Job Description-Investment Banking

[agk99]

Investment Banking

Investment banks serve two major constituencies: organizations that need capital in order to operate, and institutional investors that have capital to invest. Investment banks act as middlemen; they help companies and governments raise money at reasonable rates and help investors find a good return.

(agk99註:用中文來說，IB就是做企業，幫一家企業找錢，協助併購，提供建議，這就是IB的工作)

Investment banks perform the following major functions:

1. Act as matchmakers between those who have capital and those who need it.
2. Lend and invest the bank's own capital
3. Provide and execute financial advice for organizations
4. Develop research and opinions on securities, markets, economies
5. Buy and sell securities on behalf of investor clients
6. Manage investment portfolios
7. Trade stocks and bonds on their own behalf in order to make profit

Most investment banks organize themselves on three dimensions: functions, products, and clients. People within the bank specialize along one of these dimensions:

1. Functions--Investment banking (Corporate Finance), Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Sales and Trading, Research
2. Products--Equity, Fixed Income, Real Estate, Private Placements, High Yield
3. Clients/ Industries--Telecommunications, Oil and Gas, Financial Institutions, High Tech., Media and Entertainment, etc.

When people refer to investment banking they are typically referring to either the Corporate Finance group or the Mergers & Acquisiton group within an investment bank. Corporate Finance helps companies raise capital through debt and equity. M&A advises a corporation in the process of merging with, acquiring, or selling a business.

(agk99註:這可說是最普遍的二分法，在美國甚至會再設一組專做financial advice，也就是承銷、併購、財務顧問。當然，台灣的券商大概只做承銷吧)

The leading investment banks including Merrill Lynch, Salomon Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Goldman Sachs are said to be in the bulge bracket. Other investment banks are regionally oriented or situated in the middle market (e.g. Piper Jaffray). Others are small, specialized firms called boutiques which might be oriented toward bond-trading, M&A advisory, technical analysis or program trading.

Investment banking is a relationship business. Investment bankers build long-term relationships with large corporations in the hope of acting as their advisor on all financial matters. For their guidance in raising cash or negotiating a merger, investment bankers earn fees based on a percentage of the total sum of money that changes hands.

(agk99註 這裡講到一個重點，其實在投行裡，搞業務關係的能力是最重要的，其他還算是其次。)

[henrychentw]

大哥，有private banking 的description 嗎?

thanks

[agk99]

好 我找找 應該有的

[agk99]

Private Client Services

This is a division within an investment bank that concentrates on managing the assets of high net-worth individuals, usually defined as those with investible assets exceeding $5MM. A career in PCS requires a strong interest in sales and the financial markets. It can be a highly rewarding field, but compensation is almost totally dependent on individual performance. After the first two years, the pay is linked exclusively to fees generated on a percentage of client assets managed.

基本上這項工作跟你我想的差不多，有新的資料我再貼上來

[pourquoilise]

台灣的券商，其實除了承銷之外，也開始熟悉併購、不動產證券化等工具，然而這些工具要能推廣到中小型股本的企業，其實並不是那麼容易的，也由於獲利並不能立刻顯現於財務報表上，導致大部分的券商多半還是以承銷為主。即使是承銷，也開始往香港、中國大陸等地進行佈局。不過我自己會覺得待過國內的承銷商之後，如果有機會，還是要去外資的IB看看，畢竟可以站在一個資源更廣的平台之上，想法跟做法就會跟國內的券商有差距，也有優勢。