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Category: Investment Banking

What is the Difference Between Working in a Private Equity and an Investment bank?

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

An Investment bank is responsible for raising capital and assists its clients in making financial decisions. They help businesses to raise capital via investment from investors. Private equity also helps in raising capital but it is different from an Investment bank in many ways. Both these fields are concerned with the shares of any particular firm/company but their working methodology is different from one another. The professionals who work in both these sectors also have a different working approach. Read on to know more about the differences between working in private equity and an Investment bank.

Difference between Private Equity and an Investment bank

The major differences are as follows:

  • Investment banks provide investment opportunities to their clients but they never buy shares in their client’s business. They assist their clients in raising capital but are never involved in the business whereas if you are working in private equity, you will try to buy a stake in your client’s business. Private equity is fully involved in the client’s business. You can say that besides assisting in raising capital as Investment banks do, they are also an investor for their clients.
  • An Investment bank can help its clients in generating capital and this process can go till the client is satisfied with the bank’s services. In the case of private equity, you will try to buy an underperforming company and then make it successful and quickly sell your stake to some other stakeholder and exit from that company. They try to buy a stake at lower prices and sell it at higher prices.
  • An Investment bank knows the revenue it has to generate for its client in advance whereas if you are working in private equity, there is no limit up to how much you can increase the value of your stake. Private equity also shares their client’s profit as they are also stakeholders in that particular company. Mostly, private equity receives its profit share in dividends.
  • The target investors of private equity are generally UHNWI (Ultra-High Net-Worth Individuals) for investing in ventures whereas an Investment bank generally provides its services to all types of companies/firms ranging from mid-level companies to high-level companies.
  • The analysis of clients, market structure, etc. done in the Investment banks is more detailed and critical because they have to identify the risk associated with any client. On a contrary note, private equity does data analysis only to find out about the trends and potential investors. There is not much risk associated with their clients as they mostly work with UHNWI clients who can manage themselves pretty well.

Working Culture of Employees in an Investment bank and a Private Equity

An Investment bank has a workforce consisting of analysts, consultants, etc. who are larger in number as compared to the number of workers in private equity. Private equity works with a limited number of employees and has fewer working hours as compared to an Investment bank. The employees in Investment banks have fixed salaries but the employees in private equity are also involved in the business and many times get a small percent of the share of any particular venture where their firm is investing.

One can choose any of the aforementioned fields according to their interests. The skills required are almost the same in both of these sectors. You need to have more negotiation skills for working in private equity and if you are working in Investment banking, you need to have an analytical approach. To learn more about the working methodology, one can take up Investment banking courses available on the internet.

Also Read: Difference Between Investment Banking and Corporate Finance

Top Investment Banking Trends To Watch In 2021

What Are The Best Investment Bank To Work For

What are Good Ways to Prepare for the Interview for an Investment bank

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

The investment banking career is considered as one of the most sought-after and rewarding careers in the finance and banking field. Investment banks play a major role in effectively channeling funds in the economy and guiding their clients on profitable investment avenues. The investment banker has a very wide range of responsibilities and plays a dynamic role in the investment banks. The job of an investment banker in no way is easy to do and requires a lot of additional hours than a normal job. The high remuneration reflects the work that investment bankers are required to put it.

The primary role of an investment bank is to help raise capital for its client from investors or through public. Investment banks leverage its large professional network to find out suitable investors and match them with borrowers in need of funds. Investment banks play a key role during the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and act as an underwriter during the process. They help with finding out the optimal price of shares and also hedge the risk of under subscription to some extent. In addition to this investment banks also helps with the Mergers and Acquisitions deals.

Tips for Investment Banking Job Interview

Preparing for an investment banking interview can be challenging, especially when there is so much competition and such huge stakes. Let’s delve deeper into how you can stand out from the competition and land your dream job.

