Ive seen many explanations of what investment bankers actually do, but theyve all been either bad or boring.

I can sum up what we do in 2 words and 1 picture:

Ari Gold.

Investment bankers are agents, just like Ari.

We dont create anything and we dont buy anything; we just sell things that arent ours to begin with.

Business::Entourage

If the business world were like Entourage. bankers would be the agents, private equity firms and large companies would be the studios, and companies would be the actors and movies.

Private equity firms buy and sell companies; studios buy and sell actors and movies.

Bankers make introductions and try to sell companies; agents make introductions and sell their clients.

Vince Chase would be Facebook. young but huge success in store, even with occasional missteps along the way.

If you look at all the characters in Entourage. its hard to argue that Vince doesnt have the best life.

But its not easy to get there and its far riskier than being the agent (banker) or the studio (private equity firm).

The agents and the studios, on the other hand, have an easier but less fun job: they must distribute risk so that they dont get screwed.

Its just like Terence says when chatting with E at the end of Season 2:

We all start out believing that our clients care about us, but in reality they dont. Theres only one way to look at clients, Eric. Like stocks. Invest without emotion. Diversify.

So when choosing a career, dont ask what job you want.

Ask yourself, Would I rather be Vince, Ari or the head of Warner?

If youre an Ari guy or girl, you might just be a banker.

And If You Havent Seen Entourage

First, you really need to watch Entourage or you have no right to work in finance. So go watch it.

But just in case you havent yet: think of investment bankers like real estate agents but for companies instead of houses.

Just as a real estate agent introduces buyers and sellers of property, bankers introduce buyers and sellers of companies and try to make a deal happen.

And just like real estate agents, the only thing at stake is our time we have no money invested on either side.

But What Will You Do as an Analyst or Associate?

The above is the high-level view of what investment bankers do.

As a junior banker, youre more like Lloyd. you grab coffee for Ari and take care of his grunt work.

To get more of a flavor for what junior investment bankers actually do, see the articles below:

Any more questions?

Just ask away and Lloyd will handle all the responses.