Investment analyst to corporate investment banker
An investment analyst already meets 66% of what the corporate investment banker role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
36.9/ 100
1 How much of what a corporate investment banker is expected to do is already part of an investment 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 15 of its required skills as things an investment analyst already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse financial performance of a company
- analyse financial risk
- asset management
- banking activities
- business valuation techniques
- credit control processes
What stands in the way is 5 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 19 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 an investment analyst background worth leading with.
- already held fundamental analysis business, administration and law
- already held business valuation techniques business, administration and law
- already held investment banking business, administration and law
- already held asset management business, administration and law
- already held credit control processes business, administration and law
- already held monitor stock market information skills
All 19 carried skills, including the 15 the corporate investment banker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 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 management consulting required
- still to learn mergers and acquisitions 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
- still to learn advise on participation in financial markets required
- still to learn provide legal advice on investments required
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- still to learn develop investment portfolio required
- optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held analyse business plans optional
- optional, not held maintain client debt records optional
- optional, not held perform debt investigation 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 management consulting study this
- 02 advise on participation in financial markets practise this
- 03 develop investment portfolio practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 19 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 banking activities knowledge
- already held business valuation techniques knowledge
- already held credit control processes knowledge
- already held economics knowledge
- already held examine credit ratings skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held investment banking knowledge
- already held modern portfolio theory knowledge
- already held monitor stock market skill
- already held review investment portfolios skill
- already held securities knowledge
- already held stock market knowledge
- already held financial statements knowledge
- already held fundamental analysis knowledge
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held perform stock valuation skill
10 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 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
24 held skills the corporate investment banker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Monte Carlo simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role actuarial science knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse economic trends skill
- not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role budget for financial needs skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with banking professionals skill
- not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
- not needed by the target role create a financial plan skill
- not needed by the target role data visualisation software knowledge
- not needed by the target role empirical analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial markets knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
- not needed by the target role green bonds knowledge
- not needed by the target role impact investing knowledge
- not needed by the target role international financial reporting standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role international trade knowledge
- not needed by the target role obtain financial information skill
- not needed by the target role provide support in financial calculation skill
- not needed by the target role quantitative analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role social bonds knowledge
- not needed by the target role sustainable finance knowledge
- not needed by the target role trading software knowledge
6 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 management consulting required
- still to learn mergers and acquisitions 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
Common questions about this move
Can an investment analyst become a corporate investment banker?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An investment analyst already covers 66% of what a corporate investment banker is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 15 of which the corporate investment banker role treats as required.
What skills does an investment analyst need to become a corporate investment banker?
5 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is management consulting.
How hard is the move from investment analyst to corporate investment banker?
Its learning distance is 36.9 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.