What is an investment bank?
Think of it as a bank for the big guys: corporate and institutional clients, governments, and financial intermediaries. Investment banks offer a range of services for these clients, such as buying and trading securities, assistance in raising capital, advice on mergers and acquisitions, and asset management. Leading investment banks include Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman Brothers. Bear Stearns is the fifth-largest U.S. investment bank.
An investment bank is a financial firm which specializes in the sale and management of securities such as stocks and bonds, rather than just handling cash funds like a traditional bank. Investment banks and traditional banks are separated financially because they handle different type of economic transactions, and in the United States are legally separated by the Banking Act of 1933, which was designed to increase economic stability during the Great Depression. Most investment banks handle securities from multiple nations, and are used by governments, individuals, and institutions. Many companies make use of the services of investment banks to handle their securities. For example, if a privately held company decides to sell public stocks, it will sell all of its stock to an investment bank, which will in turn offer the stocks for sale to the public. Usually, multiple investment banks will cooperate on the issue of new stocks, to make the venture less risky for all involved. Many invest
An investment bank (IB) provides many financial advisory services to people and entities. Some help companies and governments issue securities and some help investors purchase securities, manage financial assets and trade securities. The McLean Group is a specialized investment bank, also referred to as a boutique bank, meaning: We are smaller and offer more personalized service than larger IBs. We specialize in a particular area, which is mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and capital formation for middle market businesses. We serve a particular niche, in our case middle-market companies with up to $500 million in annual revenues. We do not manage financial assets, trade securities, manage IPOs, or provide investment advice. Clients requesting such highly specialized services are referred to professionals whom we trust for their knowledge and abilities.
