What makes Investment Banking a coveted field in Finance?

Temasek bought 10% stake in Haldiram Foods by way of Private Equity. JSW Paints acquired Akzo Nobel India. Hexaware Technologies Ltd. raised Rs. 8,750 crore in the market by IPO. Global M&A deals touched $2.14 trillion in the first half of 2025 out of which $160.8 billion were in Financial Services sector alone. Ever wondered how these deals happen seamlessly without any chaos?

Have you ever seen the professionals who are drenched in plethora of numbers, most of the times in formal business attire, sitting in the boardrooms, dealing with CXOs of the world, keeping an eye on the big picture of the global economy and talking about the deal size of not thousands or lakhs of rupees but crores of rupees? If not, then you have missed seeing the ‘Investment Banker’ who becomes a cynosure wherever he goes in the world of Finance Professionals.

Whether it is Initial Public Offer (IPO), Merger and Acquisition (M&A), Private Equity or issue of Bonds, Corporate Financial Restructuring, Setting up projects of multi-billion rupees… Investment Banker is the ‘Go To’ professional in such cases.

You ask any Finance student what his dream companies are to work for. Global companies such as J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley which have presence in India or Indian companies such as ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets and many other such companies always figure in that dream list. They all run Investment Banking divisions. If you think that only these high-profile companies which appear in the front pages of business newspapers are the only Investment Banking companies, then you are mistaken. There are many boutique investment banks as well such as Jefferies, Lazard, Avendus Capital and so on which focus on pure play Investment Banking activities.

Do you get a spark in your eyes when you hear skills like Financial Modelling, Strategic thinking, Presentations, Analytics, Economic Acumen? Do you get fascinated about exciting career opportunities, high paying jobs, exposure to big conglomerates? Well, it is still not late. Pursue ‘Certification in Investment Banking’ from a reputed institute.

Hard work, grasping the fundamentals of Corporate Finance, mastering the communication skills, keeping the knowledge up to date… these are all the ‘investments’ that you need to make to prosper in ‘Investment Banking’. And then there is no looking back.

In the world of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, where all the clerical jobs are taken care of by machines and robots, it requires human being when it comes to analytics, advisory services, negotiations, giving recommendations based on market research and so on. Investment Banking domain involves all these functions making you indispensable in the business world. The question is, ‘Are you ready to ride this opportunity?’ Remember, opportunity dances only with those who are already on the dance floor.