Investment Banker v.s. Quant

An investment banker does merely simple calculations like additions, substractions, multiplications in the job and could start to earn six figures by being in analyst position. I understand that doing IB opens up a lot of exit opportunities and let you equip much better skills than other finance roles. But what about for someone in a more quantitative role? or someone with a MFE degree? Would a quant potentially earns more than an investment banker and has more exit opportunities?
I have also been thinking whether MFE program or MSF program is much more valuable for someone who intends to look for a well-balanced lifestyle, earns good money and has lots of opportunities ahead in his career.

26 Comments
 

"An investment banker does merely simple calculations like additions, substractions, multiplications in the job"

lol

 
postman"An investment banker does merely simple calculations like additions, substractions, multiplications in the job"

lol

What I mean here is a quant possesses more knowledge and skills than an investment banker.
 
manutd
postman"An investment banker does merely simple calculations like additions, substractions, multiplications in the job"

lol

What I mean here is a quant possesses more knowledge and skills than an investment banker.
Excel does those functions. Bankers only move their fingers on plastic buttons to tell Excel what to do.
 

btw, you're one fucking demanding monkey. you want to earn shit loads of money, have awesome work life balance, and have tons of exit ops waiting for you. good luck bro!

 

he's not being a "lamer", your grammar is pretty bad.

for example, let me quote you: "So would a quant potentially earns more than a MD?"

it should be EARN, not EARNS. come on son, thats basic grammar. and it should be "an MD" and not "a MD", but thats probably a bit more difficult to explain why.

 
Best Response

Let me start out by saying, no, that is not merely what a banker does. Banking is a process. Every level of banking, you're tasks are different than the level below you (of course analysts get all the bitchwork, since there is no one lower, except interns). Yes, in the beginning, as an analyst, you do more quantitative work than the level above you, and probably less quantitative (depending on which group) than a quant, but as you progress and eventually reach MD level -- if you staying in banking that is -- your responsibilities and tasks change. MDs are more responsible for managing and creating new dealflow (as well as overseeing the specific deal) -- which requires a whole different skillset. A quant's work is not that versatile, compared to banking (again this all depends on which industry/product group). With that said, quants can exit out to banking (have seen a few that exited out to ECM/DCM) and many other capital market roles; and often move on to HF/FoF with different focuses.

 
ddp34Let me start out by saying, no, that is not merely what a banker does. Banking is a process. Every level of banking, you're tasks are different than the level below you (of course analysts get all the bitchwork, since there is no one lower, except interns). Yes, in the beginning, as an analyst, you do more quantitative work than the level above you, and probably less quantitative (depending on which group) than a quant, but as you progress and eventually reach MD level -- if you staying in banking that is -- your responsibilities and tasks change. MDs are more responsible for managing and creating new dealflow (as well as overseeing the specific deal) -- which requires a whole different skillset. A quant's work is not that versatile, compared to banking (again this all depends on which industry/product group). With that said, quants can exit out to banking (have seen a few that exited out to ECM/DCM) and many other capital market roles; and often move on to HF/FoF with different focuses.
So would a quant potentially earns more than a MD?
 

I dunno. I've noticed that some people start getting uncomfortable when they find out they're dealing with some guy with an econ PhD from Chicago or CS PhD from Berkeley.

Quants are usually pretty low-key folks, though. Even here on the trading floor. For them, it's not about inferiority or superiority- it's about playing the game and solving the puzzle.

If I-Bankers get scared of quants, they probably shouldn't. But if they have a superiority complex, they need to be watching their backs for the one guy they piss off who decides he can do their job a lot better than they can.

Bottom line is that you need to compare yourself- as a team- to other firms- not to other people. If you get an inferiority/superiority complex, you don't treat people as nicely, and not being nice to people tends to come back to haunt you.

 

I think bankers might get uncomfortable because they pride themselves on being quasi nerds. Traders would probably just dunk the quant guys head in the toilet and sales guys could careless.

Broad generalizations, but you catch my drift.

I don't understand the whole inferiority to someone with more education. I don't feel more superior to kids with just undergrads and I don't feel inferior to PhD's in other fields. I suppose I look up to or maybe respect PhD's in Finance or Econ since I am a student of that area. Everyone has different functions so at the end of the day we are equal.

 

Eaque voluptatem et saepe dolore id dignissimos est eos. Reiciendis culpa dicta illum illum. Est non dolor animi numquam inventore repellat accusamus ex. Labore facere ut esse porro ut. Perspiciatis voluptate officia rem laudantium ut. Perspiciatis rerum et magni libero et nobis.

Nihil excepturi et et ea ipsum non. Adipisci harum modi quia delectus illo impedit est. Id sapiente aut beatae impedit et.

Repellendus aut illo est corporis labore. Veniam minus est consequatur quod ut est exercitationem. Quo aut earum nihil impedit quo quas aliquam expedita.

Perferendis animi quaerat quae cupiditate. Vitae reiciendis eum magnam in dolor. Animi quis nesciunt magni maxime nihil et omnis odio. Earum sapiente doloribus alias perferendis eligendi dicta ex voluptatem.

 

Dolore vel non quis reprehenderit velit quisquam magnam. Saepe sapiente dolores ab. Corporis amet veritatis debitis ullam molestiae. Quos nostrum tempore velit itaque. Qui voluptas aut officia recusandae.

Esse est eius rem beatae nisi vero. Voluptatem doloremque quisquam cumque porro. Libero repellendus sit qui ut sit non perspiciatis. Placeat iusto facere qui aut error doloremque consequatur.

Odio eum porro ut vel quod ipsum officia dolorem. Laboriosam maxime adipisci porro eos ipsa soluta. Vitae magni praesentium dolor et dolores.

"The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets." -John D. Rockefeller

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”