  1. Learn all about investment banking: The investment bankers have a huge role to play in the success of their company and also of their client’s firm. You should know all about the investment banking industry including the day to day chores, financial modelling and valuation, accounting standards, regulatory challenges, etc. You should be prepared to answer all technical questions related to the investment banking sector. You should also be aware of the latest industry trends and news. For example: learning about popular mergers and acquisition deals.
  2. Know your why: Be prepared to answer this question sooner or later during your interview process. You should know your ‘Why’. It is one of the most important questions as it shows how passionate you are about this job and what you are willing to become successful. Since investment banking involves long hours, people who are just in it for the perks without working hard are not able to survive for long. If you are passionate enough, you will give your best without complaining about the hours.
  3. Demonstrate what you can do: Your interviewers are most likely the people you will be working with in the future if you land up the job. If you can successfully demonstrate your skills then there’s no way you won’t get the job. You should be as specific as possible while answering your questions and it is advisable to use relevant examples and scenarios that allow you to demonstrate your skills. You should be able to show them how you will add value to the organization and what all you bring to the table.
  4. Communicate effectively: The role of an investment banker involves dealing with clients and communicating your ideas and knowledge with all key stakeholders. You need to have good communication skills to be able to convince your clients. You should communicate effectively during your interview as it has a big role to play in your day to day job.

There’s a whole lot in the realm of investment banks and bankers to make this role crucial for the economy. It can be very hard to break into the investment banking industry as the role and status of an investment banker lure in a lot of aspirants who want to become successful investment bankers. Opting for an investment banking course from reputed institutions like Imarticus Learning helps you to develop all essential skills and retain relevant knowledge required to do the job. It also guarantees job assurance with reputed companies in the industry.

Also Read: Top 20 Investment Banking Interview Question & Answer

How Can I be a Good Investment Banking Analyst?

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

With the growing trend in investment, there is a surge in the demand for jobs especially in the field of investment banking analysis. The more people invest, the more is the need for individuals to analyse investment portfolios. The profile of an investment banking analyst surely requires hard work but it promises amazing returns and lucrative promotions.

Basic Responsibilities of an Investment Banking Analyst

  • Reviewing the financial data and analysing the details
  • Compiling the reports and presenting the findings
  • Performing administrative duties

Tips to Become a Good Investment Banking Analyst

Every job and field requires proper dedication and hundred per cent submission to the work. An employee must always take care of the duties that he has been assigned along with fulfilling all the responsibilities. Maintaining cordial relationships with all the fellow employees along with respecting the bosses is consequential.
For an aspirant to become a remarkable investment banking analyst, following tips need to be considered.

  1. Stay Attentive: Although every work on the job must be done with proper attention, the job of an investment banking analyst requires highly undivided attention. This is because an analyst has to deal with certain specific details involving numbers and money. The passing of almost all the portfolios depends upon the findings of the analyst. This makes it all the more significant for the analyst to put all his attention in his work while on the job.
  2. Get Along With Your Team: Many times it is possible that a group of analysts have to work together on certain projects. Co-ordination among all the members of the team is really important. To become a good investment banking analyst, an employee needs to co-inside with the interests of the whole team. By working efficiently in a team, one can very easily improve his performance and learn through the capabilities and creativity of others.
  3. Gain The Required Knowledge: For an investment banking analyst, he must possess all the required knowledge of his field. Profound knowledge of accounting standards, mathematical formulas and other applicable principles is required to save a lot of time and efforts while on the work.
  4. Use Computer, Be Smart: Where an analyst has to deal with huge numbers and data, having a strong grip on useful applications like Ms Excel, Ms Word and Ms PowerPoint is important. This job requires giving presentations to investors and presenting the data systematically for better and easy understanding. Therefore, sound knowledge of these applications can help the analyst raise his standards of working.
  5. Work Well in Financial Modelling: Financial modelling is a field which must be known to an investment banking analyst in detail. Financial modelling deals with forecasting the performance of any company in terms of its earning and financial stability. Financial modelling is done by making the use of Ms Excel. If an analyst aspires to progress in his field, he must ensure that he has a way with financial modelling.
  6. Don’t Shun from Long Working Hours: In a desk job like this, sometimes working for late hours can demotivate the employees. But an investment banking analyst must understand that working for long hours in the initial phase may land him at something beneficial in professional terms. It is quite obvious that working for more time than usual will help you undertake more work leading to a greater experience in lesser time. Also, you can learn to handle burden at an early stage which may come up as a problem at higher positions.

Along with the tips listed above, you can consider Imarticus learning for a professional investment banking course. For a stable career in this field, taking up an investment baking course must be considered.

