Need Guidance for Becoming an Investment Banker?

Investment Banking is one of the most preferred fields to work in by professionals for a wide range of benefits it has to offer – Money, a great lifestyle & fascinating work, just to name a few.

Investment Banking is definitely a lucrative area of work, however, it cannot be said that it is all fun and no work as you are required to put in long hours and handle some really taxing finance related work in order to establish yourself as an investment banker.

If you are an aspirant of a successful investment banking career, reading this article will be quite helpful for you in achieving what you wish for as it covers all the essential information that you need to have in order to pursue an Investment Banking career.

Firstly, I will provide you with a basic understanding of how an investment bank works, so that you get an idea whether it is your cup of tea or not.

How does an Investment Bank function?

Investment Banks are considered to be financial institutions that are involved in helping corporations, governments as well as individuals in raising capital through underwriting or sometimes by performing the duty of the agent of the client in the time of issuance of securities.

They also help companies going through mergers & acquisitions by providing ancillary services including market making, fixed income instruments, trading of derivatives, foreign exchange, equity securities and so on.

What is the procedure for becoming an Investment Banker?

If you have decided to be a part of this money-making field, you have to be prepared to be patient and work pretty hard.

The Authority that decides the rules & processes for you in becoming an Investment Banker is known as FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). It provides you with a broker’s license only when you are able to clear the Series 79 exam which lasts for five hours and requires you to attempt a total number of one seventy-five multi-choice questions.

This particular exam covers all the crucial topics that an investment banker is supposed to know such as collection, evaluation of data, underwriting financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, financial restructuring transactions, tender offers, etc.

Now, the question is that how to do you register yourself for this investment banking test?

The first thing that you have to look for is a member firm who is ready to sponsor you. And such member organizations are not very easy to impress as they make a background check of your educational qualification & work experience, also, they require you to have a good character and a decent reputation.

After a member organization is satisfied with your track record, you can expect it to register you with FINRA and also submit your application for the investment banking exam. And if any violations are made from your side, you might get disqualified from taking the exam as well.

You are allowed to sit the investment banking exam more than just one time, so, if you are not able to pass the first time, you need not be disheartened.