Capital markets role inside of corporate finance?
I am an incoming freshman at a business school, I’m interested in finance and specifically capital markets. How does capital markets work into corporate finance as a whole and what exactly would someone be doing? Everything that I have looked into online seems very vague and nonspecific or the compete opposite and completely goes over my head. I appreciate any responses.
Capital markets within corporate finance play a crucial role in managing a company's funding and liquidity needs. Here's a breakdown based on the most helpful WSO content:
Role in Corporate Finance:
Key Responsibilities:
What You’d Be Doing:
Why It’s Important:
If you're just starting out, focus on building a strong foundation in financial concepts like capital structures, WACC, and valuation, as these are critical for understanding how capital markets fit into corporate finance.
Sources: Investment Banking vs. Capital Markets - How different are they?, Investment Banking vs. Capital Markets - How different are they?, Capital Markets in Real Estate firms–What do they exactly do?, 5 Steps To Becoming A Rockstar Freshman (Undergrad Advice), To All Freshman and Sophomores
I’m in this role now so I can shed some light on it.
Public companies typically have capital structures that are made up of stock for equity and bonds for debt. There are many variations of debt and equity but this is the bulk of it.
Cap Markets is responsible for the entire capital stack so issuing stock, buying back stock, issuing new bonds, refinancing maturing bonds, etc. At my company, we are also responsible for the dividend presentation to the board which is our plans to increase or hold steady each quarter. We also meet with the credit rating agencies frequently and keep tabs on the ratings of our peers.
It’s a mix of planning the capital structure (internal presentations, monthly finance committees, quarterly board meetings) as well as executing on it, however that part is usually the easy part since the bankers do that work. In between, we’re constantly meeting with bankers and advisors to stay up to speed on everything.
Keep in mind that cap markets can be very different if your company relies on secured debt. Secured debt is much more hands on and will take a lot of your time in addition to everything I noted above. That would be REITs, other real estate companies, and other industries with tangible assets.
What is the position called?
Capital Markets “Insert Title” (analyst, associate, vp, etc.)
Thank you, this is really helpful. What are the typical paths to these type of roles? IB/PE backgrounds? Start in an FLDP? Is it possible to pivot from less relevant roles?
You can pivot into it from any Corp Fin role like FP&A since you’ll be in close proximity (literally. Cap Markets is part of Corp Fin so we all sit by each other).
From the outside, IB experience obviously helps but that goes for any job in finance. Same for FLDP.
If you’re from a non traditional background, it will help if you have any experience with capital market transactions, even if it’s CRE. CRE background doesn’t go a long way but it should at least get your resume considered. That’s the background I came from.
Is it possible to move into the role externally from a corporate finance (FP&A) background or is that more for an internal move? Does the role open up any other interesting opportunities afterwards that are more difficult from other corp fin roles?
Try applying to FLDP programs. In interviews, show genuine interest in both the company’s industry and its Capital Markets/Treasury functions-- they tend to sit together along with corporate FP&A and maybe even IR teams. Be ready to talk about the company’s capital structure, debt profile, recent bond issuances, tender offers, credit rating, share repurchase strategy / announcements, commercial paper utilization if applicable, etc. Have good context on the market and the industry along these dimensions.
If possible, get an internship on the team or plan a rotation there as a full-time analyst. Make a strong impression, and you’ll have a good chance of staying on permanently in that role.
For lateraling, the earlier the better. Capital Markets seems to require a good amount of specialized experience/knowledge once you hit the Sr Manager / Director level. General FP&A knowledge will only probably cover the basics through Analyst/Manager level.
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