Also Read: How To Become Investment Banker

Investment Banking Market 2020 Covid-19 Impact Analysis, Trends, and Forecasts to 2027

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

Investment banking is an important sector responsible for generating capital. Investment bankers assist their clients in making financial decisions. The recent Covid-19 impact has shown its effect in almost every industry. The Investment banking market has to steer through the challenges during this tough situation. There are new and innovative ways being taken by individuals to cope up with the challenges. Let us see the current market situation of Investment banking and future trends in this sector.

Impact of Covid-19 on Investment Banking

The disruption of staff from office due to Covid-19 has cost investment banks a lot. They have adopted the ‘Work from Home’ culture to deal with this situation. The senior leaders have to cope with the challenges and have to monitor the performance of employees. Asset values are also falling in the present scenario, investment bankers have to cope up with it. The governments are also trying to give fiscal stimulus to companies/firms and are lowering the taxes to gain back the market confidence. Cash flow is also decreasing due to a halt in services, an investment banker has to maximise cash in hand.
Firms have to remotely manage their staff and have to create a work environment somehow. Investment bankers are using digital applications to make their job easier. The usage of technology for ease in doing business is surging. According to a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence, many investment banks reported a year-over-year drop at the end of 2019 due to the Covid-19. Due to the rise in uncertainty in the stock and bond market, market volatility is increasing. Investment bankers have to work through these challenges for sustainability.

Trends and Forecast in Investment Banking Sector

Due to the impact of Covid-19, investment banks are targeting mid-sized companies. There are a lot of mid-sized companies in every country. Due to the high frequency of these types of companies, potential growth is available. New technologies like cloud computing, e-commerce, AI, Machine Learning are redefining the way investment bankers worked. Many investment banks are increasing their institutions’ engagement on social media platforms to increase interaction with clients remotely.
The usage of data analysis is also trending in the Investment banking sector. Data analysis is used to analyse any financial decision and generate profits. Due to Covid-19, a lot of companies/firms have shifted to online work. Investment bankers are investing in cybersecurity companies because their demand is going to increase. Every company wants its data to be protected and with fall in manual work processes, cybersecurity services are being demanded.
The current global market of Investment banking is more than $250bn. The average industry growth is around 2.3% in the past five years. Investment banking may be impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, but individuals and financial institutions have coped up and made sure the business survives. There are a lot of fluctuations in the market, so prediction and investing in correct ventures is important.
It is predicted that the investment banking and brokerage market will grow in 2020-2027 and the leading players would be JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs. Digital banking is been predicted as the future of banking by 2027 and a lot of investment banks have taken the first step and have shifted various services to a digital medium. There will be a lot of chances for upward mobility in the Investment banking sector in the coming years.

Conclusion

Investment banks and their employees are managing their roles remotely and are coping up with the challenges laid by the Covid-19 impact. The capital has to be generated for the continuation of the business. A lot of new opportunities are also opening which are being grabbed by many key players in the Investment banking market. This article was about the impact analysis of Covid-19, trends, and forecasts in Investment banking.

How Imarticus Learning Helped Me Become An Investment Banker – Neelam Chauhan’s Story!

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

Like so many before her, Neelam Chauhan was fresh out of college and armed with a bachelor’s degree in Commerce, eager to take the leap into becoming a full-time working professional in the field of banking and finance.

But she knew that her degree alone would not be enough to convince potential employers to take a gamble on her. She had to amplify her industry-specific knowledge and skills, especially if she was serious about becoming an investment banker like she wanted to be since her college days.

It did not take long for Neelam to come across Imarticus Learning’s flagship Certified Investment Banking Operations Professional (CIBOP) program online, and after speaking with an Imarticus counselor, she was convinced that enrolling in the program was the best career move to make. Her decision was rewarded handsomely, with Neelam crediting Imarticus Learning’s CIBOP program for her immense professional development and preparing her for a life as a modern-day investment banker.

When asked to rate Imarticus Learning’s CIBOP program, Neelam did not hesitate to give it a score of 5 out of 5, citing the depth and efficacy of the course content, the vast experience of the teaching faculty, and the real-world applications of all that she learned during her tenure with Imarticus Learning as factors influencing her positive judgment.

