Major in Investment Banking
Risk and reward
An investment banking career involves raising equity and debt capital for companies. While competition for these positions can be tough, the profession remains a highly-attractive option for MBA graduates. Located just blocks away from North America's third largest financial centre, Rotman is the ideal place to build your career in this rapidly-growing field.
In the Investment Banking major, you will learn how to evaluate investment proposals, financial strategies and instruments, and the rationale and execution of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Specific topics cover:
- How to make capital structure, dividend policy and debt structuring decisions
- How to evaluate capital budgeting proposals for the internal acquisition of assets
- How to buy other people's assets or sell off assets no long needed by the firm through mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
You will also learn the key legal constraints on corporate activity and gain a more sophisticated understanding of financial statements.
"The best time to invest in U.S. Treasury securities may be spring, thanks to changes in risk tolerance linked to depression."
- Lisa Kramer, a finance professor cross-appointed to the Rotman School, in an online article
Requirements to Complete the Major
You must successfully complete three of the following core courses:
- Corporate financing
- Financial management
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Private equity and entrepreneurial finance
It is also recommended that students in this major choose other courses from the following selection:
- Corporate strategy
- Current issues in financial reporting and disclosure
- Financial institutions and capital markets
- International financial management
- Options and futures markets
- Hedge Funds and Broker Dealers
- Business Analysis and Valuation
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Career Paths
Investment bankers are responsible for advising clients on how and where to spend and save, how to get the most from their finances, and how to make their money work for them. They must understand the markets, keep up with financial trends, and use analysis and history to predict future growth. They may also be called upon to sell products and services, in addition to managing clients’ money.
Major investment banks include Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, Warburgs, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Salomon Brothers, UBS, Credit Suisse, Citibank and Lazard. Many investment banks also have retail operations that serve small, individual customers. In most firms, there is a sales and trading area (which works with owners of securities), investment banking (which works with issuers of securities, such as firms and governments) and capital markets (which goes between the two).
Flexible Internship Program
The Rotman Full-Time MBA Program provides a unique opportunity for students to integrate and apply management knowledge gained within the program through a 4-month internship. Students are required to complete the course “Applied Management: Placement” in conjunction with a work placement which may be done in the Summer, Fall or Winter terms. Depending on their academic area of concentration/major and career objectives, students will be guided on the best work term option to secure a placement with an employer. Throughout their work placement, students will benefit from enhanced communication with their host employers, tracking of project deliverables and feedback from faculty supervisors.
A selection of investment firms where Rotman MBA graduates have worked in recent years:
