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The differences between investment bankers and brokers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an investment banker has an average salary of $162,715, which is higher than the $124,861 average annual salary of a broker.
The top three skills for an investment banker include financial services, discounted cash flow and capital markets. The most important skills for a broker are brokerage, financial services, and insurance products.
| Investment Banker | Broker | |
| Yearly salary | $162,715 | $124,861 |
| Hourly rate | $78.23 | $60.03 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 28,460 | 2,770 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
An investment banker is responsible for selling and issuing securities and financial assets to the stock markets to generate money and raise capital for organizations and financial institutions. Investment bankers also work with private clients to advise them of investment options and financial transactions according to the market's condition and clients' interests. They handle the clients' investment portfolios and create propositions for acquisitions and company mergers. An investment banker must have excellent knowledge of the financial and stock industry, as well as having excellent analytical skills to review statistical data and determine the best financial strategies.
Brokers can either be a firm or an individual acting as an intermediary between a securities exchange and an investor. They often provide services to individual investors and traders who cannot engage directly with security exchanges, which only accept orders from their members. They provide investors and traders with an investment plan, market intelligence, and research. They may cross-sell some financial services and products offered by their brokerage firms. They are also typically classified as discount or full-service brokers.
Investment bankers and brokers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Investment Banker | Broker | |
| Average salary | $162,715 | $124,861 |
| Salary range | Between $95,000 And $276,000 | Between $68,000 And $227,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New York |
| Best paying company | Citi | Child Guidance & Family Solutions |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Insurance |
There are a few differences between an investment banker and a broker in terms of educational background:
| Investment Banker | Broker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between investment bankers' and brokers' demographics:
| Investment Banker | Broker | |
| Average age | 43 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8% | Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 6.9% White, 70.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 13% |