Additionally, she highlighted the importance of guest lectures from working industry professionals that provided her with extremely valuable insights into the functioning of current investment banking practices, products, and procedures that she would not have received from traditional textbooks or other mediums.

The resume building section of the CIBOP program was another massive benefit for a fresher like Neelam, as she did not know how to draft a professional resume before joining Imarticus Learning. This gave her further leverage in her pursuit of becoming a distinguished investment banker.

Neelam reserves very high praise for Imarticus Learning’s CIBOP teaching faculty, particularly for Mrs. Lourdes Miranda, who she says “has been a great teacher and understands the needs of students very well. She has a vast spectrum of investment banking knowledge, and I’m grateful for the way she shared it with us.”

Neelam believes that any young professional aiming to boost their career in investment banking should look no further than Imarticus Learning. The comfortable and nurturing study environment, the world-class staff, the numerous job placement opportunities provided after successful completion of the CIBOP program, and her overall learning experience and personal journey make Imarticus Learning the obvious choice for budding investment bankers like herself.

To find out more about Neelam Chauhan’s experience at Imarticus Learning, please click here.

Why Do Investment Banker Make So Much?

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

Why do people in Investment Banking make so much money? The question has been oft-heard and is as often as Excel gets heard in financial analysis. When it is just another banking job, why should one get paid so high that every career aspirant wants a job in IB?

Yes, IB has those punishing hours of 80-120 hours at times per week and do have such high-stress values that it is an accepted fact that 44 per cent look for alternative careers even before they get promoted upwards and hardly have a social life.

It is also true that you are at the client’s mercy and that it is a competitive field where every other person is highly educated if not more. All valid points that could be also be applied to entrepreneurs and other careers too? So why?

What People in Investment Banking Actually Get Paid?

Commissions: In Investment Banking at the level of MD/Group Head/ VP, you really start earning well. That’s because every sale gets you commissions just like the car selling agent or real estate broker does. Banks sell the companies for acquisitions, mergers and restructuring. Higher the deal amount betters the commissions.

And when the deals run into many millions, billions or thousands of them calculate the commissions! They are just selling very high-priced commodities.

Expenses and margins:
Well if that’s true then the wealth management and commercial finance people should also make as much. No, they do not. Because the commission rates are lower and they have more incidental expenses like effective profit margins. The ATMs, branch offices, cheque books all cost money.

Even when you deposit money into your savings accounts and the money is larger than the ceiling limit you have to pay the bank for depositing your money with them. However, paying 1per cent on USD 1 million in the checking account is not fair right?

Banks, in contrast to real businesses, have very few staff, small offices, tiny payrolls by contrast, and almost zero real expenses like infrastructural costs, manufacturing processes, or maintenance and operational expenses. Perhaps they do have a tiny bit of travelling and hotel expenses which the client gladly pays for the banker’s role as intermediaries and custodians besides the regular multi-million dollar fees for their services.

About a generous 50 to 60per cent of such revenue goes to the IB employees as bonuses, salaries and commissions. Now that’s why they get paid so much.

Why Investment Banking is a Popular Career Choice?

Are you aware of why most foreign banks have an office in and operate from India? The factors that contribute to their presence are:

• Availability of skilled local talent in data analytics.
• Large English speaking population.
• Presence of services like LPOs, KPOs, back-offices and transcription services.
• Lower costs in financial operations.
• Availability of reliable firms like Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Syntel to do business with.
• Training institutes for technological skills and the latest trending skills are world class.

These banks need to run profitably and promote the use of local talent who find well-paying prestigious jobs and make investment banking their careers.

Investment Banking Services:
Certification in IB helps.
The Investment Banking certification measures your skills in the services of an investment bank. Namely,
• Advice on buy-outs and acquisition of firms.
• Acquisition and mergers
• Trading in securities
• AMC
• Corporate finance
• Services involving Custodianship
• Restructuring of debts
• Other allied services.
• Capital market investments

Education:
The career progression in Investment Banking requires sound financial knowledge. A graduation degree is not mandatory and IB encourages disciplines like finance, economics, business administration, and mathematics which do give you an upper hand.

