Investment banking is a division of an investment bank that advises companies and governments on how to raise money, merge or acquire other companies, and restructure businesses more effectively and efficiently. In general, investment banks provide financial advice on deals within the markets through three types of transactions.
First, we have M&A deals, which stand for mergers and acquisitions. This involves the buying and selling of companies. Second, we have debt/leverage deals, where funds are raised via loans. Third, we have equity deals, where a company issues stock. Investment banks guide clients through these various transactions and take a percentage of the fees associated with them.
Anyway, I am running late for work, so let’s get this day in the life started. Typically, I start my day around 5:30 a.m. I know that is a bit extreme, but I wake up this early because I commute from New Jersey and need to be at the office around 9:00 a.m. With inflation and rent prices right now, I chose to stay with family, which is basically rent-free for the summer. So it’s not so bad, but that’s just me.
Usually, I like to relax for a bit with my coffee and then pull out the Wall Street Journal because I need to keep up with what’s going on in the economy and the markets as a typical banker. But I’m going to drink this coffee, read a little bit, and then head to the office. I can’t film in there, so I’ll try to get some scenes on my phone for now. The camera quality is going to go down, guys, sorry about that, but let’s do that for a little bit.
I’m usually at the office around 8:20 a.m. I get there a little bit earlier just to go through my emails and respond to them as soon as possible. After that, I usually go through the agenda I set for myself for the day. Today doesn’t seem too bad; it’s a pretty light day so far. I’m mainly going to be doing a lot of market research, which involves going through a bunch of companies’ filings for the deals I’m working on. There’s actually a lot of reading and research done in investment banking as you learn about different industries and the companies that operate within them. It’s also important to have a good grasp of understanding the company’s purpose, why they’re there, and their financials.
Today, I spent a few hours doing this, but it’s around 11 a.m. right now, so I usually check for any updates with my team on the deals I’m working on. After that, I head out for lunch. Typically, I don’t have time to make lunches every day, so I hit up some spots near my office and then head back to the office and usually eat at my desk. But today, I ended up having some extra time, so I went to eat with a friend in another group.
After lunch, around 1 p.m., I go through some financial models and make corrections on the ones I’m working on. Usually, when something needs to be corrected on your model, an analyst will leave a comment on it, so I have to go through the comments, fix the mistakes, and then send it back to the analyst. There’s a lot of back and forth between you and the senior management on the team, and it’s usually the same for PowerPoint as well because you have to make a lot of corrections and ensure slide decks are presented well.
After that, I have some client calls I usually take throughout the day, and I spend a good amount of time on that just taking notes to go over during the meeting. Anyway, it’s around 5:30 p.m. right now. I didn’t have that much work today, so I’m actually going to be heading out of the office early. The group I have is pretty chill, so I usually finish up my work earlier in the day, but in some cases, I’ll be at the office until 8 to 10 p.m.
Okay, guys, so I just got off work. It was a pretty chill day. I actually got off early around 6:30 p.m. It’s about to rain right now, but I’m going to meet up with some friends and get some dinner. But first, I am tired of wearing these clothes, so I’m going to change in one second. Alright, so I just changed. I’m going to do a quick cardio workout and then chill for a little bit.
Alright guys, and that’s a day in the life of an investment banking intern in New York City. If any of you are interested in investment banking or even getting an internship in the field, I would definitely recommend doing a lot of research on the industry and work-life balance. From my experience, I think it’s a great opportunity for you to learn at an extremely fast rate and also gain exposure to the markets as well. One thing I’ve learned through my internship so far is you definitely need to pay attention to detail, especially when going over work and checking if you have any mistakes. Another thing is to always ask questions, even if you think the questions are stupid. It goes a really long way and shows that you have the initiative to really grow and learn. It’s also really good for you to have a lot of good technical skills, such as having a strong foundation in PowerPoint and Excel. It saves a lot of time, even though you go through training. It’s always helpful to have a good base on these skills so that you can work more efficiently and effectively.
Anyway, investment banking is actually pretty fun if you have an interest in finance or the economy in general. But it is getting late, so I need to go to bed. Thank you guys for watching the video to the end. If you like this content, leave a like, sub, and comment down below. Once again, I’ll see you on the next one. Peace.
