Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between investment bankers and finance advisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an investment banker and a finance advisor. Additionally, an investment banker has an average salary of $162,715, which is higher than the $64,993 average annual salary of a finance advisor.
The top three skills for an investment banker include financial services, discounted cash flow and capital markets. The most important skills for a finance advisor are team support, wealth management, and securities.
| Investment Banker | Finance Advisor | |
| Yearly salary | $162,715 | $64,993 |
| Hourly rate | $78.23 | $31.25 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 28,460 | 106,311 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 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.
A Financial Advisor specializes in sharing their expertise with an individual or company on how to handle and boost finances. The responsibilities of a Financial Advisor include creating and proposing a strategy to attain financial gains through profits and investments, educating the client about new methods and opportunities, monitor and evaluate progress, and as well as plan policies according to the clients' life changes. Furthermore, it is also the duty of the Financial Advisor to research new investments that would be of great help to the client's assets.
Investment bankers and finance advisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Investment Banker | Finance Advisor | |
| Average salary | $162,715 | $64,993 |
| Salary range | Between $95,000 And $276,000 | Between $34,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New York |
| Best paying company | Citi | Enbridge |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Finance |
There are a few differences between an investment banker and a finance advisor in terms of educational background:
| Investment Banker | Finance Advisor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities |
Here are the differences between investment bankers' and finance advisors' demographics:
| Investment Banker | Finance Advisor | |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8% | Male, 72.3% Female, 27.7% |
| 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, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 8.3% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |