Investment banking 101

Want to hear about IB from a student perspective? Learn more here.

What is investment banking?

Investment banking (IB) is a specialized area of finance where banks help companies manage major financial transactions and strategic decisions. These banks serve as key intermediaries between investors and companies, facilitating large financial deals such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), initial public offerings (IPOs), capital raises, and complex restructurings. 

Investment banking is divided into several key areas:

  • M&A Advisory: Guiding companies through the process of buying, selling, or merging businesses

  • Capital Markets: Managing the process when companies need to raise equity (stock) or debt (bonds) funding

  • Restructuring: Helping financially troubled (distressed) companies reorganize their finances and operations

  • Industry Groups: Teams specializing in specific sectors like technology, healthcare, or energy

  • Leveraged Finance: Arranging financing for transactions that use significant amounts of debt

what is the day in the life of an investment banker?

Investment banking analysts typically work long hours (60-100 hours per week) and are responsible for tasks such as:

  1. Financial Modeling & Valuation: Building financial models, such as discounted cash flow (DCF) analyses, comparable company analysis (Comps), and precedent transactions analysis.

  2. Pitch Books & Presentations: Creating PowerPoint presentations for client meetings and internal use.

  3. Business Development: Meeting with potential buyers, sellers, and investors to build relationships and better understand the transaction landscape

  4. Client & Internal Calls: Participating in client calls, management meetings, and discussions with senior bankers.

  5. Deal Execution: Assisting in running deals by coordinating with legal, accounting, and other external parties.

The job is high-pressure and requires attention to detail, strong analytical skills, and endurance.

which firms have internships / new grad opportunities (buldge bracket vs boutique)

Investment banks are generally categorized into bulge bracket, elite boutiques, and middle-market & regional boutiques, each offering internship and full-time analyst roles.

Bulge Bracket Banks (Large, Global Firms)

These firms handle multi-billion-dollar transactions and have a global presence. More specifically, these banks offer end-to-end financial services and are able to underwrite transactions. 

  • Goldman Sachs

  • J.P. Morgan

  • Morgan Stanley

  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch

  • Citigroup

  • Barclays

  • Credit Suisse

  • Deutsche Bank

  • UBS

  • Wells Fargo Securities

Elite Boutique Banks (Specialized, High-Profile Deals)

These firms focus primarily on M&A and advisory services with smaller deal teams. Due to their advisory focus, these firms don’t face client conflicts of interest.

  • Qatalyst Partners

  • Evercore

  • Centerview Partners

  • Lazard

  • Moelis & Company

  • PJT Partners

  • Perella Weinberg Partners

  • Greenhill & Co.

  • Guggenheim

Middle-Market & Regional Boutique Banks

These firms focus on deals that range from $50M to $1B and have more regional and niche exposure. These banks boast high transaction value, and even offer elite groups within their platforms.

  • Houlihan Lokey

  • Jefferies

  • RBC Capital Markets

  • Piper Sandler

  • William Blair

  • Raymond James

  • Stifel

  • Baird

  • Harris Williams

So I Want to Recruit for investment banking, What’s Next?

Freshman Year:

  • Fall to Spring Quarter: Apply to IB clubs and attempt to get internship experience.

  • Summer: Apply and interview for sophomore summer experiences, begin preparation for IB workshop interviews.

Sophomore Year:

  • Fall Quarter: Workshop interviews and acceptances, begin networking over email and through on-campus info sessions.

  • Winter Quarter: Continue networking, begin interviewing and receiving offers.

  • Spring Quarter: Continue interviewing and receiving offers.

Junior Year:

  • Apply to occasional openings for junior summer internships (depending on if you have an offer already).

Senior Year:

  • Apply to occasional openings for full-time positions (optional).

what are exit opportunities after 2 year analyst programs?

Most investment banking analysts complete a two-year analyst program, after which they typically pursue one of the following career paths:

  1. Private Equity (PE): Private equity is the practice of investing in companies that are already private or which will be taken private. PE recruiting typically is split into on-cycle (Senior Spring) and off-cycle (anytime during IB analyst program).

  2. Hedge Funds (HF): Hedge funds invest in publicly traded companies, either through their stocks or bonds. Hedge fund recruiting is more unstructured directly out of investment banking.

  3. Venture Capital (VC): Some bankers move into VC to invest in early-stage (pre-seed to Series A) and/or growth-stage (Series B to pre-IPO) startups. VC recruiting is similar to PE, but typically targets bankers in common VC sectors (technology, healthcare, consumer & retail)

  4. Corporate Finance / Corporate Development: Working within a company’s finance or strategy division. This could entail Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), M&A strategy, or other internal financial operations.

  5. Startups / Entrepreneurship: Some use their experience to start their own companies or join high-growth startups in finance or strategy roles. These roles offer high-risk, high-reward opportunities for dedicated individuals. 

  6. MBA Programs: Many analysts apply to top business schools (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton) to transition into leadership roles or reorient their careers. College students with IB offers also often pursue deferred MBA programs.

  7. Other Roles: Some pivot into government, non-profits, or consulting (e.g., McKinsey, Bain, BCG).

Investment banking provides a solid foundation in financial analysis, deal-making, and strategic thinking, making it a highly sought-after career path with numerous exit options.

Where can I learn more about IB at UCLA?

  1. Investment banking / finance clubs at UCLA! Check out our club directory to learn more.

  2. UBS’s annual Investment Banking Workshop

  3. Our newsletter! Subscribe to our newsletter to learn more about firm info sessions, case competitions and other events.

  4. Our GroupMe! Join our GroupMe to get notifications about firm info sessions, case competitions and other events.

  5. Also check out our Vice President (‘24-’25) Rajvir Kohli’s substack about his IB recruiting experience

Contributors: Garrett Roach, Matei Jucan, Angelina Lue