Guide
What does an investment banking analyst do?
Updated November 1, 2026
An investment banking analyst is the entry-level banker on a deal team. Analysts build financial models and valuations, draft pitch books and confidential information memorandums (CIMs), organize due diligence, and turn comments from senior bankers. Most are recent college graduates hired through a bank's full-time analyst program.
What does an investment banking analyst do day to day?
Analysts produce the deal materials. Piper Sandler's published day in the life of an analyst covers CIM drafting, a diligence call, a pitch with a full valuation, a management presentation and data room uploads, all in one day (Piper Sandler).
| Task | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Financial models and valuation | Valuing a company with a discounted cash flow, LBO analysis, public comparables and M&A comparables |
| Pitch books | Slides that pitch the bank for a deal: its credentials and past deals in the industry, a valuation, and profiles of possible strategic and financial buyers |
| CIMs | The marketing document for a sell-side deal: pulling company materials, working with the CFO's team, researching the market and competitors. See what is a CIM |
| Management presentations | Slides the company's leadership presents to potential buyers or investors |
| Due diligence | Taking notes on diligence calls, requesting and organizing documents, uploading files to the data room |
| Turning comments | Revising models and slides after review by the associate and senior bankers, often late in the day |
Source: Piper Sandler, “A day in the life of an investment banking analyst”. Mergers & Inquisitions sums up the job as pitching for deals, executing deals and miscellaneous tasks, with a lot of Excel, PowerPoint and process work (Mergers & Inquisitions; Mergers & Inquisitions). The mix depends on the group and the bank; a small regional boutique may involve more process work and client contact than complex modeling (Mergers & Inquisitions).
What is in an investment banking analyst job description?
A typical description lists the tasks above plus training and the program's length and eligibility. Goldman Sachs, for example, describes its New Analyst Program as a full-time program for final-year students in which analysts learn the firm's businesses, build skills, get training and build a network, starting in summer 2027 for students graduating between December 2026 and July 2027 (Goldman Sachs).
A short version you could use to explain the role in an interview:
- Build and maintain financial models and valuation analyses.
- Draft pitch books, CIMs and management presentations.
- Run research on companies, industries and buyers.
- Coordinate due diligence and data rooms.
- Work with associates, VPs and MDs across several deals at once.
Who is on an investment banking deal team?
A deal team runs from analyst to associate to vice president to director and managing director. CNBC describes analysts as the lowest rung, typically recent college graduates, with associates, vice presidents and managing directors above them (CNBC).
| Title | Main role on a deal |
|---|---|
| Analyst | Builds models, slides and documents; organizes diligence |
| Associate | Checks the analyst's work, runs calls, manages documents day to day; for example, reviewing the analyst's valuation and running diligence calls with management |
| Vice president (VP) | Manages the deal process, hands out work to the junior team and talks with clients and senior bankers; roughly where the job turns toward sales |
| Director or principal | Senior deal leadership and client coverage |
| Managing director (MD) or partner | Wins clients and deals and owns the relationship |
Sources: titles from Mergers & Inquisitions, which describes the mid-level as a project manager role; the associate example from Piper Sandler's associate day in the life; Mergers & Inquisitions on IB becoming a sales job at about the VP level, roughly 7 to 8 years in.
What skills do banks look for in analysts?
Banks ask for analytical ability plus communication, teamwork and stamina. These are the qualities two banks list on their public careers pages:
| Bank | What it lists |
|---|---|
| Evercore | A strong academic record with varied interests; interest in investment banking and markets; critical thinking about clients' strategic issues; quantitative and analytical ability plus communication skills; teamwork and leadership potential; handling several projects at once |
| Moelis & Company | Client relationship skills; collaboration; drive; resilience in a fast-paced setting; intellectual curiosity; analytical thinking and attention to detail under pressure |
| Goldman Sachs | Describes the program as a place to learn its businesses and build skills, with training provided; final-year undergraduate and graduate students are eligible |
Sources: Evercore, Students & Graduates; Moelis & Company, Careers; Goldman Sachs, New Analyst Program. Banks teach the modeling in training, but interviews still test accounting and valuation, so learn the basics first.
How do you become an investment banking analyst?
Most analysts get the job by converting a summer internship into a full-time offer. Mergers & Inquisitions says banks hire few full-time analysts outside their internship programs, and that US undergraduates interview for those internships a year or more in advance (Mergers & Inquisitions; Mergers & Inquisitions).
- How to become an investment banker: the steps from first year to offer.
- Recruiting timeline: when banks open applications and interview.
- Investment banking resume: the one-page format banks expect.
- Recruiting from a non-target school: how to get interviews without on-campus recruiting.
How much do analysts make, and how many hours do they work?
Pay and hours both have their own sourced pages, so we don't repeat the numbers here. See investment banking salary by year for base, bonus and total pay, and investment banking hours for weekly hours, bank policies and a full typical day.
How does the analyst job map to interview questions?
Each part of the job lines up with a set of interview questions. Banks test whether you can do the core tasks on day one, or learn them fast:
| Part of the job | What interviewers ask | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Reading company financials | How the three statements link; how a change flows through them | Accounting questions; walk me through the three statements |
| Valuation in pitch books | Comparables, precedents, enterprise value vs equity value | Valuation; enterprise value |
| DCF models | Walking through a DCF; discount rates; terminal value | DCF questions; walk me through a DCF |
| LBO analysis | How an LBO works; what drives returns; a paper LBO | LBO questions; paper LBO |
| M&A deals | Accretion and dilution; why companies buy other companies | Merger model questions |
| Teamwork and long hours | Your story, why banking, a time you handled pressure | Behavioral questions; walk me through your resume |
Start with the full list of common investment banking interview questions, or see questions reported in interviews at specific firms.
Frequently asked questions
- What does an investment banking analyst do?
- An analyst builds financial models and valuations, drafts pitch books and CIMs, organizes due diligence and data rooms, and supports the associate and senior bankers on live deals and pitches.
- Is an investment banking analyst an entry-level job?
- Yes. Analysts are usually recent college graduates hired through a full-time analyst program, often after a summer internship, and they sit at the bottom of the deal team below associates, VPs and MDs.
- What skills do banks want in analysts?
- Bank careers pages list analytical and quantitative ability, attention to detail, communication, teamwork, the ability to juggle several projects, and resilience under pressure, along with a strong academic record.
Tasks, skills and program details vary by bank, group, office and year, and the bank pages cited can change. Superday Room isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any bank named here.
Sources
- Piper Sandler, “A day in the life of an investment banking analyst”, careers page; read November 1, 2026.
- Piper Sandler, “A day in the life of an investment banking associate”, careers page; read November 1, 2026.
- Goldman Sachs, “New Analyst Program (Americas)”, careers page, 2027 start; read November 1, 2026.
- Evercore, “Students & Graduates”, careers page; read November 1, 2026.
- Moelis & Company, “Careers”, careers page; read November 1, 2026.
- Mergers & Inquisitions, “Management Consulting vs Investment Banking: Exciting, or not? A Full Comparison”, article with comments through 2025; read November 1, 2026.
- Mergers & Inquisitions, “Investment Banking vs Private Equity: Full Comparison and Advice”, older article; its comments date from 2022–2023; read November 1, 2026.
- Mergers & Inquisitions, “Wealth Management vs. Investment Banking: Detailed Guide”, guide page; read November 1, 2026.
- Mergers & Inquisitions, “Wealth Management to Investment Banking”, 2024 article; read November 1, 2026.
- CNBC, “Goldman's junior bankers complain of crushing workload amid SPAC-fueled boom in Wall Street deals”, March 18, 2021; read November 1, 2026.