidence.

Investment Banking Online Training: The Ultimate Guide!

Investment banking (IB) is a huge sector with global market size of $289 billion. An investment banker helps his/her clients in generating capital. A good investment banker stands by his/her client in any type of financial unhappening and gives his/her experienced advice.

They help out their client with Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). If you have made your mind to step in this field and learn more, you can do it through Investment banking online training. You can choose from a plethora of courses available on the internet. Let us see which online courses are the best? & what does an Investment banking online training focus on?

What Skills Do Online Investment Banking Courses Focus On?

  • These courses focus on developing the analytical skills of the learner. As an investment banker, one can find situations where they have to analyze the available information and predict whether any particular venture is good for his/her client’s business or not? Online IB courses also focus on making the learner familiar with databases, from which the data can be accessed. With good analytical skills, one can predict the roadmap for any particular business in a good way.
  • One should have a prerequisite about accounting before leaping forward. These courses also focus on required technical skills like valuation, financial modelling, etc. Some courses also focus on the usage of spreadsheets and Microsoft Excel for better analysis.
  • They also focus on communication & presentation qualities. A good investment banker can convey his/her thoughts to people effectively and convincingly.
  • The learner is taught about the trade life cycle. There are online courses available that teach risk analysis and management at bad times. This will help you in assisting your client in a better way and gaining his/her trust/loyalty.
  • These online courses also focus on Mergers & Acquisitions. Topics like leverage buyout are covered which is the acquisition of a company that has taken debt to meet the cost of acquisition.
  • They also make you familiar with legal terms and conditions related to Investment banking.

Few good Investment Banking Online Training/Courses

  • The Complete Investment Banking Course 2020 – This course is spanned across 33 key topics ranging from trading & brokerage to Initial Public Offering. There are also 12-course challenges to evaluate your skills. Currently, this course has 72,721 students. Previous versions of this course were also successful. They have always added new topics and have worked on improving their course from time to time. It is one of the best online courses available in the market. Its duration is also self-paced.
  • Investment banking Training by CFI – This course is for 6 weeks. They cover the fundamental topics of IB like valuation, financial modelling, corporate finances, etc. They also focus on teaching banking statement analysis & creation.
  • Free Investment banking Course by WallStreetMojo – You will get ample time to complete this course as it is self-paced. This course focuses on topics like equity investments, IPO, etc. This course will help you in increasing your analytical and accounting skills. It also teaches you to work on Excel sheets for calculations related to finance/investment.
  • Introduction to Finance: Valuation and Investing Specialization by Coursera – This course is for people who have intermediate knowledge about Investment banking. This course focuses on specialized topics of IB.
  • Investment banking Certification by New York Institute of Finance – Besides basic terminologies like M&A & risk management, this course also focuses on mutual funds, equity, hedge funds, portfolio management, etc.

Conclusion

Investment banking is a developing field. Besides the aforementioned skills, there are many soft skills which a person has to develop within himself/herself if he/she wants to rise high. Resilience, confidence, etc. are some of them. This article was all about the general contents of an online course/training on IB & some good online courses available in the market. I hope it helps!

Also Read: Career & Scope in Investment Banking

Key Takeaways from AMD’s Financial Analyst DayKey Takeaways from AMD’s Financial Analyst Day

The Financial Analyst Day 2020 hosted by AMD at their headquarters in Sunnyvale grabs attention even amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis. This is something you should pay attention to if you are pursuing a finance analyst course. Hosted every year, this event is known for its contribution to explain and educate finance analysts as well as investors about the innovations in technologies and the growth strategies for businesses that help achieve their targets. The event also does a recap of the company’s financial growth over the year, explains strategies, sets targets for the upcoming year, and predicts which of the new technologies would help the company to accomplish the targets. This year’s event started with a session by Lisa Su. She did a quick recap of the company’s business performance, followed by an insightful session on the company’s goals and expectations for the coming 3 years.

Plans for Big Technology Investments

AMD is considering technology as the foundation for their business in the coming years. Zen 3 is the next-generation CPU aimed to touch the market in the last leap of 2020. Zen 3 is designed with a 7nm process. The next version, Zen 4 has a 5nm process. However, just having this processor is not the only reason for the CPU’s performance. Better packaging design and interconnection also worked in favour to enhance the performance. The company is planning to scale up its technological investments to procure “X3D” packaging that has a unique combination of chiplets, hybrid 2.5D and 3D die stacking and is expected to deliver an increase in bandwidth density by ten times.

