Vault.com Career Guide to Investment Banking, 3rd Edition - Softcover

Lott, Tom; Vault.com Inc.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 158131115X ISBN 13: 9781581311150

Publisher: Vault Reports Inc, 2000

Synopsis

Guide from the Vault Career Library from corporate finance and sales & trading to research and syndicate and how these functions interact, the career path in investment banking for experienced professionals, as well as MBAs and recent college graduates

About this title

About the Author

Tom Lott, born in Dallas, Texas, graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1993. Upon graduation he joined investment banking firm Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Florida. His work experience there included a brief stint in research and four years in corporate finance. He recently obtained his MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, where he served as chairman of the Investments Club. Currently, he works in fixed income trading at Merrill Lynch in New York City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

What is investment banking? Is it investing? Is it banking? Really, it is neither. Investment banking, or I-banking, as it is often called, is the term used to describe the business of raising capital for companies. Capital essentially means cash or money. Companies need cash in order to grow and expand their businesses; investment banking sell securities to public investors in order to raise this cash. These securities can come in the form of stocks or bonds.

Many an I-banking interviewees asks, "Which firm is the best?" The answer, like many things in life, is unclear. Each firms certainly can produce reams of paper and data attesting to its dominance, and most have several strengths. But no single firm rules in every aspect of banking. Merill leads in underwriting volume, but really cannot compete with Salomon Smith Barney in mortgage-backed securities and municipal bonds. Goldman Sachs' reputation in underwriting and M&A is stellar, but its fixed income effort just can't seem to live up to the power of its equity business. Salomon still wins hands down in the mortgages and municipal bond world, but cannot muster strength on the equity side, even with its acquisition of Smith Barney. All in all, every firm has its own pros and cons, and choosing one based on reputation alone would be foolhardy. In general, the people you work with are the most important part of choosing a firm - no one ever reported loving their job becaus! e their firm ranked No.1 in the industry.

Generally, the breakdown of an investment bank includes the following areas:

Corporate Finance Merger & Acqisitions (M&A) Sales Trading Research

About this edition

• Publisher: Vault Reports Inc
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 158131115X
• ISBN 13: 9781581311150
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 437