Investment Banking Analysts

Aspiring analysts must complete at least one internship, fellowship, or co-operative educational experience at a top investment bank, Big Four accounting firm, alternative investment firm, or another prestigious employer.

Quantitative skills are a must for analysts, as much of their time is spent dealing with books of trades and numbers. The ability to crunch numbers in a short time is especially important on the debt side. Traders often demand bond price or yield calculations with only a moment’s notice, and analysts must be able to produce. Other important traits include:

• a willingness to accept criticism and learn from one’s mistakes
• the ability to perform sometimes monotonous tasks for long hours, day after day without complaint
• a positive, energetic attitude
• being extremely hard working, responsible, and detail oriented
• having strong analytical, time-management, and problem-solving skills
• possessing excellent financial modeling/valuation and analytical abilities
• being an excellent communicator and a good listener
• being able to work independently and as part of a team
• being proficient in the use of spreadsheets, graphing, and presentations with a basic knowledge of financial models
• possessing strong interpersonal skills with the ability to interact with all levels of personnel.