Another important announcement was on the next-generation AMD RDNA 2 architecture designed with a specific focus on gaming. The current AMD RDNA design is available in the AMD Radeon™ RX 5000 series GPUs. The advanced architecture is expected to bring a 50% performance improvement on the basis of “per-watt”. A new architecture for AMD Compute DNA (CDNA) graphics has been announced for the Data Centre to accelerate computing workloads. It is optimized for high-performance applications and machine learning.

Update on PC & Gaming Market

The company’s growth strategy for PC’s and gaming segments are impressive. AMD boasts about 100% growth in market share and client unit shipments since 2017. The unique feature of Ryzen product line was that it has 7nm processors in the desktop, mobile markets, and high-end desktop (HEDT).  This is to tap the high potential of the gaming market with 2.5 billion gamers across the world using games on mobile phones, PCs, and consoles. AMD’s Radeon Graphics IP can address all these markets and offers a choice with a new gaming architecture. Technology giants like Microsoft and Sony are willing to partner with AMD to create next-generation gaming consoles.

Update on Data Centre Market

From 2017, since the first-generation EPYC has been launched, AMD has enjoyed a good reputation in the data centre market. In some cases, the CPUs gave dual socket in a single socket. The second-generation EPYC allows the user a dual socket in a single socket solution.

Conclusion

The best takeaway from AMD’s Financial Analyst Day is the insight and encourage you to get through the company’s long-term strategy. Though there is a good amount of competition, AMD is here to sustain the growth. The company has the right strategy – to attack the growing markets. But they have to face the challenges such as competitions and error-free execution of the strategy. However, AMD has almost cracked it despite the challenges. AMD’s effort to create multi-generations of well-executed products combined with talented sales and marketing team has done a great job indeed.

 

Four Ways Business Analysts Can Use AI to Work Smarter

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most sought-after technologies espoused by businesses across the world. The organizations that uphold the value of innovation rely on artificial intelligence as the long-term business objective to achieve new or enhanced business strategies or business models. With businesses becoming more technology-driven and depend on cloud computing to store important assets and data, cybersecurity is always a matter of concern. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can help protect the data by identifying suspicious activities. Shortage of skilful professionals has become a back burner for many business organizations. Many organizations are considering it worth to invest in training their employees in AI.

Business Analysts’ Role

Many organisations identify the importance of hiring a business analyst to analyse and interpret the collected data and to use it to expand the scope of the business such as discovering a new market or to expand their services. Thus, business analysts play a key role in business organizations using machine learning tools techniques and AI tools to leverage diverse and rich data available. Four important contributions business analysts can make are:

  1. Help reduce customer churn
  2. Influence customer behaviour
  3. Remodel quality assurance
  4. Building Brand Reputation

Helping Reduce Customer Churn

Customer churn is a huge problem for businesses. Even big corporates like Accenture lost about 52 per cent of their consumers due to poor customer service. While it is impossible to prevent the churn, businesses can use AI to minimize it and achieve breakthrough results. Leveraging machine learning algorithms helps predict customer churn and analyse the cause. Finding customer pain points is the key step in reducing churn.

Influencing Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour sways due to big and small factors. The entry of new players could also influence customer preferences. Collecting data such as income, gender, age, buying preferences and shopping patterns could help in extending personalised offers and thereby increase sales, customer retention and brand recall. Predictive analysis is especially important in industries such as retail and banking.

Remodelling Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is especially crucial in evolving markets, where those who deliver better quality and services than their competitors seize the market. AI plays an important role in gaining this competitive advantage. Artificial Intelligence helps increase productivity, reduce the cost of production, detecting high-risk areas, predict market trends, promote customer satisfaction, and increase profitability.

Consider the example of a construction company. It initially depended on people’s feedback to identify the issues in construction. Later, it started using drones to shoot the exteriors and interiors, but it still required heavy manpower to watch the video and to identify problems. However, things got better as it adapted AI for this task. Using an object detecting model, it could easily detect damages. Additionally, the company could inspect the energy usage across its buildings and detect anomalies. Thus, it could save manpower, manhours, money and time and increase efficiency.

