The five best and worst aspects of managing money for a bank

A job at a large bank is often seen as the Holy Grail for aspiring professional investors. Along with an eye-watering salary and bumper bonuses, the sheer prestige of working for a multi-national institution marks you out as a success.

But is it all good? We asked a number of investment professionals from both sides of the fence to discuss the best and worst aspects of working for bank.

The five best things...

Expertise

Large banking groups are present in virtually all aspects of modern finance, giving their private banking clients access to a huge range of services.

Daniel Ellis, head of HSBC private banking, said that they offer, ‘a more simplified access to a multitude of different investment assets under one roof.’

This depth of experience is matched by the resources that banks can bring to bear. ‘We benefit from economies of scale. Other smaller firms may be able to do what we do, but they have to go outside to buy products and services. If we do go in-house, then we can get a better price which is passed onto the client,’ he said.

Leverage

As well as economies of scale, clients are also able to borrow against their portfolio to increase their investment.  According to Ellis, ‘one of the ways that the client can benefit from going to a bank is to leverage from our balance sheet. Certain clients, such as those from Middle East, can use their portfolio as collateral and borrow at the same time as investing.’

Global reach