Venture capitalist to corporate investment banker
A venture capitalist already meets 54% of what the corporate investment banker role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
47.3/ 100
1 How much of what a corporate investment banker is expected to do is already part of a venture capitalist’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 11 of its required skills as things a venture capitalist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse financial performance of a company
- analyse financial risk
- business valuation techniques
- credit control processes
- develop investment portfolio
- examine credit ratings
What stands in the way is 9 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 18 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 venture capitalist background worth leading with.
- already held holding company activities business, administration and law
- already held business valuation techniques business, administration and law
- already held maintain client debt records information skills
- already held management consulting business, administration and law
- already held investment banking business, administration and law
- already held perform debt investigation information skills
All 18 carried skills, including the 11 the corporate investment banker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 5 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 asset management required
- still to learn banking activities required
- still to learn mergers and acquisitions required
- still to learn securities required
- still to learn stock market required
- optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
- optional, not held business loans optional
- optional, not held corporate law 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 monitor stock market required
- optional, not held interpret financial statements optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- still to learn economics required
- 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 asset management study this
- 03 banking activities 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held analyse financial risk skill
- already held business valuation techniques knowledge
- already held credit control processes knowledge
- already held develop investment portfolio skill
- already held examine credit ratings skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held investment banking knowledge
- already held management consulting knowledge
- already held modern portfolio theory knowledge
- already held review investment portfolios skill
- already held analyse business plans skill
- already held debt systems knowledge
- already held holding company activities knowledge
- already held maintain client debt records skill
- already held make strategic business decisions skill
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held perform debt investigation skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
- optional, not held business loans optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- optional, not held interpret financial statements optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
20 held skills the corporate investment banker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role actuarial science knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse loans skill
- not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
- not needed by the target role apply credit risk policy skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills 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 build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role business analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role create a financial plan skill
- not needed by the target role decide on providing funds skill
- not needed by the target role establish investment funds skill
- not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
- not needed by the target role foreign languages for international careers knowledge
- not needed by the target role international business knowledge
- not needed by the target role investment analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
- not needed by the target role make investment decisions skill
- not needed by the target role obtain financial information skill
- not needed by the target role perform business analysis skill
10 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 asset management required
- still to learn banking activities required
- still to learn economics required
- still to learn mergers and acquisitions required
- still to learn securities required
- still to learn stock market required
- optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
- optional, not held business loans optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
Common questions about this move
Can a venture capitalist become a corporate investment banker?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A venture capitalist already covers 54% of what a corporate investment banker is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 11 of which the corporate investment banker role treats as required.
What skills does a venture capitalist need to become a corporate investment banker?
9 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 5 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 venture capitalist to corporate investment banker?
Its learning distance is 47.3 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.