Building Brand Reputation

AI helps in better targeting and thus, helps develop relevant campaigns and create better touchpoints for prospect customers, existing customers, and partners. This helps in building brand reputation and improve brand recall. AI helps understand the preferences of the individual customer and the technology he/she is interested in, thus helps decide the best channel to push the product/service.

Conclusion

This is the best time to take up a business analyst course as today’s day-to-day business needs are increasingly becoming data-driven and professionals who can analyse data and do predictive analysis will be of high demand. AI is going to find application throughout the business world and hence the demand for business analysts will see an increase soon.

Four Prospects of Business Analyst Certification

The role of business analysts is increasingly becoming important. Every company is looking to hire analysts who are capable of processing data and interpret the information to help the management to make important business decisions and to design competitive market strategies. Thus, the business analyst plays a key role in current business models. Though the role of a business analyst is not to directly bring revenue to the company, this job is essentially designed to help the company reduce market spends and increase revenue. Thus, business analysts do play a role in the financial prospects of the company. However, you need to validate that you possess relevant skills and ace in the newest technology. Business analyst certifications are the best way to convey this to your future employers.

What is the Role of a Business Analyst?

A business analyst is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and authenticating the data and making inferences to suggest changes to the business processes, system, and business policies. Thus, business analysts shoulder the responsibility of driving the growth of the organization, improve efficiency, profitability, and productivity. A business analyst should be capable of:
• Understanding the business concept
• Suggesting ways to improve the existing processes
• Identifying and designing new features
• Guiding implementation
• Measuring the impact of the newly introduced changes and the success rate

Why is Certification Important?

Certification Increases Your Credibility

Stating data analytics skills in a resume would grab the employers’ attention, but how will you validate them? If you have impressive skills and a good work experience to showcase in your resume, certification serves as good objective source to substantiate those skills and experience.

Helps Increase Salary

Investing in a good certification is worth because it helps increase your salary bracket. Pursuing a certification can result in an average of 11% increase in salary. The ROI of certification is high, that you should consider getting good certifications if you are aiming to get into top jobs. However, you should be judicious while selecting the course. Having a certification merely to show in resume will not help. Make sure you choose a reputed certification program that gets you brownie points.

Helps Build a Strong Peer Network

As per the data available from the professional network site LinkedIn, about 85 per cent openings are filled through networking and referrals. So, it is important to have a network of professionals to get into the role you aspire for. Joining certifications will help you to develop a good professional network.

Opens Scope for Self-Improvement

Any job requires constant improvement of the skills to stay relevant in the job market. Certifications help you update on the newest tools and trends in the industry. In a field like big data, which is constantly evolving, staying updated is important. Including a certification in the profile shows your enthusiasm and interest in developing new skills and constantly update. This gives you a competitive edge in the job market.

Conclusion

The scope and future growth prospects are ever-expanding in the domestic and global job market. Today, most business organizations espouse big data analysis to grow the business by processing valuable data. Hence, big data experts can see recruitment spree in the market. However, to make sure you ace the skills, it is important to have a relevant certification. It is natural that after having considerable experience one might overlook the importance of certifications. But you need to know that organizations prefer hiring the best talents available in the market and certifications are the best way to validate that you possess those skills and it is worth hiring you.

Also Read: Benefits of Business Analyst Certification

Big Data And Hadoop – The Career Options! Worthwhile To Explore More!

The importance of Data Analytics was realized when data became the focus of major consulting and research firms across the globe. Some of the major decisions involve data on a daily basis. A career in data analytics is just what these organizations look for in a potential employee.

To be successful in data analytics, there are certainly effective ways:

How do you start a career in data analytics?

Understand the tools of the trade: These tools can be SAS, SQL, R, etc. Knowledge of tools is essentially just a start. You can pick the one that is easily accessible to you at the moment.

Learn to use tricks: You can do this by expanding your professional network with experienced professionals within the organizations you plan to join in the future or reach out to institutions that offer a course in data analytics.

Find your way into data analytics: Grab opportunities within your professional network. Take a course in data analytics – there are several renowned institutions that offer it. At Imarticus Learning, the data analytics course exposes you to real-life business examples through case studies and provides you with reading and learning material along with hands-on learning experience which is just the perfect fit to make a career in data analytics.

How can you learn business analytics?

Many organizations across the globe have witnessed a change in the way data influences their business. Analytics is a powerful tool for decision-making, resolving operational issues and boosting performance, allowing companies to reach their full potential and objectives.

There is an increased demand for data science professionals, and by developing analytical skills, even someone who does not already have a business background, can still learn it.

If you are a graduate, getting an MBA can help you gain relevant skills and solve complex business challenges at the organizations you may work in the future.

Here are some of the most effective ways how you can learn business analytics:

Take up an Online Business Analytics Course

At Imarticus, we offer an ocean of opportunities for learners. Our business analytics online course provides a great way to be job-ready and also become a data-driven decision maker. Our courses can be paused, rewound, and visited whenever you want.

Learn Things Hands-On

With our courses, you can add more to your skill-set by gaining a hands-on experience, all while managing other important demands in your life at your own convenience.

Expand Your Network

Your contacts on your professional network, both offline and online, can help you succeed, gain important skills, and help you perform better. You can contact them and learn new experiences through examples and guidance.

How do you learn big data analytics?

Big Data means collecting huge and complex data which cannot be stored easily and process. Big data can be in the form of interactions from the users’ social media, businesses, and mobile phones or transport systems.

Big Data Analytics is the process of managing these huge data sets from various sources using database management tools or data processing applications to be used by data analysts, and deliver the data products to organizations that run on data for their business.

The biggest challenges are capturing, curating, searching, storing, transfer, sharing, analysing and visualization of the huge data collected from random sources.

For being skilled and knowledgeable in using big data for the right purposes, in the right way, and at the right time, one needs to learn big data analytics. Learners can opt for big data analytics tutorial provided by renowned institutions such as Imarticus Learning, that offer a courses in big data analytics.

Learn Big Data Analytics and HadoopA deep-dive into the world of big data offered at Imarticus Learning teaches you the most fundamental concepts and methods and tools used to effectively manage data in general and on-the-job at organizations which deal with big data every day.

How can you learn Hadoop and Big Data?

The most important challenges that come with Big Data are data quality, discovery, analytics, storage, security, and skill shortage. That is exactly why it is necessary to understand Hadoop and Big Data, and to learn to work with them. Hadoop can handle large data volumes, structured or unstructured. Many organizations that deal with data on a daily basis use Hadoop to run applications which have thousands of terabytes of data.  Hadoop can run on a personal computer too. That’s what makes it a really adaptable and useful tool.

So, how does one attain the skills required to use this amazing tool?

The answer is obvious – Big Data Hadoop Training!

Business Analytics coursesImarticus Learning offers courses in Big Data Analytics, which includes learning several tools used in the process. Through a Big Data Hadoop Training, you can understand the complexities of Hadoop, its components, and learn to use it quickly.

The course covers everything you need if you are planning to start a career in Data Analytics. You will also get a deep insight into how big the Big Data market is, the different employment options, the latest trends, the history of Hadoop, Hive, and Pig.

Can the Hadoop course be completed via online training mode?

Due to the major challenges that arise while using Big Data, like data quality, discovery, analytics, storage, security, and skill shortage, it is necessary to understand how to use Hadoop, and to learn to work with it. Hadoop can help handle large data volumes, whether structured or unstructured. Many organizations that deal with data on a daily basis depend on tools Hadoop to run applications with thousands of terabytes of data.  Hadoop is so adaptable that it can even be used on a personal computer.

So, can one learn Hadoop via online training?

Big Data Online TrainingThe answer is – Big Yes!

In Hyderabad, and multiple locations throughout India, Imarticus Learning offers courses in Big Data Analytics, which includes learning how to use several tools. Imarticus Learning offers Hadoop training in Hyderabad. The course offers a deep-dive into Hadoop. It helps the learners understand the complexities of Hadoop, its components, and learn to use it quickly and effectively.

The course covers everything you need if you are planning to start a career in Data Analytics, specifically concerning Big Data. You will also get a deep insight into how big the Big Data market is, the different employment options, the latest trends, the history of Hadoop, Hive, and Pig.

17 Best Work-from-Home Jobs in India For High Income!

The ongoing COVID-19 situation has already had far-reaching effects on several sectors in India since the first positive cases were reported in early March 2020. Apart from nearly paralyzing the nation’s healthcare system, it has also made a tremendous blow on employment options.

Everyone from the top brass in affected sectors such as logistics and manufacturing to workers in the essential services category are looking for work-from-home jobs. Because personal safety and professional security have become the most important factors.

