Last updated on August 26th, 2022 at 10:35 am

Poor investment banking skills? Know how your career could suffer

What is the meaning of investment banking? 

A specific division of a bank provides investment banking services. It includes the following services - 

• Underwriting - The process of underwriting helps organisations raise capital. It caters to the primary market and helps entities go public through the IPO. 

• Mergers and Acquisitions - When you learn investment banking, you can offer advisory services to sellers and buyers and manage the M&A process end-to-end. 

•  Equity Research - You can apply investment banking skills in conducting equity research which can help investors acquire related trading information. 

• Asset Management - When you take your investment banking skills a notch higher, you can offer asset management services for various investment products to individuals or institutions. 

What are the basic skills that make a good investment banker? 

If you are someone who has set their eyes on making it big in the investment banking industry, make sure you have the following skills. These traits are important to possess to be a good fit for the industry - 

• Close attention to detail 
• Ability to execute directions well 
• Critical thinking ability 
• Hands-on experience in financial modelling 
• Strong finance and accounting knowledge 
• Willingness to work long hours 
• Team player 
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills 

Some of the skills listed above are basic and required for most finance roles. For example, if your communication skills are not upto the mark, it can be difficult for you. Good communication skills are a must-have in the investment banking arena. Since investment banking is a fast-paced job requiring you to be on your toes, having poor skills will leave you behind. You will not be able to match up to the pace of the work, leaving you under immense stress. Let us consider an example; imagine that you are an investment banking associate assigned to an M&A engagement.

You will be required to work on the acquisition strategy and discuss the acquisition planning with the relevant stakeholders. If your research is good enough but you cannot share your ideas wisely, the entire effort can go down the drain. Timely communication is the key to success in a lot of tasks. If you cannot convey crucial and confidential information in time to the parties, it can prove to be a loss in business.

On the other hand, let’s say you prepare a financial model for a new product launch of a pharma company. The model has to depict all the necessary information and special data on the market study. Even though you may have captured the market survey extensively, it may not be very useful if you do not present it distinctly. So to conclude, we can safely say that being on top of things will not be beneficial if you are not doing it effectively.  

Close attention to detail is one of the most sought-after investment banking skills. A lot of your time as an investment banker will be spent on collating data and delivering presentations to your clients. If you are not well organised, the task can be tedious, and you may miss out on essential information. It is a very important part of the training to analyse the data efficiently.

Due to the high stakes, the intensity is also quite high in investment banking. You cannot afford to be sloppy or miss out on anything that can be relevant to your client. When it comes to using tools such as Excel, you are expected to have advanced knowledge. As clients expect reports to be timely available, you are not expected to lose time on the spreadsheet by spending long hours.

Opting for a certificate in Investment banking

If the above points have raised a concern for you, you need not worry. We are here to resolve all your concerns as we bring you a certificate in investment banking. You can learn about investment banking comprehensively in the course. The certificate in investment banking will equip you with diverse knowledge of financial markets. You will learn how to build financial models and conduct valuations using different methods. The syllabus is quite vast and will help you become industry ready as it covers the latest market trends.

The interview preparation guides will help you land your dream job. As a future investment banker, you will be able to develop a high aptitude for all the areas required for the job. Overall, the investment banking certificate is a complete package and will make you a thorough professional. So go on, and take a step towards growing your career! 

If you want to know more about it, you can visit our webpage, contact us through chat support, or drive to our training centers in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Gurgaon.