Investment Banking in Chicago (Top Banks List, Salaries, Jobs)

Overview of Investment Banking in Chicago

If we are talking about investment banks, Chicago has got a number of investment banks. These banks help different businesses by providing various finance related services as well as other services like raising financial capital or by acting as the client’s agent for the issue of securities. They help companies in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) along with providing services like market making, trading of the derivatives and equities and services like Fixed Income instruments, currencies, and commodities.

What does Investment Banks in Chicago Do?

Investment banks like the commercial or retail banks do not take deposits. They participate in other activities like cash management, professional management services for securities, capital exchange for equities share etc. Mainly investment banks deal with two categories- the sell category and the buy category. For sell type, the investment banks do trading in derivatives, securities, currencies, and actively does research and underwritings. The buy type of investment banks helps in advising the government or institutions for buying investments, mutual funds, hedge funds, equities, life insurance etc.

Services Offered by Investment Banks in Chicago

Services offered by the investment banks in Chicago are-

Buy Side
Sell Side
Private market financing

#1. Buy Side

Investment Banks work closely with the client to understand their financial position, financing needs, and overall corporate objectives. Post that they start exploring acquisition ideas and start contacting targets on client’s behalf. Once the list of target companies are finalized, the expert in the bank gets into the task of valuing the companies using analytics and proprietary models in order to finalize the value of the deal. The senior management will track every step of the execution process of the deal which also includes cost-effective and efficient channels of financing. In short the steps in which the buy side research team helps the clients are-

Idea generation for searching the target companies
Valuing the target companies and decide on the deal size
Aid the process of execution and financing the deals

#2. Sell Side

The professionals in the bank are experts in searching for buyers and develops specific strategic and marketing plan for the process of selling a company. In the process of selling negotiation plays a very important role as both the buyer and the seller is looking to maximize its benefit out of it. The bank plays a very important role in order to minimize this gap in expectation between the two sides. Another important aspect is to maintain complete confidentiality about the deal till the time the deal is closed so that there is minimum disruption in the process and the process can be exercised faster.

#3. Private Marketing Finance

The bank provides service of raising capital for the deal in an efficient and cost-effective way. On top of that, they also provide expertise to crunch numbers in order to provide an optimal capital structure for the deal and offer adequate solution accordingly for raising capital.

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Top Investment Banks in Chicago

Here are some of the bulge bracket investment banks in Chicago –

JP Morgan
Goldman Sachs
Bank of America – ML
HSBC
UBS
Deutsche Bank
Morgan Stanley
Citibank
Credit Suisse
Lazard
Wells Fargo

Below is the list of middle market and boutique investment banks in Chicago –

Madison Street Capital
Peakstone Group
XLS Partners
Concord Financial Advisors
Houlihan Capital
Dresner Partners
MDI Investments
Cornhusker Capital
J.H. Chapman Group, LLC
Sikich Investment Banking
The Chicago Corporation
Wolf Capital
Stout Risius Ross Advisors, LLC
Stonegate Group Ltd.
Lincoln International, LLC
Westbrook Capital
Kuhn Capital
Baker Tilly Capital
XMS Capital Partners
Navigant Capital Advisors
William Blair & Company
Livingstone Partners
MB Financial Bank
LIFT Aviation
Dark Horse Advisors LLC
UBS Private Wealth Management- Chicago
Building Industry Advisors
Cook M&A Advisory Services
Stang Capital Advisory LLC
Ravinia Capital
InterOcean Advisors
Auctus Group, Inc
Floyd & Co., Inc.
Gar Wood Securities, LLC
Metropolitan Capital Investment Banc
ZacksInvest
MarX Financial, Inc.
KeyBridge Partners, Inc

Investment Banks in Chicago – Recruitment Process

It is extremely difficult to crack a job in top investment banks in Chicago. The rate of accepting a candidate in a top investment bank is much lesser than the rate of getting even into an Ivy League college. The rate of acceptance is low because of the rigorous recruitment process these banks follow. The process starts with filling the application, the chances of getting the application selected depends on a lot of things like very good academic records, the summer internship is done in of the investment banks, relevant work experience etc. If the application gets selected then the steps which follow are psychometric tests, the first round of interview and second round of interview. If a candidate clears all these steps then they are generally offered 10 to 12 weeks summer internship analysts job, completing which the candidate is eligible to apply for a full-time job.

Investment Banks in Chicago – Culture, and Salaries

Working at an investment banking presents an extreme culture. The craze for working in an investment bank is mainly due to its high pay and fat bonuses. The remuneration provided is as competitive as any other industry. Though with this high price tag comes a lot of hard work and uncertainty that goes into it.

In general, a banker in Chicago works for 80-120 hours per week and literally drinks unlimited cups of coffee to remain alert. During the recession, if a bank wanted to fire an employee then they were generally asked to come for a sudden meeting, where they will be handed the pink slip and from there they will leave the bank not even returning to their desk for one last time. The culture is very unique and people who are able to sustain this pressure are the ones who make fortune for themselves.

The starting salary of most of the investment bankers in Chicago ranges from $70,000 to $120,000 which goes up to as high as million dollars per year including the bonus for a managing director and above. Below is a chart which depicts the average salary of few investment banks in Chicago.

Source: indeed.com

Investment Banks in Chicago – Exit Opportunities

A lot of people bear the grind of working for over 100 hours a week on an investment in Chicago, is because of the exit opportunities they get. Generally, investment banks act as a stair-step for jobs in Hedge Funds, top Private equity firms, and venture capitals.