While some of the current jobs are remote work-friendly, others are not. This calls for a look at the best work-from-home jobs that you can do in India.

Best Work from Home Jobs: 17 Great Ideas

Based on your skillset and exposure, pick one or more of these easy online jobs and start hustling today.

  1. Freelance Writing

A list of the best work-from-home jobs is incomplete without the mention of freelance writing. It is still one of the easiest and most profitable ways to earn money in India. More than anything, there is no capital requirement. You just need a working computer and the ability to compose grammatically-correct sentences to start.

As a freelance writer, you are expected to write content across formats and types. The request can come in for anything: a short guide on online shopping or a long-form journalistic opinion editorial on COVID-19’s effect on India Inc. The pay will also depend on the types and formats apart from the quality that you can deliver.

You can register on sites like Upwork and Freelancer to begin your hunt for such writing jobs that can be done from home.

Earning Potential: INR 100 to INR 2,000 a day.

  1. App Testing

This can either be an entirely technical job suited only for professional app testers or a generic one where an app needs to be tested from a user perspective. In both cases, you can work from home as you just need a working mobile phone and steady access to the internet.

Once you sign up for an app testing project, you will be assigned a mobile app to test for bugs and UI/UX issues. The pay will be dependent on the quality of your assessment as well as the number of bugs you detect.

For generic app testing, you just need to share your objective thoughts about the app. These will be used by the R&D department to fix them and further improve the app.

For more clarity, take the example of Sulekha, a young banker who was told to work part-time from April 2020 as a cost-cutting measure. Today, she uses her free time to tests financial and fintech apps and earns a few thousand every week.

Earning Potential: Up to INR 5,000 per app. Higher for technical testing.

  1. Instagram Management

Even in the age of TikTok, Helo, and Snapchat, image-sharing site Instagram has managed to stay on top. One of the reasons is its huge userbase. People who signed up for it when it launched years ago continue to use it, only helped by Facebook’s subsequent takeover.

Due to this massive activity within its walls, Instagram is still one of the top social platforms in the world. Naturally, it has also caused a spike in demand for profile management professionals.

As an Instagram manager, you will look after your client’s profile – from direct messages (DMs) to caption writing to profile verification to spam control. It is an end-to-end online job where your performance will be measured in how much engagement you can garner.

Although a very competitive field, sites like Upwork and Freelancer have hundreds of job postings every day looking for able Instagram managers.

Earning Potential: Up to INR 50,000 per month.

  1. Essential Food Cook

Local markets are running with low staff, DMart and Big Bazaar have moved to a coupon system and operate only within strict timings, and some food items have almost disappeared from the world. As an aspirant with some culinary skills, you can take advantage of this ‘gap’ in the essential food supply.

This is not an online job where you mimic the tons of online cookery shows that are already present across the web. You just take a leaf out of their textbook and focus on a niche.

Essential foods and nostalgia. No?

The idea is to focus on recipes for essential foods like homemade bread, tawa pulao, and simple biriyani that your viewers can learn from you and try at home. You should try to limit the ingredients to bare essentials so that every household can try them.

Starting a YouTube channel and posting one simple recipe a week with a title like “Simple Lockdown Home Recipe #1 – Veg Fried Rice” should be enough to get going.

Earning Potential: It will be a while before you can earn a part of the advertising revenue from YouTube. But when you do, it can be upwards of INR 10,000 a month if you manage to rack up millions of views.

  1. General Instructor

Think about all the senior citizens of the country. Then think about their haplessness during this coronavirus situation. Does your social working vein tickle with you an idea?

It is to act as a general instructor to those in need. You can be an instructor of anything: online shopping, home exercise, doing taxes, and watching a movie online. The goal is to be a helping hand to aged people and let them lead a normal life in this time of abnormality.

Look out for such people in and around your housing society who may also be afraid to ask for help. A bit of proactiveness is needed on your part to succeed in this remote job.

  1. Financial Assistance

With banks running on low staff and online customer care asking you to hold the line, there is an influx of bank-related and other financial queries from customers. Although the fiscal year has been conveniently shifted by three months, people still need tax planning for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

All these requests are opportunities for you to tackle as an independent contractor. But you will need to be a qualified finance person (with a relevant degree and/or experience) to be able to take up these remote jobs.

You will be expected to get on a video call with your clients and guide them through their requirements. It can be helping them access the I-T website and execute a task or helping them with their mutual funds portfolio.

