Do you have what it takes to be an Investment Banker? – Part II

In the last article, we discussed what are the skill sets you should have in your kitty, to become an Investment Banker. Now that we have sorted out what is an Investment Banker, let’s get down to what qualifications can lead you to become an Investment Banker.

• Make it to the top tier B schools – meaning the IIMs A, B, C or ISB or other institutes in this league. Bulge bracket IBs visit these campuses to select analysts either for internships or directly for their global IB program.
• CFA Qualification: CFA is a highly revered course in field of Investment Banking. Recognized as the world’s best course in Investment Banking, it has global accreditation in almost 150 countries.
• Alternative: Graduate from the next tier of MBA institutes (MDI, IIFT, IIT SOMs etc.), or complete Chartered Accountancy, or pass out of top undergrad institutes like the IITs, Stephen’s, Xavier’s, etc. (economics or related subjects preferred). This route could take you to the offshored IB outfits within these big banks, which usually feeds into their global analyst program. The only hitch being you need to work in the offshored role for some time before you make the cut to the front-end client-facing role. Still, it is a great way to finally get to front end IB (More and more banks are recruiting from undergrad colleges for these offshore entities).
• Boutique investment banks often recruit laterally based on experience and skills. It may serve you well to know a bit of financial analytics and modeling. A CFA would be a good qualification to have to prove your focus and knowledge in this area.
• MBA (Finance): To sum up, an MBA in finance is beneficial, but not essential. A CFA or similar finance certification may stand in good stead. However, an undergraduate from a top tier institute with a great resume stands as good a chance to get a foot in the door of an IB as a post graduate.
• Financial Modeling: An additional knowledge which can give an additional edge over others is by pairing your post graduate program with financial modeling skills. While I. Bankers have to work on funding big projects for businesses, facilitate Mergers & Acquisition, preparing financial models on spreadsheets is an essential skill.

 
Quick Tips

• Take up summer internship while learning
• Network, network & network!
• Keep updated yourselves with latest trends in financial market
• Invest time in enhancing your skill sets – short term professional courses

Related Articles:

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN INVESTMENT BANKER? – PART I

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN INVESTMENT BANKER? – PART III