Guide to investment banker graduate schemes

Are you considering an investment banker graduate scheme? If you’ve got a knack for maths, an interest in economics and enjoy making evidence-based assessments, a career as an investment banker could be right for you. If you want to work in the sector, it’s worth getting familiar with investment banking graduate recruitment opportunities.

We’ll round up the key things to know about financial services and bank graduate schemes for aspiring investment bankers, covering:

• What does a typical investment banker graduate scheme look like?
• Expected salary
• Career progression
• Top firms
• Departments you can work in
• What an ideal candidate looks like

Each investment banking grad scheme will vary. Every employer will do things in its own way. However, there are some general elements to expect from graduate schemes at banks and financial services firms.

Typically, you’ll join a team in an analyst role and train under a formal programme. It’s common for schemes to last three years, but some will be shorter.

During your time on the grad scheme, you’ll usually work in various departments (eg. asset management, mergers, bonds, public investment) to find your niche.

At the end of the programme, you may face inter-organisational exams. If you pass, your employer will hopefully offer you a permanent position to continue working for the company beyond your scheme.

If you want to be an investment banker, a relevant grad scheme is a great way to begin your career.

How much you’ll earn on an investment banking grad scheme will depend on your employer, location and exact scheme.

As a graduate investment banking analyst, you can expect to earn somewhere between £23,000 and £65,000 (with the highest salaries usually existing in London).

Once you progress beyond a grad scheme and climb the ladder to more senior roles, your salary will usually increase. An investment banking managing director will earn the highest salaries. Your exact wages will vary depending on the scale of the bank you work for, but average earnings for directors span from £156,000 to £278,000. So, there is the potential to earn a high wage with extensive experience.

Investment banking graduate recruitment processes focus on finding analysts, which is a role you can launch your career from. As an analyst, you’ll help the department you’re assigned to in its day-to-day operations. During a financial services or bank graduate scheme, you’ll learn as you earn.

If you impress as an analyst, you may be promoted to the role of an associate after your grad scheme. In an associate role, you’ll usually supervise analysts. If you’re client-facing, you may also attend meetings with clients.

Eventually, you could progress to a senior role, such as a director.

There are further opportunities for ambitious career-climbers, including executive director and managing director positions (where you control a single area of the bank’s interests, such as hedge funds or private equity, or a geographical division of the company).

While some smaller investment banks do exist, large organisations dominate the sector (and its recruitment of graduates).

Some of the biggest employers you might want to consider working for include:

• Goldman Sachs
• J.P. Morgan
• Deutsche Bank
• Morgan Stanley

Thousands of bankers work for the above businesses in offices across the world.

To boost your chances of securing a grad scheme at one of the top employers, check out our deadline list for graduate schemes in investment banking and asset management. Get familiar with the important dates and get your applications in early!

There’s a range of specialisms you could go into across the investment banking and asset management sector.

For example, you might enjoy striking merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. Alternatively, you may thrive when helping clients raise funds for business expansion. Meanwhile, natural risk-takers might like the idea of hedge fund management roles. The choice is yours.

The ideal candidate for an investment banking grad scheme will depend on the skills, qualities and qualifications the employer is looking for. It’s not about being the ‘best’ candidate; it's about being the best fit for the role.

If you’ve got a willingness to learn and can show it to your potential employer, you’re off to a strong start. Analyst training will land you in several departments and test your aptitude for different financial areas. You’ll have to be eager to understand the organisation. So, make it clear during the recruitment process that you’re happy to get stuck in and learn.

To thrive in investment banking, you also need to be OK with working long hours. You’ll often need to work early mornings and evenings. It can be tough to get your work-life balance right, so you need to know what you’re getting into.

Although a degree or relevant experience in maths or economics will be a bonus when applying, it’s not essential to be a maths grad to get onto a banking graduate scheme. It’s perfectly possible to get into investment banking without a finance-based degree. Banks and financial services firms value transferable skills, including those you’ll pick up studying a humanities subject.

Investment banker graduate schemes offer a great way of beginning your career. While financial services and bank grad schemes are competitive, you’ll improve your chances of securing a place by keeping up to date with application deadlines and showing that you’ve got the skills employers are looking for.

If you’re an ambitious grad who’s willing to work long hours, you could enjoy a rewarding career in investment banking.

Good luck!