Category: Skill Development

In today’s world, the moment someone completes his/her graduation or post graduation in commerce/finance, they start looking for a career which is lucrative as well as stable in the longer term. One such option is a career in Investment Banking Operations.

Investment Banks (IB) in India have grown big time since their initiation in the 19^th century and some of the institutions like HDFC Bank, ICICI Securities, BNP Paribas, IDBI, Barclays Bank, JP Morgan India, have penetrated in the Indian stock markets and have made a mark for themselves within a span of 10 to 15 years.

Of the many places in India, cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Kolkatta have become the hub of opportunities in the IB space. MNCs like Broadridge, Franklin Templeton, JP Morgan, State Street Bank, Bank of America, Genpact, Invesco, Wells Fargo, etc have outsourced a lot of business to Hyderabad, which is predominantly related to IB Operations. Even some of the IT giants like Cognizant, Wipro, TCS, Accenture have also acquired business from various Investment Banking clients located world-wide for which they keep hiring associates in bigger numbers, thereby making way for candidates with good financial industry knowledge and communication skills.

Experience matters a lot in terms of salaries in investment banking industry. You will make more money as you get more exposure and learn more skills.

To get an entry into Investment Banking Operations one needs to know some basics concepts like mergers & acquisitions, issue of share capital, working capital loans, buybacks, proprietary trading, underwriting, asset management, etc. This apart they should also be aware of the various capital market instruments that are issued and actively traded in the market.

To name a few, one must know about Equities, Fixed Income or bonds, Money Market, FX, Mutual Funds and Derivatives Market. Knowledge of Trade Life Cycle, Settlement of trades, Reconciliations, Regulatory framework, Corporate Actions, Asset Management, etc is an added advantage.

From a qualification perspective, most of these Investment Banks prefer post graduates in business administration with strong communication skills and reasonable knowledge of excel skills.

The growth one can expect in this industry is mind boggling and in a very short span of time, salaries take a steep hike. A person can start his career in back office functions and head towards the front office via the middle office. Anyone with reasonable skill set can keep moving around back office doing functions like settlements, corporate actions or reconciliation and eventually head towards front office functions like sales and trading. The middle office takes care of primary tasks related to legal and compliance and would make sure that there are adequate profit and loss control measures. They also ensure that the stakeholders are adhering to the norms specified by SEBI.

To cater to this ever-increasing demand of learning these concepts, the aspirants need to understand the complete Trade Life Cycle of the traded products and also build on complementary skills like team handling, presentations, time management, etc. that help them in the longer run in the IB domain.

Wishes to all the aspirants for a successful career in Investment Banking Operations.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Thank you for joining me in this pursuit of making learning fun and forever.

When I look back, I only have hazy memories of the kind of student I was. I don’t think I could slot myself into one of the categories that we tend to class students into. Was I studious, a trouble-maker or was I unnoticed?

Coming from a modest background, one thing was sure, my education was focused on the practicalities of the future.

Eventually, the many turns that my life took – the rights, the lefts, the U-turns and (more frequently) the going in circles – taught me many lessons. But what always made learning interesting for me was not the process of learning, but knowing the purpose of it. Application-oriented learning is what kept the interest alive.

It is often said that a teacher is responsible for creating interest in his/her students. But it is also usually difficult to engage today’s students, especially with their lackadaisical attitude. Going to a psychologist has become the new norm for the current generation.

How does the teacher stay relevant then?

The answer has always been simple. To make the student reach your standard, first take a few steps towards his/her level and then handhold them to your level. Being a fellow trainer, I know that it is easier said than done.

Growing up, I was lucky to have had a few truly exceptional teachers. They triggered in me a sense of inquiry, which served me well in my later pursuits. Fortunate are those students who get to be mentored by such exceptional teachers.

I’ve come across many such terrific teachers (present company included) in recent times who make an effort to stay connected with their students. The logic, they say, is when students connect with them, they tend to pay attention and that’s when teaching, and for that matter learning, become impactful.

Putting ourselves in the place of our students, by reflecting on our own experiences as students, will allow us to develop an empathetic approach to teaching. We will be able to look at things from our students’ perspective and relate more effectively to their learning challenges. If we could do this in every session that we teach, we would surely have made a difference the cohort.

What then, drives a teacher? I can think of only one word. Passion. The passion to make learning effective. The passion to instigate in their students and sense of reflection about their learning experiences. The passion to make learning a personalised experience.

Another overrated idea is that “we” should come before “me”. I believe, however, that the “me” leads to the “we”. I read in an article a few years ago, that the 10 most important 2-lettered words are “If it is to be, it is up to me”.

I for one, am glad that my learning never stopped and I’m taking my first step towards making learning as personalised as possible.

Join the revolution, let’s make teaching relevant. By doing that we are bound to make learning fun and forever.