You need to know your way around the financial markets and know how money is created and invested if you want to succeed as a corporate investment banker. It is well knowledge that investment bankers play a significant role in the initial public offerings (IPOs) of startups. That is only a sample of the tasks they must complete, though. Let us overview what is an investment banker with examples in this topic.
An investment banker’s primary role is to advise companies and even governments on financial matters. They facilitate the acquisition of investor funding. Depending on the circumstances, this could involve offering stock or bonds for sale, issuing new debt, negotiating the purchase of a rival, or even selling the business. When the financial markets are doing well, investment bankers usually do well as well. When both investment bankers and their customers have greater resources at their disposal, they are able to pursue more lucrative projects.
What is an Investment Banker?
Typically employed by a bank, an investment banker’s primary duty is to facilitate the raising of capital for businesses, governments, and other organizations.
Investment bankers can be found at a wide variety of companies, including Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC), and Deutsche Bank (DB).
Overview of Investment Bankers
Many people rely on the services of investment bankers when attempting to negotiate and close large, complex financial transactions. For example, they might advise their clients on the best way to structure a merger, purchase, or sale as part of the deal. As a second source of revenue, investment bankers are task with the sale of various securities. This entails preparing the myriad forms required by the SEC for a public offering of shares.
Investment bankers can help their clients save money and resources by highlighting potential pitfalls before a project is initiated. Bankers who specialize in investments are expect to be knowledgeable about the state of the market at any given time. Businesses and nonprofits typically seek the counsel of investment bankers when determining the most efficient means of expansion.
An investment banker also helps price financial instruments and figure out how to deal with laws. When a company launches its first public offering (IPO), an investment bank will act as a middleman and buy all or most of the company’s shares directly. The investment bank will act as the company’s agent in selling shares on the open market. The result will be positive cash flow right away.
Investment banks might profit from this situation because they typically set higher prices for their stock. The investment bank takes on a lot of risk when it does this. Analysts at the investment bank utilise their knowledge to price the stock appropriately. However, the investment banker may incur a loss if the stock price is too high.
An Example of Investment Banking
Assume, for the sake of argument, that Pete’s Paints Co., a hardware and paint retailer, is considering going public. Owner Pete contacts Katherine, a prominent investment banker.
Pete and Katherine arrange a deal in which Katherine promises, on behalf of her firm, to buy 100,000 shares of Pete’s Paints at $24 per share for the company’s IPO. This conclusion was reach with the help of her analytical group. The investment bank is paying $2.4 million for the 100,000 shares.
Katherine and her team begin selling the shares on the open market at $26 per share after filing the appropriate paperwork. Including SEC Form S-1, and choosing when and where the IPO would occur.
However, the investment bank cannot sell more than 20% of the shares at this price due to poor demand. The company has to sell the rest of its shares, therefore it has reduced the price to $23. Ultimately, this will be the reason that Katherine and her crew fail.
Duties of an Investment Banker
The primary responsibility of a corporate investment banker is to assist corporations, institutions, and governments in implementing their long-term and short-term financial strategies. Each group will be responsible for a specific type of transaction or market segment. Bankers that specialize in corporate finance sometimes collaborate with other professionals in the same field, such as attorneys and accountants. A corporate finance agreement typically consists of two phases.
Origination refers to the initial step in determining the value of a potential transaction. Not often the customer, but the bank itself may be the source of a novel concept. Potential outcomes in the economy can be predictable using financial modelling. It’s going to take a lot of expertise in a specific area to do this. The second step is “execution,” which includes arranging and negotiating the terms of a deal with the assistance of additional experts.
Despite working in separate industries, project teams interact to one other during the two stages of a deal to share and gather necessary expert information and market intelligence.
Researching market conditions and changes, locating new business opportunities, conducting financial modelling, and developing and presenting appropriate financial solutions to clients are typical duties. As are communicating with the CEO and CFO of large corporations, coordinating teams of professionals like accountants, lawyers, and PR consultants, and working closely with them.
Demographics of Investment Banking
Although investment banking diversity statistics are not publicly available. It is widely refer that white men continue to occupy the vast majority of senior leadership positions at the country’s largest financial institutions.
When compared to the 40% minority share of the U.S. population, the disparity between the percentage of minority board members and the overall minority share is stark, as seen by data provided to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. About 29% of the population is female while 50% are male. When it comes to reporting to the CEO, none of them have a chief diversity officer.
White folks make up 81% of all senior executive editors. Only 19% of the jobs are held by people of different races or ethnicity. To put it another way, men make up the overwhelming majority of executive-level employees (71%). In spite of this, the sector is cognizant of the issue, and numerous financial advisor and institutions have implemented diversity initiatives to recruit qualified women and people of color.
Conclusion
Investment banker aid their clients in securing capital for a variety of purposes, including operational expenses and future expansion. They act as intermediaries between investors and corporations or governments seeking to raise capital for various projects. Due to its central role in the capital-raising process, the investment banking business has come under criticism. Despite the fact that it aids in the efficient operation of the capitalist system.