INVESTMENT BANKING Roles, Divisions, and Resposibilities
When working at an investment bank, there are many divisions and functional areas. Below is a full breakdown:
ROLES & AREAS AT AN INVESTMENT BANK
When working at an investment bank, there are many divisions and functional areas. Below is a full breakdown:
I. FRONT OFFICE
These are client-facing, revenue-generating roles.
1️⃣ Investment Banking Division (IBD) / Corporate Finance
M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions)
Capital Markets (ECM/DCM)
Equity Capital Markets (IPOs, secondary offerings)
Debt Capital Markets (bond issuance, leveraged finance)
Industry Coverage Groups
(e.g. Technology, Healthcare, Industrials, Energy, FIG — Financial Institutions Group, etc.)Restructuring / Special Situations
Sponsor Coverage (Private Equity Clients)
Typical Roles:
Analyst
Associate
Vice President (VP)
Director / Executive Director
Managing Director (MD)
2️⃣ Sales & Trading (Markets Division)
Equities (Stocks)
Fixed Income (Bonds, Credit, FX, Rates)
Derivatives (Options, Swaps, Structured Products)
Commodities
Typical Roles:
Salesperson (client relationship)
Trader (market-making, proprietary trading)
Structurer (custom products)
Quantitative Analyst ("Quant")
3️⃣ Research
Equity Research
Fixed Income Research
Credit Research
Macro Research
Industry/sector specialists
Typical Roles:
Associate / Analyst (writing reports, financial modeling)
Senior Analyst
Sector Head
4️⃣ Asset Management / Wealth Management (sometimes bundled into IB)
Private Wealth Management (HNW / UHNW clients)
Institutional Asset Management
Portfolio Management
Alternative Investments (PE, Hedge Funds, Real Assets)
5️⃣ Private Banking / Private Client Services
High-net-worth advisory
Lending products
Customized solutions for wealthy individuals
II. MIDDLE OFFICE
Supports revenue-generating functions with control, risk, and support.
1️⃣ Risk Management
Market Risk
Credit Risk
Operational Risk
Liquidity Risk
2️⃣ Compliance
Regulatory reporting
Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
Know Your Customer (KYC)
Internal controls
3️⃣ Treasury
Managing the firm's balance sheet and funding needs
Capital allocation
Liquidity management
4️⃣ Operations (Trade Support / Settlements)
Trade processing and clearing
Post-trade operations
Data reconciliation
5️⃣ Technology (FinTech / Quant Dev)
Trading system development
Electronic trading platforms
Risk systems
III. BACK OFFICE
Keeps the bank running smoothly.
1️⃣ Finance / Accounting / Controllership
Financial reporting
Regulatory reporting
Taxation
2️⃣ Legal
Contracts
Deal documentation
Regulatory filings
3️⃣ Human Resources
Recruiting
Compensation & benefits
Employee relations
4️⃣ Corporate Strategy / Internal Consulting
Long-term planning
Business development
5️⃣ IT Support / Infrastructure
Networks
Security
Internal systems
IV. SPECIALIZED UNITS
Proprietary Trading (used to be large, now restricted post-Volcker Rule)
Venture Capital / Principal Investments (some banks have internal funds)
ESG/Sustainability Groups
Digital Assets / Crypto (newer at some banks)