When markets turn turtle what should investment bankers be most watchful of?
Those who stay on the top of the trends are best in position to muster the courage to swim against the tide and emerge as winners.
Over the years, investment banking industry has undergone changes on many fronts – from open trading days at physical exchanges to algo-driven broking. Current crop of technology – cloud computing, social media, AI, and more, are bringing investment banking and finance in the age of hyper connectivity. The march to digitalization and automation has only been accelerated by COVID-19.
What are the latest trends and developments that should be on the watch list of investment banking professionals? A look at the five important developments you can’t miss.
Top 5 Trends: Post-COVID Changes for Investment Banking
- Importance of cybersecurity.
Corporate ventures and financial services companies are ramping up their investment in cybersecurity.
As the investment banking industry digitalize and bring in automation, security will become paramount. Even more so in times when measures like work-from-home can make the processes more open and prone to cyber-attacks. It also stands vulnerable to poor intelligence, non-preparation and move to cloud. The solution lies in cybersecurity measures and investment banking behemoths have realized it well before time.
Firms like JPMorgan Chase and others in financial sectors have prioritized cybersecurity. The doyens of cybersecurity are being paid upwards of USD 0.3 to 0.6 million. No wonder, cybersecurity is among the top 4 concerns for the finance sector.
- Impact on capital market.
Capital markets are impacted adversely in a public crisis. In consonance, the impact was hard-hitting in the first few months of lockdowns. Although the situation is recovering as most governments and central banks globally jumped to save the market in the hopes to keep the businesses afloat.
That said, banking industry and capital market professionals must remain vigilant as the circumstances evolve.
One of the risks is the losing the confidence of investors, which is most critical to the financial industry.
- Big Data and Investment Banking.
From robo-advisors to coding skills, investment banking professionals will hold a variety of competency in the near future.
Tech has become an inseparable cocktail in every industry, and banking & finance, is not behind. As the 5G revolution spurs up the data collection and big data, innovations in investment banking will also rise.
As banking and finance enter intelligence age, its important that professionals prepare themselves upfront for it. Next-gen investment banking certification offered by the Investment Banking Council of America (IBCA) is centered on not only the famous company valuation measures but also the important technological developments. Becoming a charter holder of a transcontinental organization in investment banking will lend you the power to integrate big data, AI, and other cutting-edge technologies with financial products.
- Green-Zoned Financial Engineering.
Impact investing is gaining traction in investment banking industry as well. Wall Street is in consonance with the idea of investing in companies going green. One of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock’s CEO, wrote in his annual letter to the companies that those who do not make climate change a priority may suffer losing access to market capital.
The calls to save environment will especially rise after COVID-19. Modern investment bankers will be on the mission to save planet as they raise money and make top dollars for the clients.
- Diversification on investors’ minds.
It is the oldest yet the smartest way to save yourself in a crisis. The ongoing chaos once again brought to the forefront the importance of diversification. The investors are not only going to aim for a long-term capital investment, but will also diversify their investments, instead of banking upon a few stocks. For instance, keeping your portfolio in a mix of large, mid, and small cap categories.
Investment banking industry is at the core of capital markets and gets impacted with any slight disruption in the financial landscape. Coronavirus is one of the biggest recent commotions. Pace with the change with a transcontinental investment banking certification and earn a career upgrade.