A peep into the life and culture at bulge bracket investment banks
Investment banking professions are often very competitive as thousands of fresh graduates juggle yearly to fill in the few available spots. The mainstream investment banking culture tends to celebrate the money and is rife with brutal competition. For some people, they hope to join the profession because it is what they are passionate about, while for some it is as a result of their perceptual fantasy and mere ignorance about the reality of the job. Notwithstanding, investment banking is a diverse, exciting and challenging profession as it cuts across all areas of discipline and interest. It is becoming very common nowadays to find people without finance majors working at an investment banking firm. The diversity in investment banking is also among the really exciting things you might discover if you are lucky to work for a bulge bracket bank. Apart from the long hours of work, no social life and attractive pay, there are several other interesting cultures of investment banking that vary among the different banks. In this article, I will be exploring the culture and life of various well-known investment banking firms. Go grab yourself a cup of soda as I take you through this exciting ride.
Goldman Sachs (GS)
The culture at Goldman Sachs places special priority on teamwork, client service and giving back to the community and according to the firms’ website, all the aforementioned has been the foundation of its success. A survey conducted on indeed revealed what most employees liked about Goldman Sachs. The firms’ supportive environment was top on the list, the survey also hinted that employees believed they had a clear sense of purpose and the ability to learn new things during their job at the firm. However, the downside of the responses revealed that most employees felt less sense of belonging, pressured by work tasks and low work happiness.?
The firm is also popular for its diverse and very competitive environment, and just like every bulge bracket bank, office politics is imminent. If you want to be noticed, then you must learn to speak out and ask questions. Teamwork is highly prioritised in Goldman Sachs, the staff are friendly and there’s room for growth, also you will get to work with some of the best software and gadgets. According to a staff of the firm, diversity is what makes the experience more memorable, having to learn about the different cultures of your co-workers makes the job more fun. Overall the working environment is very intense, there are Lots of strategic initiatives and projects to get involved with on top of your day job which makes work-life balance hard to achieve. The environment is fast-paced, and most times, you will have to worry about whether you are doing enough to stay afloat. Competition in the workplace is very stiff and according to a statement from a former employee of the firm, the environment can be gossipy, so you have to be very careful about what you say because the walls have ears.?
Bank of America (BofA)
The culture at Bank of America pays special interest and priority to employee welfare. Having shared interests and creating a strong bond between employees, they believe can turn a good job into a great one. Diversity and inclusion are also very crucial to the firms’ culture. Irrespective of your background, thoughts or experience, there’s room for everyone. A survey conducted on indeed revealed what most employees liked about BofA; Workers having a clear sense of purpose was top on the list, ability to meet new goals and learn new things were also among what made their experience worthwhile. According to the survey, the downside of working with the firm includes a poor sense of belonging, a low feeling of work happiness, and issues of trust among colleagues.?
The firms’ workforce comprises really smart people, there’s no space for being a dummy, nevertheless, they are very supportive. Teams are usually very inclusive and everyone is encouraged to be themselves. The environment is very fast-paced and challenging, your ability to work under stress and pressure will be tested. The workplace in BofA is very dynamic, rules and procedures constantly change as such you have to be very flexible. Office politics is also present, and according to an employee, it’s not always about what you know but whom you know. Overall BofA is a great place to work, and a great starting point for grads because they get to undergo extensive training. They have great technologies to work with and cosy working environments to ensure comfort.
Citi Bank?
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The culture at Citibank is built on the tenets of ethics and execution, the professional behaviour of employees are considered very core to the firms’ stability and strength. Employees at all times must ensure that their actions and decisions are channelled towards the client’s interest. A survey conducted on Indeed revealed what most employees liked about Citibank. The ability to reach personal goals ranked top on the list, next was the ability to reach personal goals and then time and location flexibility. This sounds interesting, I am wondering how “time and location flexibility” made the list. What happened to the long hours of work common to investment banking firms? Stay glued to find out.?The downside is quite similar to all other investment banks mentioned except that the majority of Citibank staff who took the survey claimed they felt a low sense of belonging. Overall, the management and teams are friendly and supportive. They have great training classes for their newbies to teach them everything about the firm and how businesses are being conducted. Although the workplace is inclusive and everyone is supported and encouraged to be themselves, diversity is less compared to other bulge bracket banks. Some employees have complained about the firm’s excess focus on information security and compliance, which isn’t supposed to be surprising because their culture is built on ethics and professionalism.
Surprisingly most workers have applauded the bank for flexible hours. Searching through the discussions on Indeed, I discovered that Citi’s style of operation includes hiring part-time workers. Also, I was able to deduce that most of the staff who claimed to have a flexible work time were back door employees, Investment banking Analysts still had the same common no work-life balance complaint.
JP Morgan Chase
Jp morgan's work culture embodies diversity and inclusion, the firm believes that the diversity of its employees was what made it the global firm it is today. A survey conducted on Indeed revealed what most employees liked about JP Morgan; having a clear sense of purpose made the front row, the ability to learn new things and to meet personal goals were also among the most cherished cultures. The downsides are nothing new compared to the rest of the firms except that poor support from managers made the list.
The firm operates in a fast-paced environment and as a staff, you will get to help hundreds of people weekly. Keeping a positive attitude and strong ethics is needed to succeed in the job. The experience you will have depends on the line of business you are in. JP Morgan is a highly professional and data-driven organisation. Interactions with co-workers from diverse backgrounds have always been one of the fun facts about working in an investment banking firm, this is no different for JP Morgan. Office politics is not so obvious as it is in some of the other big firms but you still have to know how to play it if you want to go far.?Long work hours are another major challenge some of the staff complained of. A particular employee narrated how he was informed by his manager that he had to work 7 days a week for 12 hours. The firm is also made up of really smart people and that makes it competitive; to stay relevant you will need to put in maximum hard work and commitment.
Other Bulge Bracket banks
While reading through the cultures of all the investment banks discussed, you will realise that they all share a striking similarity which is not surprising, these banks are competitors and they will do everything within their reach to compete for the best talents in the market. There are several other big and prominent banks that I couldn’t talk about; the likes of Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank. These are also among the top competitors in the investment banking industry, whatever the culture is like at these banks, be rest assured that the differences with the already discussed banks are very minimal.
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