Financial analyst to corporate investment banker
A financial analyst already meets 43% of what the corporate investment banker role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.9/ 100
1 How much of what a corporate investment banker is expected to do is already part of a financial analyst’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the corporate investment banker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A corporate investment banker role treats 10 of its required skills as things a financial analyst already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse financial performance of a company
- analyse financial risk
- asset management
- develop investment portfolio
- economics
- investment banking
What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A corporate investment banker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a financial analyst background worth leading with.
- already held fundamental analysis business, administration and law
- already held mergers and acquisitions business, administration and law
- already held management consulting business, administration and law
- already held investment banking business, administration and law
- already held asset management business, administration and law
- already held monitor stock market information skills
All 12 carried skills, including the 10 the corporate investment banker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn banking activities required
- still to learn business valuation techniques required
- still to learn credit control processes required
- still to learn funding methods required
- still to learn modern portfolio theory required
- still to learn securities required
- optional, not held holding company activities optional
- optional, not held business loans optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held debt systems optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- still to learn advise on participation in financial markets required
- still to learn provide legal advice on investments required
- still to learn review investment portfolios required
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- still to learn examine credit ratings required
- optional, not held analyse business plans optional
- optional, not held maintain client debt records optional
- optional, not held perform debt investigation optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a corporate investment banker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on participation in financial markets practise this
- 02 banking activities study this
- 03 business valuation techniques study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held analyse financial risk skill
- already held asset management knowledge
- already held develop investment portfolio skill
- already held economics knowledge
- already held investment banking knowledge
- already held management consulting knowledge
- already held mergers and acquisitions knowledge
- already held monitor stock market skill
- already held stock market knowledge
- already held fundamental analysis knowledge
- already held interpret financial statements skill
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held holding company activities optional
- optional, not held analyse business plans optional
- optional, not held business loans optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held debt systems optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- optional, not held maintain client debt records optional
- optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held perform debt investigation optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
35 held skills the corporate investment banker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on financial matters skill
- not needed by the target role advise on tax planning skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role business analytics knowledge
- not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role consider economic criteria in decision making skill
- not needed by the target role cost management knowledge
- not needed by the target role create a financial plan skill
- not needed by the target role create a financial report skill
- not needed by the target role develop transportation cost metrics skill
- not needed by the target role digital data processing skill
- not needed by the target role empirical analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information skill
- not needed by the target role explain financial jargon skill
- not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
- not needed by the target role game theory knowledge
- not needed by the target role green bonds knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle mergers and acquisitions skill
- not needed by the target role macroeconomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role microeconomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor loan portfolio skill
- not needed by the target role offer financial services skill
- not needed by the target role perform business analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform business research skill
- not needed by the target role prepare financial projections skill
- not needed by the target role provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- not needed by the target role public offering knowledge
- not needed by the target role quantitative analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role sustainable finance knowledge
- not needed by the target role treasury management system knowledge
- not needed by the target role use business simulation tools skill
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn banking activities required
- still to learn business valuation techniques required
- still to learn credit control processes required
- still to learn funding methods required
- still to learn modern portfolio theory required
- still to learn securities required
- optional, not held holding company activities optional
- optional, not held business loans optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held debt systems optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
Other moves recorded from financial analyst
- investment analyst 41% covered · substantial
- securities analyst 39% covered · substantial
- investment manager 37% covered · substantial
- investment adviser 35% covered · substantial
- actuarial consultant 33% covered · substantial
- mergers and acquisitions analyst 33% covered · substantial
- investment fund management assistant 32% covered · substantial
- mutual fund broker 32% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a financial analyst become a corporate investment banker?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A financial analyst already covers 43% of what a corporate investment banker is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 10 of which the corporate investment banker role treats as required.
What skills does a financial analyst need to become a corporate investment banker?
10 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is advise on participation in financial markets.
How hard is the move from financial analyst to corporate investment banker?
Its learning distance is 56.9 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.