Whats an investment bank?
(aka merchant bank) They’re the middle-men between companies and the institutions which own them. They deal with all aspects of financial services. IMAGE: Kleinwort-Benson Investment Bankers • They can be contracted to provide finance for companies, or for particular projects through managing share issues, or rallying support from elsewhere on the financial markets. • They provide financial advice on share performance, trading, and most importantly mergers and takeovers. • They act as fund managers for large investment portfolios, mainly for big institutions such as pensions and trusts. • They employ the brokers and market-makers on the Stock Exchange, and do all the dealing on many commodities exchanges. • They provide banking services for companies, such as factoring (giving cash advances on money owed by customers), or holding interest bearing deposits. Different investment banks put more emphasis on different roles. For example, Goldman Sachs, Schroders and Rothschild, are big on a
