Investment Banking FAQ: 25 Most Common Questions from Readers

Investment banking is not the main discussion on this site, but since both of us worked as bankers before, we’d like to share some of the insider views on what banking is all about, what people do, the culture and hierarchy, top players and last but not least, how to break into this industry.

Investment Banking 101

• What exactly is investment bank?
• What do bankers do to justify their pay?

Investment Banking Jobs in Real Life

• What i-bank analysts do on a daily basis
• How do banking teams work in pitches and transactions
• How the ranking stacks up — from analysts to MDs

How to Break into Investment Banking

Qualification

• How to land an investment banking job (especially for juniors and seniors)
• Do recruiters look for a specific banking “quality”?

Resume Tips

• Customize your resume with these i-banking keywords

Interview Tips

• Why I succeeded in my investment banking interview

Planning Your Careers

• Comparing banking vs consulting
• Know the difference: bulge brackets, mid-market, and boutique i-banks
• Why some people prefer boutique houses
• What do my banker friends end up doing after 10 years

Banking Landscape

Top Players

• Top 10 investment banks
• Top middle market investment banks
• Top boutique investment banks

Selected Company Overview and Interview Tips

• Morgan Stanley
• Houlihan Lokey
• Perella Weinberg
• Evercore
• Greenhill

League Tables and Latest News

• I-banking league table by firm
• I-banking league table by industry
• Best sources of online banking news