This is a three part series (courtsey: careers-in-finance.com) Part 1 covers Investment Banking in general,
requirements and how to break into this field. Part 2 covers job options in this
field, salaries and Part 3 covers Life as an associate (for MBA students) and
life as an analyst (undergrads) in Investment Banking
By far the most common route into investment banking for someone just finishing an undergraduate degree is to be hired into a bank's analyst program (for more on life as an analyst, see our upcoming Part 3). MBAs are generally hired as associates. Analysts and associates work within specialized groups but they may not always have control over the group to which they get assigned (analysts especially). Some of the most common groups found within investment banks are described below, along with the work they do. If you're a new graduate interested in one of these areas specifically, learn as much as you can about the area that intrigues you so that you're best positioned to be assigned to that group, but understand that you'll most likely be looking for a job as an analyst or associate.
Industry Coverage
Most large investment banks have an area called investment banking, IBD, IBK, CIBD, "banking" or something that denotes industry-focused investment banking. These organizations are organized into product groups (e.g., private placements) and industry coverage groups (e.g., aerospace). See Credit Suisse's banking page for an example. The group will have a set of senior bankers (Managing Directors - usually called "MD's") who maintain relationships with client companies in the industry (e.g., Boeing, Aerospatiale). These bankers will be backed up by a group of Directors, VPs, Associates, Analysts and Administrative Assistants who help by attending client meetings, coming up with ideas for clients, preparing pitch books, executing transactions, writing commitment committee memo's etc. The two main types of business are M&A (see below) and financings which could be carried out separately by a corporate finance group (see below) or executed within the coverage group. Generally, there will be a client team that comes together for a specific client deal (e.g., issuance of a Boeing Bond). This will include the MD, a VP and an Associate, Analyst or two. This team would interface with the product specialist which might include someone from corporate finance if specialized know-how is needed and also someone from Debt Capital Markets (which manages issuance of bonds into the capital markets).
