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Investment Banking (IB) - Analyst
You advise companies on raising capital through (IPOS, Debt), and help with mergers & acquisitions (Primarily). There are four front office divisions. Click here to learn more
How to get in: Preferably a target University, if not. A summer internship and smashing your interview is a must.
Pay and Hours: Base: £70k - £100k. Bonus 50-100% of base. Expect 80-100 hours a week. You will be doing work at 3am.
Top Firms: Goldman Sachs, J.P Morgan, Morgan Stanley.
Alternatives: Evercore, Lazard, PJT Partners, Centerview partners.
Main Exit: Private Equity or Hedge Funds. It's the "golden ticket." So if you are unsure of what to do, this may be the best bet as it opens door to pretty much every opportunity in Finance.
Secret Tip: During interviews, don't just know how to do a DCF model. Have an opinion. Talk about a recent deal you find interesting and be able to defend why it was a good or bad move. They are hiring future advisors, not just calculators.
Private Equity (PE)
Private Equity firms buy companies, "improves" their operations and then sell them for profit years later. Look at lesson 6 for more info.
How to get in: Usually do a 2-3 years as a top-ranked analyst in a leading investment banking m&a group.
Pay and Hours: £200k+ including bonuses. The Real Money: The main prize is "carried interest" or "carry", its a share (typically 20%) of the fund's profits. On successful deals, this can result in multi-million-pound paydays over the life of a fund. Hours are 60-80/week.
Top Firms: Blackstone, KKR, CVC Capital Partners, Advent International
Main Exit: It's the destination for many. Some start their own fund or become a CEO/CFO at a portfolio company.
Secret Tip: Your "deal sheet" from banking is your CV. Focus on getting on as many closed M&A deals as possible. Headhunters and PE firms care about what you've actually accomplished, not just the pitch decks you've made.
Hedge Funds (HF)
Firms that use aggressive and complex strategies (e.g., short selling, derivatives, leverage) to generate high returns, regardless of market direction. Responsibilities involve generating investment ideas, performing deep-dive research, and managing risk.
How to get in: No single path. A proven personal trading record or a standout reputation in Equity Research/IB is key. You have to be crazy and obsessive with the markets.
Pay and Hours: Your bonus is a cut of your profits. So it can be zero or millions. You’re only as good as your last deal.
Top Firms: Marshall Wace, TCI Fund Management, Brevan Howard, Rokos, Man group.
Note, they are very secretive. That's probably why you haven't heard of these names.
Each firm excels in different areas .
For example, if you're looking at stability, scale, and career opportunity:
Man Group is unbeatable. Its size, resources, strategies make it a more "stable" firm to work at. Especially if you're not chasing hyper-concentrated return spikes (boring).
For quant or systematic equity focus:
Marshall Wace leads with its technology-powered TOPS system and strong long-short equity performance.
Main Exit: Move to another fund, start your own, or burn out of finance entirely.
Secret Tip: Develop a "variant perception." The only way to make money is to have a view that is different from the market consensus and be correct. In interviews, your most impressive asset is a well-researched, non-obvious investment idea.
Venture Capital (VC)
VCs invest in high-risk, high-growth, early-stage startups with the hope that a few will become the next Google or Apple. It's a type of private equity, but focused on minority stakes and long-shot bets.
How to get in: Honestly, very very tough to enter at a junior level. Most people transition mid-career after gaining operational experience at a startup or big tech company. An MBA can help, but a successful startup exit is even better.
Pay and Hours: Base: £70k-£100k + bonus. This isn't a lot considering people that are employed are most likely mid-career transitioning. However, like PE, the real money is in carried interest. But the timeline is much longer (10+ years), and the vast majority of startups fail. It's a high-risk, long-term bet on hitting a home run.
Top Firms: Index Ventures, Balderton Capital, Atomico, Seedcamp, Accel.
Main Exit: It's a destination career for many. Some move to an operational role at a portfolio company, start their own company, or launch a new fund.
Secret Tip: Build a public brand. Start a newsletter, podcast, or active Twitter presence focused on a specific tech niche. Become the go-to person for that topic. This makes you a magnet for deal flow and proves your value to a VC firm.
Asset Management (AM)
AM firms (like Fidelity or BlackRock) manage large pools of capital for institutions (like pension funds) and individuals. They invest in public markets (stocks, bonds) with the goal of long-term growth.
How to get in: A degree, a clear passion for public markets, and passing CFA levels is the gold standard and almost essential for career progression.
Pay and Hours: Analyst: Base: £55k-£75k + 20-50% bonus, (senior PMs can earn high six figures) with the best work-life balance in high finance: 45-60 hours/week.
Top Firms: Schroders, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), Baillie Gifford, M&G. Global players like BlackRock and Fidelity also have huge London operations.
Main Exit: Many move to Hedge Funds, family offices, or other buy-side roles.
Secret Tip: Come to every interview with three well-researched stock pitches: one you'd buy, one you'd sell, and one that's misunderstood by the market. This proves you can do the job on day one. Having passed CFA Level 1 is a huge advantage too.
Management Consulting (MC)
You advise senior executives on their most pressing strategic, operational, and organizational challenges (e.g., market entry, cost reduction, digital transformation).
How to get in: Preferably a target University and a high GPA. A summer internship and smashing your case study interviews are essential.
Pay and Hours: Base: £50K - £70K. Bonus 10-30% of base. Expect 60-70 hours a week with frequent travel. You might be working from a hotel in another city Monday-Thursday.
Top Firms: The "Big Three". McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Bain & Company.
Alternatives: Strategy&, Oliver Wyman, Kearney, L.E.K., EY-Parthenon, Monitor Deloitte.
Main Exit: Corporate Strategy, Private Equity (Operations), or executive roles at Startups/Tech. This path opens doors to high-level strategic and operational roles across all industries.
Secret Tip: During case interviews, don't just apply a generic framework. Listen carefully and structure your own logical approach to the problem. They're hiring future advisors who can think critically under pressure, not just recite business models.
Disclaimer: Everything on this page is for informational and entertainment purposes only - none of it is financial advice.
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