Earning Potential: INR 500 to INR 5,000 per consultation.

  1. Product Reviewing / Amazon Affiliate Marketing

Another great way to earn money in India is to explore product reviewing as a job. Here you either host a website and publish longform review content there or target ecommerce sites and post your reviews directly on the platforms.

The first option is a long-term strategy and money will start entering your pocket only in the final stages. But if you are looking for quick money, helping agencies and other websites with product reviews is the easy way out. Here you are essentially working as a freelance writer but with a more product-centric approach. You may also need to research the product online and even use it if possible.

Earning Potential: Up to INR 40,000 per month through your own website. INR 500 to INR 1,000 per day when working for other affiliate marketers.

  1. Proofreading and Editing

Similar to the #1 online job on this list, editing work is easy to get. Just sign up on sites like Constant Content, Pepper Content, or QuillBridge, showcase your content editing and proofreading abilities, and land projects.

You will be required to make line editing or rewriting depending upon the type and quality of the content. You can demand a higher price if you have already done similar types of work.

Pro Tip – Cactus Communications is perhaps the best company to start your formal content editing job.

Earning Potential: Up to INR 5,000 a week.

  1. Take an Online Class

Have a skill that is suddenly in great demand these days?

Are you a power user of Microsoft Teams or Zoom? If yes, you can maybe create an online course of the popular video calling app and help managers in the corporate world make optimum use in their virtual workspace.

Tips and tricks around everything are easily available online. Therefore, you will have to make your course unique by giving out special tips and tricks that are not available in the public domain yet. Charging a small fee (a few hundred rupees) will also help you earn on the side.

Earning Potential: INR 100 and upwards per user per session.

  1. Tableau Expert

If there is one data visualization software that is making waves on the web then it is Tableau. It is being used by everyone from scientists to data analysts to project managers to add visualization to their content. Despite its popularity, it is still a skill that is rare in India.

If you are ready to spend some time to educate yourself and get trained online, Tableau can be a great choice. Even after this healthcare crisis is over, you will be reaping its benefits.

Earning Potential: Up to INR 10,000 per deck.

  1. Data Entry Jobs

If you already have a full-time job and are only looking for a side hustle, then a data entry job will be perfect. Just spend a few hours every day working on data transportation and earn money at the end of projects.

The pay will be low but at least it will be a secondary income for you.

  1. Pitch and Write Stories

For the creative person in you, this lockdown period is a great opportunity to write fictional stories and submit them to popular websites. If access to such sites is limited, you can upload your stories on Wattpad and gain some audience.

Who knows how your stories are received by your audience? And who can predict if one of them is not a publisher?

Making money through this activity may be difficult but at the end of it, you will at least have a portfolio to showcase.

  1. Online Tutoring

Schools and colleges are shut in all states and union territories across India. The timing is even more dangerous as students were supposed to appear for their final exams this summer. Exams may or may not happen this year. And in the best-case scenario, most students in and below eighth grade will be automatically pushed to the next level.

However, students will still lose months of education. Parents are anxious but they are occupied with their own work-from-home jobs. What can they do?

They may not think this, but you definitely can. Use your free time to become an online tutor for kids in your circles. Teach arithmetic to the three-year-old kid of your friend’s friend or take English lessons for your cousin’s niece who is in the seventh grade. Whatever you do, just teaching one student for an hour a day can help you earn good money by the time this lockdown is over.

Just make sure that your concepts on the subjects that you take up are clear enough.

Earning Potential: INR 500 to INR 5,000 per month per student.

  1. IT Support

Most people dismiss this as a non-remote work but it is not true. You can still support a business’s network and information technology requirements via videoconferencing and virtual network computing (VNC).

Rohit, for instance, is a senior network engineer at a marketing agency. He not only supports the agency’s 500-member team’s IT requirements but also freelances for a few hours every day. In his second job, he handles server-level work for a 10-member company. This earns him roughly INR 5,000 a week, which is enough to take care of his individual needs (as a bachelor) for an entire month.

Although remote IT work is a physically toiling job, it is extremely rewarding and in-demand.

Earning Potential: INR 5,000 per week and upwards.

  1. Stock Trading

There won’t be a better time to try your hand at stock trading. Whether you choose to do intra-day trading or buy and sell stocks for long-term gains, it can be a fantastic way to earn money. With capital as low as INR 500, you can start this activity as early as today (provided the market hasn’t closed down).

