INVESTING  INVESTING ESSENTIALS

Investment Banking

By 

JULIA KAGAN

  Reviewed by 

GORDON SCOTT

Updated Apr 25, 2021

What Is Investment Banking?

Investment banking is a specific division of banking related to the creation of capital for other companies, governments, and other entities. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Investment banking deals primarily with the creation of capital for other companies, governments, and other entities.
• Investment banking activities include underwriting new debt and equity securities for all types of corporations, aiding in the sale of securities, and helping to facilitate mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and broker trades for both institutions and private investors.
• Investment bankers help corporations, governments, and other groups plan and manage financial aspects of large projects.

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Investment Banking

Understanding Investment Banking

Investment banks underwrite new debt and equity securities for all types of corporations, aid in the sale of securities, and help to facilitate mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and broker trades for both institutions and private investors. Investment banks also provide guidance to issuers regarding the issue and placement of stock.

Many large investment banking systems are affiliated with or subsidiaries of larger banking institutions, and many have become household names, the largest being Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank.

Broadly speaking, investment banks assist in large, complicated financial transactions. They may provide advice on how much a company is worth and how best to structure a deal if the investment banker’s client is considering an acquisition, merger, or sale. It may also include the issuing of securities as a means of raising money for the client groups and creating the documentation for the Securities and Exchange Commission necessary for a company to go public.

Investment banks employ investment bankers who help corporations, governments, and other groups plan and manage large projects, saving their client time and money by identifying risks associated with the project before the client moves forward.

In theory, investment bankers are experts who have their finger on the pulse of the current investing climate, so businesses and institutions turn to investment banks for advice on how best to plan their development, as investment bankers can tailor their recommendations to the present state of economic affairs.

Essentially, investment banks serve as middlemen between a company and investors when the company wants to issue stock or bonds. The investment bank assists with pricing financial instruments to maximize revenue and with navigating regulatory requirements.

Often, when a company holds its initial public offering (IPO), an investment bank will buy all or much of that company’s shares directly from the company. Subsequently, as a proxy for the company holding the IPO, the investment bank will sell the shares on the market. This makes things much easier for the company itself, as they effectively contract out the IPO to the investment bank.

Moreover, the investment bank stands to make a profit, as it will generally price its shares at a markup from the price it initially paid. In doing so, it also takes on a substantial amount of risk. Though experienced analysts use their expertise to accurately price the stock as best they can, the investment bank can lose money on the deal if it turns out it has overvalued the stock, as in this case, it will often have to sell the stock for less than it initially paid for it.

Example of Investment Banking

Suppose that Pete’s Paints Co., a chain supplying paints and other hardware, wants to go public. Pete, the owner, gets in touch with Jose, an investment banker working for a larger investment banking firm. Pete and Jose strike a deal wherein Jose (on behalf of his firm) agrees to buy 100,000 shares of Pete’s Paints for the company’s IPO at the price of $24 per share, a price at which the investment bank’s analysts arrived after careful consideration.

The investment bank pays $2.4 million for the 100,000 shares and, after filing the appropriate paperwork, begins selling the stock for $26 per share. Yet, the investment bank is unable to sell more than 20% of the shares at this price and is forced to reduce the price to $23 per share in order to sell the remaining shares.

For the IPO deal with Pete’s Paints, then, the investment bank has made $2.36 million [(20,000 x $26) + (80,000 x $23) = $520,000 + $1,840,000 = $2,360,000]. In other words, Jose’s firm has lost $40,000 on the deal because it overvalued Pete’s Paints.

Investment banks will often compete with one another for securing IPO projects, which can force them to increase the price they are willing to pay to secure the deal with the company that is going public. If competition is particularly fierce, this can lead to a substantial blow to the investment bank’s bottom line.

Most often, however, there will be more than one investment bank underwriting securities in this way, rather than just one. While this means that each investment bank has less to gain, it also means that each one will have reduced risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Do Investment Banks Do?

Broadly speaking, investment banks assist in large, complicated financial transactions. They may provide advice on how much a company is worth and how best to structure a deal if the investment banker’s client is considering an acquisition, merger, or sale. Essentially, their services include underwriting new debt and equity securities for all types of corporations, providing aid in the sale of securities, and helping to facilitate mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and broker trades for both institutions and private investors. They may also issue securities as a means of raising money for the client groups and create the necessary Securities and Exchange Commission documentation for a company to go public.

What's the Role of Investment Bankers?

Investment banks employ investment bankers who help corporations, governments, and other groups plan and manage large projects, saving their client time and money by identifying risks associated with the project before the client moves forward. In theory, investment bankers should be experts who have their finger on the pulse of the current investing climate. Businesses and institutions turn to investment banks for advice on how best to plan their development and investment bankers, using their expertise, tailor their recommendations to the present state of economic affairs.

What Is an Initial Public Offering (IPO)?

An initial public offering (IPO) refers to the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance. Public share issuance allows a company to raise capital from public investors. Companies must meet requirements by exchanges and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold an initial public offering (IPO). Companies hire investment banks to underwrite their IPOs. The underwriters are involved in every aspect of the IPO due diligence, document preparation, filing, marketing, and issuance.

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