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If you want to break into investment banking or if you simply want to boost your career prospects and build a deeper expertise in finance, you may ask yourself what are the pros and cons of going to study an MBA or a Master. In reality, those degrees are very different: not only in terms of content, but also on terms of cost and job opportunities on graduation.

The Academic Content: Master for Specialists and MBA for Generalists

How do you get hired an an investment banking analyst?

In London, most of the analysts are hired from the best Undergraduate and Master Degree programmes of top universities across Europe – everything except MBA programmes and some PhD programmes (those will join as associates).

After having gone through all the online tests, case studies, presentations and the whole investment banking application process, the last 5 or 10min of your interviews will always end with "Do you have any questions for me?"

While this part of the interview is not the most critical one, many applicants still manage to destroy their chances by asking the wrong questions, or not knowing what to ask.

Corporation Overview

Deutsche Bank is a German Bank that was founded in 1870, with headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. The Bank has two main divisions, 1) Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), which includes M&A, ECM, DCM, etc. (called “Global Banking”) and sales and trading activities (called “Global Markets”), and 2) Private Client and Asset Management (PCAM), which includes investment management business and the retail business.

Corporation Overview

Credit Suisse is a Swiss bank that was founded 150 years ago in Zurich, Switzerland, and initially started as a lending and private banking business. Its headquarters are based in Zurich but investment banking businesses are effectively run from the major financial centers in London, New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The bank divides itself in three global divisions: private banking, investment banking and asset management.

Corporation Overview:

Barclays is a British bank that was founded more than 300 years ago in London, UK, and the group headquarters remain in London to this day. It is essentially made up of two major clusters: “Global Retail Banking” and “Corporate and Investment Banking and Wealth Management”, which includes Investment Banking.

London and New York have long been and still remain the financial capital cities of the world. For many Europeans and others outside the US, New York always sounds like an attractive destination to learn Investment Banking from the best and have a "US experience" on your CV. For Americans and many from Asia Pacific too, London is also attractive given the more comfortable lifestyle it offers, and opportunities to work on deals across multiple European countries. Based on our experience of working in the US and in Europe, here are our thoughts on Investment Banking in New York vs. Investment Banking in London.

London vs. New York as financial centres - a brief history

Will banks look at my application if I have a 2.2 or a 3rd?

The harsh reality is that most big banks will discount anyone without a 2.1 degree, even if you have graduated from the best universities in the country.

Below are a selection of books that are "must-reads" for investment bankers and also people interested in investments. Most of those are recommended by top Business School and finance professionals alike - you can read the recommendations and comments on the Amazon links. Those books vary in difficulty, so we're rated them: (*) means that this book is for everyone, (**) has some more advanced finance topics in it, and (***) means that the book is more technical.

Banking Books:
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Investment Banking Assessment centres are simply extended periods of interviews organised by London investment banks, and held at specific locations (such as a hotel, or in the bank itself). Those interviews can include numerical and verbal exercises, case studies, and more traditional face to face interviews, either in group or individually, often both. Assessment centers are targeted at small groups of candidates that have already passed online numerical and verbal tests, and that have also usually passed a first round of phone interviews.