The only thing you need is some expendable money that you can spend as you enter the lucrative world of Sensex and NIFTY50.

Zerodha is a friendly stock trading app that you can explore. It also has an academy to help you with training.

  1. Remote Insurance Agent

Insurance is a funny subject because everyone knows that they need it but they still hesitate to buy one. The good thing right now is that this healthcare emergency has helped some of them understand the importance of health insurance.

As an agent, you can start canvassing health insurance in your circles and earn a commission on each purchase. The easiest way to do this is to contact any insurance provider (LIC, for example) and register yourself as an agent.

Payments are extremely transparent and you can earn as much as you want.

Earning Potential: Commission from 2% to 40% of monthly/annual insurance premium (in Indian rupees).

  1. TikTok Star

This is a unique job that will depend on your creativity. Choose any topic that you like, produce short TikTok videos, and share them across your circles. The higher your popularity and reach the more likes and shares your videos will garner.

Within a short period of time, you can transform into a TikTok star and reap the benefits of the platform’s revenue system.

Make sure your videos have a unique quality in them in order to gain maximum attention. Use your social media strength to promote and market your videos.

The possibilities of earning money online without investment are endless. People in India are known for their unique moneymaking skills. And some of them are listed above.

But don’t limit yourself to these freelance jobs. Assess your own skills, find a relevant job, and begin the journey of remote working today.

What Is the Best Way to a Job at an Investment Bank?

What Is An Investment Bank

Investment banking is considered to be a financial mechanism which has much complexity. A financial mediator that performs different varieties of tasks is called as ‘Investment Bank’. These banks are mostly specialized in a big and composite financial transaction. Various projects and business entities are served by these banks.

They act as a financial advisor or agent for institutional clients. Also, it can be described as the special area of banking tasks that helps companies to increase capital and provide advisory to them. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America & Deutsche bank is some of the examples of investment banks. There are investments banks dedicated to only individual customers also who have retail operations.

How Does An Investment Bank Earn

Investment banks buy all the desired shares at a price computed by the experts and resell them to the public. Also, sometimes sell the shares on behalf of an issuer authority and earns a commission on each share.

Consider a company A who is buying a different company that is X. A company has does not have any idea about the company X like is it worth buying and how they can benefit in terms of generating revenues. In these kinds of situations, investment banks come into action which goes through a process to check about the values of company X, it does the documentation part and advises company A the correct time of buying company X.

An investment bank in this situation is advising the buying side but there can be vice-versa of it also. They can even help to sell a company like X in this case. The bigger the deal would be, the more the commission investment bank would earn.

How to get a job at Investment Bank?

It is tough to get into investment banks due to large applicants and very few openings. It is seen sometimes that the ratio goes to 100:1 of applicants and openings. If you want to get entry into an investment bank you can enter mainly through two job roles that are analyst and associate.

In investment banks most common job roles for junior, mid-level & senior roles are stated below:
1) Associate
2) Analysts
3) Director
4) Vice President
5) Managing Director

The quality traits that analysts or associate working in IBD of Investment bank are :
· Competitive
· Detail-oriented
· Polished & Presentable
· Highly ambitious

Investment Bank Course & Certification

To start in the areas of Investment banks one should get a good understanding of accounting principles and also excel including basics things like formulas and functions. Then you can start with financial modelling which is the primary things task in an investment bank daily. There are several online courses and certifications provided by Udemy, Coursera & Imarticus and other institutes. They offer courses free of cost and also paid online course in different domains to help people to make a career in Investment banks that is often done by CA, MBA professionals, etc.

There also PGP certifications which are done under investment banking and capital market. There is training and placements assistance also provided by the institutions. If you enrol in Imarticus certification on certified investment banking operation professionals you would be given training and also placements assistance. It is a 180-hour certification program. The average placement which is committed is of 3-8LPA.

Some of the popular courses that are present online are:

· FLIP – NCFM: Equity Research with Financial Modeling
· FLIP – NCFM: Investment Banking Operations International
· FLIP – NCFM: Issue Management
· PE, M&A, and Structured Finance
· Research Analyst with Financial Modeling
· Technical Analysis

Also Read: Different Types of Investment Banking Jobs

13 Cool Work From Home Jobs To Look Out For in 2020!

If the COVID-19 outbreak has brought one topic to the forefront, then it is the idea of a virtual workplace. Today, most of the world is working from home, which is triggering a shift in the processes and workflows that were previously considered untameable. With experts calling the current scenario the new normal, it is only practical to look at more ideas for working from home.