Doing an IB certification endorses and enhances your skill sets for the job and your resume. Certification also serves the purpose of being a measurable index of practical implementation skills in the basics of IB. The career progression ladder may also have an odd-ball who starts as an Intern, moves to an Associate role, and then upwards to Vice President, CFO, MD job roles etc.

Skills required:
The banking field’s crucial skills are:

• A graduate degree for Associate roles.
• Adept at Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and Excel manipulation techniques, and MS Office and Word suites.
• Extremely long working hours of 80 hours with hardly any holidays.
• Being a team player and effective learner from feedback.
• An eye for details and data organization.
• Conceptual knowledge of accounting and financial issues and solutions.
• Investment banking certification course.
• Financial and business modelling knowledge.

In parting, the Investment Banking career aspirant does make a wise choice for some fantastic pay-packages. The demand for them is high. If you want to be in IB then do the course at Imarticus Learning who even offer assured placements to the deserving in this hallowed field.

A Look at The Top 5 Largest M&A Deals of All Time

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

Did you know that 2018 was globally the most happening year for deals in the capital markets and mergers or acquisitions in particular?

In investment banking circles, 2015 is remembered and used as a case study for two M and A deals. The deals of SABMiller PLC’s tie-up with Anheuser-Busch InBev worth 106 billion$ and the Allergan PLC tie-up with Pfizer Inc. for 160 billion$. Both deals are expected to be completed soon and are memorable because they comprise deals between rival forces merging. Both of these recently announced megadeals form giant conglomerates in their respective verticals.

Dealogic ranks M and A deals. According to their ratings, the top 5 deals of recorded times are as follows.

1. 1999 deal of Mannesmann being acquired by Vodafone AirTouch for USD 172 billion
This largest deal of all times was a cross-border, resisted hostile takeover. At that time Mannesmann was Germany’s number one wireless carrier and Vodaphone likewise Britain’s biggest wireless carrier. It was still the time of voice-only fixed lines and the sale of voice-only mobiles was not only popular but booming as well. Smartphones were in their infancy and Germany was definitely not a hostile takeover capital market.

Fighting the rivals for three months, Mannesmann tried for a merger deal with the French company Vivendi. Vodaphone struck back by forging a sweet deal with the French company. Once the writing was on the wall Mannesmann gave up as even the shareholders were in favor of the Vodaphone offer for a merger. Thus was born the world’s largest deal in investment banking and the biggest conglomerate mobile phone service provider.

2. 2015 deal of Allergan and Pfizer merger worth USD 160 billion
This deal is a unique case study where Allergan and Pfizer set about creating the planet’s biggest company in pharmaceuticals with Pfizer’s Celebrex and Viagra on the same selling platform as Allergan’s Botox. The Pfizer move for inversion meant lowering of taxes as the US company could use the technique of inversion to claim incorporation in foreign countries with lower tax-rates while merging with Allegran who are Dublin-based. The US government termed unpatriotic such inversion moves and passed a bill to restrict such moves. However, the Allergan-Pfizer union could sidestep the rules since the acquiring company was indeed a foreign company.

3. 2013 deal of Verizon Wireless merging with Verizon Communication in a merger worth USD 130 billion
Vodafone was not the buyer but seller in this deal. Verizon Communications the U.S.-based giant in the telecom field bet big on broadband and cellphone services to buy the 45 percent stake it did not own from its JV partner Vodaphone, in a deal worth 130 billion$. Dealogic also ranks this the largest corporate bond issue in investment banking, because financing was through 49 billion $ in bonds by Verizon making Verizon Wireless today’s largest carrier with more than 137.5 million global customers for its wireless services.

4. 2015 deal of SABMiller acquisitionuse by Anher-Busch InBev for USD 117 billion
The 117 billion$ worth merger of the two brewery giants created a giant union selling a close 33% of the global beer sales. Anheuser-Busch the Belgium-based renowned brewer found a willing sales merger partner in buying SABMiller who are U.K.-based brewers. SABMiller bargained its way to a great deal almost 50 percent higher than its closing price just a day before announcing the deal. This merger has stellar brands like Budweiser, Pilsner Urquell and Stella Artois from a 64 billion $ worth titan brewery today. The anti-trust approvals are still pending in many countries and when the deal fails, SABMiller will still receive the breakup fee of 3billion$.

