Investment Banker in 1602: The first publicly traded shares

Is an investment banker the same as a regular banker? No. A commercial banker takes deposits and makes loans; an investment banker advises on deals and underwrites securities. The two were legally separated in the United States by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 — which split Morgan Stanley out of J.P. Morgan — and although that wall came down in 1999, the jobs, skills and pay structures remain entirely different.

How much do investment bankers earn? In the United States in 2024, first-year analysts typically earned around $170,000–200,000 in salary plus bonus, and managing directors from roughly $1 million to many multiples of that in strong deal years. London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Tokyo pay less at every level, and bonuses — the majority of senior pay — swing sharply with the deal cycle.

What degree do you need to become an investment banker? A bachelor's degree, almost always from a university the banks actively recruit at; finance and economics are common but not required — London desks hire historians and classicists. There is no pre-hire license: US bankers sit the FINRA Series 79 exam after joining. The MBA is a separate, later door, used mainly by career-changers entering at associate level.