You may be already working a full-time job but there is no way to predict its future. This calls for a look at different avenues that you can explore for employment. Even if you hold a recession-safe job, it makes sense to increase the number of sources as the world inches into a state of uncertainty.

Here are some of the coolest work from home options in 2020:

Freelance WritingFreelance writing

This was and remains one of the most profitable and best online jobs to do from home. There’s no need for any extra investment; just a flair for writing and the ability to market yourself over the internet is enough. You can start by exploring sites like Freelancer.com for leads.

 

Data entry jobs

This is another common work from home job where you assist agencies and companies with data entry tasks. Most of these jobs involve Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, so some degree of expertise in those tools is necessary.

Data Entry JobsGeneral app testing

Several companies rely on a virtual workforce to get their projects done. One such opportunity in India is to assist testing companies with your time. All you have to do is download the specified app or game (e.g.: Google Maps or Ludo King beta) and test all its elements (such as the UI) from a user perspective. Your job is to find out issues in the app and report them to the company in return for bounties.

Tableau expert (data visualization)

One of the critical means of data communication during the COVID-19 epidemic is a graphical representation. This art of collecting data and relaying the information through visualization is a hot skill right now. Sites like Upwork.com are seeing an uptick in jobs posted in this category.

Social media management

This has been a hot work from home job for some years now. Very relevant in the current scenario, you can easily look at earning a good amount every week by handling social media profiles of brands, personalities, and corporations. Start with Instagram as a platform. Jobs like these are available on Upwork.com and Fiverr.com.

online tutoringOnline tutoring

Do you know parents that are struggling to maintain their kids’ curriculum during the lockdown? Get in touch with them and show them how you can keep their children busy via Zoom or other videoconferencing tools. If you are a master of any primary or secondary school subject, it’s a great skill that is waiting to earn you some good money.

Baker or chef

Although panic buying is not a reality in India yet, you can take advantage of this scenario by putting your culinary skills into good use. Since restaurants are closed and grocery shops running with reduced staff and supplies, you can offer home-made food (bread is a hot demand food item right now) to your neighbors and relatives. Just make sure you put “safe cooking” on top of all your marketing communication.

Content editing and proofreading

This is an all-time cool work from home idea. Here all you need is a good understanding of grammar, writing styles, and punctuation to polishing content pieces that are ready for publishing. Know a digital marketing startup that is looking for talent? Hit them up right now.

Instructor

Slightly different than online tutoring, here you are supposed to help other people get certain tasks done. Do you know a neighbor who is struggling to do her finances during the COVID-19 crisis? You can help her out by teaching the alternative way to bank i.e. net banking or via debit cards. This may not sound common, but such jobs have certainly mushroomed up in modern India.

Product reviewing

With Amazon and Flipkart only servicing essentials right now, merchants are looking at other ways to keep their business running. A part of this involves scouting for genuine product reviews so that when things go back to normal, they can get a headstart at least in terms of online promotion, marketing, and reputation.

Online Product ReviewingBecome a self-learned stylist

Salons and barbershops are shut but hair growth hasn’t stopped. There is no way to find professional barbers and people are trying their own hand at grooming. With a little bit of learning and training with common tools, you can be a helping hand to those in need. Just make sure you provide the services while taking the necessary precautions like wearing a face mask and washing hands before and after the job.

Help in taxes

The fiscal year has been extended by three months in India but people are still looking for assistance in their finances. Now is the right time to put your mathematical hand into good use and work from home to help needy individuals sort their taxes out. Currently, everyone needs a three-month financial plan, right.

Become a conversationalist

With people staying indoors in India, loneliness has peaked. Sanity levels are dropping as people are experiencing mood swings and involuntarily changes in lifestyle. In these dire times, you can turn your extroversion into a helping hand for those who need some form of communication. Various agencies are providing such communication services for individuals who are trying to fight loneliness. You can get in touch with them.

There are many more freelance jobs available but the epidemic has either rendered them useless or have added limitations to them. However, that is not the case with these cool ideas for working from home. Start with one or two now!