5. 2003 deal of Time Warner’s acquisition by America Online in a marriage of sorts worth USD 112 billion
According to Bloomberg America Online’s purchase of Time Warner worth 112 billion$ could be famous as the 5th largest deal in history, and infamous as the worst corporate marriages in M and A global history. What was being touted as a synergetic marriage of new and old media giants, with Time Warner being the largest entertainment company and AOL being the pioneer of bringing internet to its customers, was doomed to a disastrous start. In just a few months the economy slumped with the bursting of .com bubble. The two companies were culturally too different to establish the promised progressive initiatives. Later that year AOL had accumulated losses of 99 billion $ which grew to 100 million$ plus in the next few years. The initial losses included charges that were reported at declining share values of AOL and in 2009 AOL was spun off by Time Warner amid huge shareholder losses.

Concluding notes:

An important investor lesson learned was that the mergers do not always yield benefits promised. Do an Investment Banking Course with Imarticus Learning to learn the nitty-gritty of M and A deals and exercise caution as a shareholder investor. All the best with M and A deals and your investment banking course!

The Evolution of Corporate Strategy From Budgeting in The 1950’s

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

Learning all about how strategy in corporate is impacted by the budget vision, balance scorecards, goal weights, and such actions, is critical to succeeding in a highly competitive corporate environment. Such learnings should be explored about modern corporate ecosystems and are best achieved in the classroom mode of learning.

There are a number of factors that affect corporate strategy. In this article, we shall discuss the bare essentials of vision, budgets, the BSC and goal weights and how they impact competitive strategy.

Corporate Vision:

Most corporate strategies do have a vision. Look at the functioning of Southwest Airline’s Herb Kelleher who had the foresight to bring flight prices on par with road travel. Working on his intuition and corporate strategy, the airlines evolved as the leading low-cost carrier. However, blinding vision can also overlook realities in the market place. Like the Enron case study where Jeffrey Skilling’s vision was to make it unstoppable because of its quantitative processes and securitization.

However, the concept was blinded to endemic problems and led to a significant financial drain. Similar to this was the idea of Jack Welch in corporate strategy that every business should either be number one or two in its category or be disbanded. The vision had a short life and was found faulty as success evaluation was very different from slotted classes.

Corporate strategy has evolved since the 1950s:

Great strategists in Indian history, since the first budget in the 1950s, were those leaders who personified the timeless corporate principles and could gauge the game a few moves ahead of the others. To them, there is no winning. Rather it is about finding newer challenges, gaining better skill sets and the resources to handle them all. In corporate strategy and especially in India, the corporate strategy since independence has been closely linked to the budget and its vision.

Competitive corporate strategy and Goal-weights:
Citing from a 2002- book by Professors Gary Latham and Edwin Locke who wrote extensively on corporate goal-setting based on their combined 70years of experience, competitive strategy goals should be defined as below.

Better performance comes from setting challenging goals.
More significant effort is generated from higher goals.
Rapid work is possible with tighter deadlines.
Personal commitments made public enhances the probability of succeeding.
Goal achievement is not impacted by who and how the goals are set.
Though this strategy seems simple and perfect many organizations follow policies that are in total opposition. Like strategies that indicate goals relatively as in cascading goals, the SMART goals and using percentage goal weights.

A SMART goal is ‘Specific’ and ‘Measurable’ while being ‘Attainable’ to the doer, ‘Realistic’ in quantitative terms and ‘Time-bound’ with specific deadlines. This method shows results when looking if goals are set and are specifically well-stated.

Cascading goals from the top downwards should never be limiting and rigid. They need to be in line with the goals of the executive team and individual goal setting.

The use of goal weights often proves counter-productive when one uses percentages. Instead, the best way is to indicate low, medium and high goals as the priority base.

Having looked at the various methods involved in goal-setting let us reiterate that while goal setting is of prime importance, there is no one way or technique to achieve goal success. Research by Latham and Locke point out that investing thought, effort and time into goal setting does payoff. One needs to be cautious with cascading management goals, avoid numerical and percentage weights and not blindly following the SMART test.

