The role of the investment banking manager

The prime role of the investment banking manager is to oversee the management of client funds. For the most part these clients are large organizations such as major business corporations, municipal bodies and insurance companies and other financial institutions.

The money invested may be profits from commercial activity, money raised from taxation or pension funds. Whatever the source of the money to be invested and the type of client served the investment manager’s obligation is to take all the necessary steps to make an investment that preserves and augments the value of the funds entrusted to their care.

Commonly, investment banking managers are trained to specialize in servicing specific client sectors, for example the oil and gas industry, or mutual fund investments, and so they build up an extensive knowledge from which the clients can benefit.

The investment banking manager carries a heavy burden of responsibility and he or she is expected to act in a way that justifies the trust placed in them by both the employer and clients. The typical skills required for the profession include strong analytical powers and excellent communication abilities. An attention for detail is particularly important given the size of the transactions the manager needs to oversee and the consequences of human error.

Investment managers also need to have a very strong understanding of business issues so that they can quickly discern between good investment opportunities and options that carry unacceptable risk levels.

This is not a good job for people of a reserved nature or those who are unable or unwilling to work long days and nights. An incredible amount of stamina is needed to sit through a succession of long meetings while remaining calm and collected and in a position to take rationale decisions that retain the client’s confidence. Ninety or a hundred hour working weeks are not unusual in this business.

The investment manager’s heavy work load and continual pressures are for some people key attractions of the job since they believe they thrive in such a dynamic working environment. Other entrants to the profession may be less enthusiastic about the working conditions but rather lured by the prospects of already earning at a young age a salary that could reach as high as $150,000 when bonuses enter the picture.

However, if an aspiring investment banking manager is not going to enjoy working with figures and putting the effort into establishing solid business relationships with clients and colleagues, the financial rewards alone are unlikely to be sufficient reason by themselves for staying on this career path.