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Investment banking is intriguing. Despite being one of the most sought-after, high-paying, and prestigious jobs in all of finance, it frequently garners negative attention. I recently stumbled across a viral LinkedIn post, thousands of likes and shares, speaking out against Goldman Sachs.
The student, a former investment banking summer analyst at the firm, shared a deeply personal story ridiculing them for their overly intense and toxic culture. He painted a vivid picture by describing the time a fellow intern collapsed from exhaustion, the true brutality behind the long hours, and how although the pay was great, he still felt empty at the end of the experience. As someone who is interested in this path, this was certainly alarming and got me thinking deep.
“Is he just doing this for attention?”
“Will he inspire more to speak out?”
“Is this path truly worth pursuing?”
All valid questions to ask. But this post is just a small piece of a bigger problem.
Due to AI, investment banking and other high finance roles will change drastically. This, combined with the growing unrest between junior employees and firms, is a key intersection to understand.
Goldman Sachs recently reported that AI can draft 95% of an IPO prospectus in minutes. OpenAI’s new ChatGPT agent completed intense modeling tests with 70% accuracy. Other firms are becoming heavily AI-oriented as well.
Simultaneously, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, and other major players in the industry are now implementing systems requiring junior bankers to pledge their loyalty.
For those unaware, exiting investment banking after completing your time as a junior analyst is quite common. Many junior bankers accept jobs in private equity or other domains while still working in investment banking. Although unenthusiastically accepted as a simple reality by most firms for a while, as of late things have begun to change.
To quote JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon:
“I think it’s unethical. I don’t like it, and I may eliminate it regardless of what the private‑equity guys say … It puts us in a bad position, and it puts us in a conflicted position. You are already working for someone else, and you’re dealing with highly confidential information from JPMorgan.”
Dimon raises a couple of points here, mainly seeing this issue as a potential catalyst for ethical breaches and conflict of interest. These claims certainly have validity, and when made by a man of Dimon’s caliber, people will listen.
More importantly, this is all happening as firms become more AI-oriented and many of the tasks that AI is being tested to perform are currently done by junior analysts.
I know what you might be thinking,
“Are you saying junior analysts will be completely eliminated?”
Not necessarily, and even if that did occur, it wouldn’t be any time soon.
But there are few things we can say with certainty. Investment banking is going to change, drastically and rapidly. The junior analyst role will become far more competitive, and far more AI-oriented.
If there’s one takeaway from this article, it’s this:
The candidates who are AI fluent will have the edge. Without a doubt.
The high GPA, the relevant internships, acing your technical interview, these things will remain prerequisites for junior roles, but AI fluency will be added on top of that. If you’re not yet acclimated with using AI and have a desire to work in investment banking, you will fail if you refuse to change. Yes, a bold claim, but one I believe wholeheartedly.
Firms are constantly looking for ways to cut costs. If I were a CEO, near $200,000 of compensation for an employee fresh out of college would be high on my list. AI is already completing junior tasks with high accuracy and only will get better at doing so. Inevitably, the number of junior analysts working at high-level firms will shrink as a result. As someone who is still considering investment banking as a career, this is certainly discouraging. At the same time, however, I also believe I am someone that has the edge.
I am writing about this issue and accepting it now, instead of denying it.
I use AI every day, and I’m getting better with more practice.
And although I don’t go to a target school, I am doing what I can to stand out.
These are all steps that will be crucial to my success, regardless of what my first job out of school is, and I recommend you follow the same path if you don’t want to be phased out.
To close things out, don’t think you’re safe purely because you meet all the typical investment banking criteria. Things are changing fast, and the changes will continue.