The Balanced Scorecard:
The BSC helps manage and implement corporate strategy within a time framework. The BSC is a useful tool which links strategic objectives to the vision, measures initiatives, and targets, and balances financial measures with KPI indices. It applies across the organization and improves business performance. The technique was first advocated by Dr. David Norton and Dr. Robert Kaplan in the early 1990s and is accepted as being the theory.

Conclusion:

Concepts like the balanced scorecard, cascading goals, SMART goals and using percentage goal weights in goal setting are an integral part of corporate strategy. If this field interests you Imarticus Learning has some excellent courses in corporate strategy.

At Imarticus, it is essential to learn the best positive approach and test all theories. The assignments, case studies, and project portfolio are all practically oriented. The Investment Banking Courses also have modules in honing soft-skills and personality development coupled with assured placements and a well-accepted certification. So why wait any longer? Join today!

What are the Benefits of Investment Banking Certification

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

With the rapid pace at which technology and data have evolved in the last decade, organizations have had to find newer practices in financial management and banking too. Whether you wish to make a career, switching jobs or are aspiring for a promotion, organizations want to know before recruiting that the aspirant has sufficient experience and certification in banking practice. This is where the employers need a measurable validation of your banking experience from a reputed institution to provide them with exactly this information.

How the Investment Banking Course Helps

The aim of the Investment Banking course is to ensure

  • Prepares you for final investment banking certification exams.
  • Aspirants are job-ready from day one.
  • Frequent updates and mock interviews for job placement.
  • Career guidance and interview-skills workshops.
  • Resume writing, assistance and application techniques.
  • Assured job placements.

The best learning courses for IB certification ensure they bridge the gaps in technological and soft skills while producing job-ready aspirants who can hit the ground running. The three components covered are

  • Experiential learning: The courses have experiential practical training led by certified and industry-drawn instructors and mentors, Excel-based technology training, powerful discussion forums, Post-course engagement, and a host of assignments and case studies.
  • Soft-skills Learning: Inclusive of interpersonal communications, email and virtual communication, decision making, time management, problem-solving, assertiveness and emotional intelligence building.
  • Course Learning: This module is comprehensively handled through extensive classroom sessions using tools like video lectures, real-life simulations, assured placement sessions, resume writing and building sessions, mock interviews and more.

Why Investment Banking Certifications are So Essential:

Certifications like the investment banking certification besides being a goal achieved can also provide you with a number of other benefits like

  • Builds your confidence and adds to your resume.
  • Measures your Excel, technological and presentation skills.
  • Visibility in a pool of aspirants in the job market.
  • Salaries that are probably better and account for a better experience in banking practice.
  • Credibility that you know, implement and practice the techniques learnt in the course.
  • Match market and technological trends that are current and in demand.

Job Perks:

A quick look at the salaries range shows that IB salaries can range from 6 to 22 lacs. Those with certification do tend to draw and negotiate contracts paying them 20 to 40% more than the median salaries.
Recruiting Companies:
Recruiting companies includeJP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan and Stanley, Accenture, Datamatics, Deloitte, BSE, Adobe, Acer, Aaj Tak, Amazon, Yes Bank, Bajaj, Springboard, 99 acres, Mahindra group, Heng Seng Bank, BNP Paribas, HSBC, and more.

Minimum education:

Banking does require sound financial knowledge and though not mandatory graduation in economics, finance, business administration, math, etc does give you an edge. So do the certifications in the field, especially when they come from a reputed institute like Imarticus, and serve as measurable indices of skill and experience in the required concepts of banking like in IB or AM.

Climbing the job ladder:

Starting as an intern and working your way up to the licensing and certifications in the US is very popular.
• 2 to 3 years as an Intern Financial Analyst in both fields.
• AM/IB Associate.
• VP- Investment Banking/ Asset Management.
• IB/AM Director.
• MD, CFO etc.

