The investment banking sector is a branch of banking and financial services industry that helps organisations to raise funds and also provides advisory and consultancy services on an array of financial instruments available by assessing the needs and risk appetite of individuals and firms.
The role of an investment banker is among one of the most sought after job roles in the banking and financial industry, the high level of compensation and other rewarding perks certainly makes it one of the most lucrative career options and naturally it attracts a lot of competition.
The role of an investment banker is very diverse and dynamic, to say the least; it encompasses a range of responsibilities that the personnel need to adhere to. We are living in an era of the digital buzz; everything has its presence online and needs technology for escalation. The investment bankers also need to use many tools for smooth conduct of their operations. Before jumping over to the tools and software used by them let’s get a brief about what their role entails.
Roles & responsibilities of an investment banker
The job of an investment banker requires you to play many roles at once. At the centre of it all is the responsibility to raise money for your clients by finding suitable investors who have the required capital for long term investments. The role of an investment banker here is to act as a mediator between the company that is looking to raise funds through issuing shares and the investors who are looking to invest in profitable investment opportunities. Finding the right match and bridging this gap requires a lot of backend work that involves complex research and analysis of the company and the market.
In addition to raising capital for clients, the role of an investment banker also entails guiding and helping companies on Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) deals. In the most basic terms, Mergers & Acquisitions help is the consolidation of two companies for positive synergies. When two or more companies join hands to combine their operations and form one entity it is termed as Mergers. When one company buys the other it is coined as an Acquisition deal. Mergers and Acquisitions are done to reduce competition in the field and collectively profit more from the combination of two entities instead of individually operating.
Other roles of an investment banker include working in an advisory capacity and guiding individuals and firms on profitable investment opportunities and complex securities that are comparatively new and have been developed due to financial innovations. Now that you understand the complexity of the role of an investment banker you have a fair idea as to what all they need to do on a daily basis, let’s get familiar with some of the essential software that investment bankers need to do their job.
Software used by Investment Bankers
Below is the list of some of the most essential tools that are required by investment bankers for smooth functioning:
Bloomberg Terminal
The Bloomberg terminal is a computer software system that helps the investment banker to collect relevant data with lightning-fast speed. What’s new today is stale tomorrow; the Bloomberg terminal helps to obtain real-time data, analytics and news to help investment professionals to make a smarter and accurate decision.
Thomson Reuters
In the digital world data is the real deal, the more data you have the more accurate your decision making gets. A considerable amount of time is spent by investment bankers in doing research and data analysis, the more you know the better your client will fair. Another tool in the pack for data collection from various companies in a considerably low amount of time.
Microsoft Office
Financial modelling is a big component of the investment banking industry, financial modelling is a type of mathematical model that helps in representing and projecting the financial performance of businesses. Microsoft Excel helps a great deal in this regards. Other Microsoft tools are MS Word and MS PowerPoint that helps to gather and present information.
Stock Market Eye
Stock Market Eye is a portfolio and tracking management software that helps individual investors and asset management professionals to keep track of their portfolios and assess the market to manage and update their portfolios effectively.
InStream
This software offers cloud-based wealth management and financial planning tool. It brings utility by helping financial advisor with planning, reporting and assessing market trends.
