Investment Banking Analysts

Analysts are considered the “workhorses” of the investment banking industry—working 80-100 hours a week and pulling all-nighters to complete reports and handle any other task given to them by associates and investment bankers (often as they were about to walk out the door to go home). Suffice to say, analysts do not have a lot of downtime or get a lot of sleep—especially during their first year on the job. After some tragic deaths of overworked analysts, some investment banks (such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, and Bank of America) have limited the number of hours that analysts can work and created programs to improve work/life balance. Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, summed up this approach in a 2015 speech to a group of young Wall Street bankers and traders, saying: “You’ve got to take care of your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul, your health,” he said. “JPMorgan can’t do it for you, or wherever you work. If you neglect those things. You’ll destroy your personal relationships. You’ll destroy your life. You won’t be healthy. You won’t enjoy it.”  

Analysts work in teams with other analysts who are supervised by an associate or investment banker. The work environment is extremely fast-paced and stressful, and it’s not uncommon for analysts to be “chewed out” for real or perceived performance issues. Despite all of these potential drawbacks, many young people embrace this frenetic and often stressful lifestyle because the pay is good and the opportunities to learn and obtain experience are abundant.

Each year, Vault.com compiles a list of the best investment banking firms in terms of prestige. In 2019, the leading firms were:

1. Goldman Sachs & Co.
2. Morgan Stanley
3. J.P. Morgan
4. Evercore
5. Lazard
6. Centerview Partners
7. Moelis & Company
8. Credit Suisse
9. Bank of America Corp.
10. Barclays Investment Bank (Americas)