Investment Banking Salaries

There is hardly any difference in the pay packages across the various sectors of IB. In early 2004, the median professional IB salary was 315,000 USD. A decade later the figures for the IB salary stood at 288,000 USD. Investopedia reports suggest the median 2015 the investment banker’s salary was in the range of 75,000 to 85,000 USD. The performance bonuses added to take it to 140,000 USD for bankers in the early first year. Asset managers pay packages varied between 55,000 to 100,000 USD with a flat cut in the funds managed by them. Thus the financial crisis, global shifts in capital markets and new financial products will see the IB salaries rise and the gaps in salaries across IB services close, according to an FT article source.
Conclusion:
Banking jobs are high-prestige, well-paying secure fixed-hours jobs. There is an unending demand of aspirants seeking bank- job prospects and the scope for the demand in personnel is always rising. The US Labor Department predicts a decade of growth of 12% starting from 2014. This is so as the financial instruments are also evolving fast based on market requirements and both the technology and concept applications get complex and new-age. Do your investment banking certification at Imarticus Learning and kick-start your career today.

What is Difference Between Investment Banking and Corporate Finance?

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

Both investment banking and corporate finance deal with financial transactions and banking with some key differences. While investment banking deals with growing a company through raising its capital base the corporate finance division deals with managing the company and its daily operations and its goals for business both long and short term in nature. IB operates in raising capital for the company in the form of securities in the equity and debt markets. The IB also helps advice clients in acquisitions, mergers, placing investments, and executing financial research and analyses.

Another glaring difference between the two pertains to the experience and academic qualifications required to be in investment banking being higher, more demanding and expensive when compared to those required for the corporate finance banker.

However, there is a lot of overlap in the two areas in terms of educational qualifications and job-skills required for both areas. Thus one can expect the IB requisite skills to also apply for the corporate finance FAs.

Pay Packages:
In the US the financial analyst in IB had an average salary of 84,300 USD as reported in 2017 by the BLS. The CFO salary had an average monthly pay package of 104,700 USD.

According to Wall Street Oasis, the starting career step of a junior IB analyst was in the range of 70,000 to 150,000 USD annually with negotiated bonuses and performance incentives added in. The BLS predicts 11 percent growth in FA positions between the decade starting 2016. This is better than the 8% anticipated growth for the corporate FAs.
Payscale reports the investment banker salary is an average salary of 508, 855 Rs for a fresher.

The salary components can vary between 177,560 to 1,545, 630 Rs while the bonuses can vary with contract negotiation from 2,517 to 524, 023 Rs depending on your skills and performance. In the US this is between 75-90k pa and an average total of 140k pa for a fresher.

Thus the total payouts can be much higher depending on performance and bonuses. Doing the investment banking course helps you earn a global measurable certification which validates your skills and knowledge and is acceptable as real-life experience of the financial and investment banking experience requirements preferred by most employees.

Difference Between Investment Banking and Corporate Finance

The major difference in the two segments pertains to salary or payouts and work-loads.
Burnout occurs with long working hours and much work. More than one-half of the banking job aspirants, especially in IB, quit in the first three years!

The IB teams are generally small and lean with one analyst, two associates and a VP reporting to the Lead Director. And the working is inverted bottom up, meaning they bear all the workload. An 80 to 100 hour week with working Sundays is not uncommon and social life grinds to a complete halt.

In contrast, FAs in corporate finance jobs benefit from the corporate culture and the working hours are definitely not as punishing. The FAs in IB though receive a flat percentage of their business meaning their take-home pays are way higher and performance-based.

There is a lot of prestige in IB jobs, and in the same breath, corporate finance jobs are not so easy to get and are still a good career choice. Aspirants for the allure and prestige of the IB job need to work harder, with more work-loads and long hours when compared to the FAs of Corporate Finance. That’s why they get paid higher and ascend the ladder quicker.

The ladder to climb in IB starts with the junior position, to an Associate role in 3 years leading to the VP role and then the Lead/ Managing Director etc. Corporate finance offers many opportunities as advisors, accountants, account managers, treasurers, analysts, business analysts etc.

Conclusions:
The prestigious investment banking job allows you to either start as a Junior Analyst with an under graduation or as an Associate with experience by doing your Banking and financial course with a reputed institute like Imarticus Learning. The requirements are no different for the corporate finance sector.

However, specialization and certification in the area or vertical you are interested in help. The prestigious Investment Banking jobs are generally filled with ivy-league business school graduates especially in reputed companies like Morgan and Stanley or Goldman Sachs etc.

Doing the Investment Banking Course at Imarticus is the short cut to a great Investment Banking career. Why wait then?