Saturday 28 January 2017

Guide To Best Investment Banking Schools

MBA has been touted as the best degree when it comes to getting an entry into the field of Investment Banking. While there are many finance aspirants, belonging to the field of finance, who go ahead and pursue MBA as their post graduation course, there are also a number of others belonging to different fields, but having a great interest in finance who choose to pursue this course. Previously, top banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan and Stanley, JP Morgan, Deutsch Bank and likes, only preferred to hire MBAs, who were at that time considered to be sufficiently qualified to take the world of Investment Banking head on. There seems to have been a certain kind of debate recently, on the alleged tumultuous relationship of MBA graduates and the field of Investment Banking. There seems to have been a substantial dip, in the number of MBA’s that the top banks were hiring before. One of the reasons sought for this development is the fact that just having an MBA course is not enough and a number of industry experts have been urging students to develop industry relevant skills, so at to get their dream job.

There are a majority of MBA students, who think of pursuing a professional course, so as to learn skills and techniques to get trained according to the industry standards. Institutes like Imarticus Learning, which offer comprehensive professional courses in subjects like Investment Banking, Asset Management, Portfolio Management, Corporate Finance and so on, are the most sought after institutes for a number of MBA graduates. So if you are one of those looking to pursue this extensive course, you must ensure that you pursue it from one of the top Business Schools, so that you increase your chances of getting hired by top Investment Banks. Rankings place the Columbia Business School at the top, in the list of Investment Banking Schools, which is closely followed by the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton and London Business School. While there a number of other institutes, like the Stern, from USA, which is enjoying its new found popularity, among MBA aspirants. According to a certain employment report, it is believed that Investment Banking remains one of the most sought after vocation, by the students of Stern University.

Let’s make a tabular representation of the top investment banking schools, there are, based on the number of graduates, who have gone ahead to work in the fields of corporate finance, sales and trading, equity research or other related field to investment banking. It is a well known fact that Investment Banks, usually tend to hire from among elite schools and those B-schools that are located right at the heart of financial centers, like for instance Stern, have a greater chance at being selected.

Here’s the guide to the best Investment Banking Schools:

1. Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
2. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
3. IIM, Calcutta
4. Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi
5. Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras
6. Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
7. XLRI- Xaviers School of Management, Jamshedpur
8. IIM, Kozhikode
9. IIT, Roorkee
10. IIM, Indore


While applying to any of the above schools, depend on three important parameters; namely your abilities, both academic and aptitude, your academic background and the career objectives that you are looking at. Only then can you figure out which one of these is your best fit and apply to them. 

Wednesday 25 January 2017

Morgan Stanley’s New Strategy Towards ICICI Prudential

The esteemed bank, Morgan Stanley as of Monday has initiated coverage on ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, with an ‘overweight’ rating with Rs 365, as target price. The firm stated that a balance of distribution mix and that the improving persistency ratio, which would result into a multiyear improvement of profitability, even as higher focus on Unit Linked Insurance Plans could result into a volatile state of growth.
“This should drive a strong 40 per cent VNB CARG during F16-19”, it was mentioned in the official note released on Tuesday. The concept of target price, basically implies an upside of about 19.5% from current levels. As of Wednesday, the 3rd of November, ICICI Prudential has ended down 2 per cent at Rs. 305.35 on the BSE and continues to trade below issue price of Rs. 334.
The brokerage firm went on to state that the Prudential Company’s margins have been way lower, when compared to its peers in spite of the industry’s leading persistency and the cost ratios, but the widened gap is likely to narrow in the coming times, with the increasing shares of protection mix, improvement of persistency ratios and considerably, higher economies of scale. This announcement was also accompanied by the firm stating that the valuations are significantly higher as compared to their regional peers, but it went on to justify itself in keeping with the ICICI Prudential’s superior operational metrics and their distribution tie-ups. These would allow the gains of market shares and improve the profitability in the domestic insurance market.
Morgan Stanley has thus raised the target price on ICICI Prudential by about 4 per cent which brings it to about Rs. 266, this is because they plan to assign higher valuation for the life insurance subsidiary, while at the same time retaining equal weight rating. The firm expects that the stock of ICICI Bank would be volatile depending on news flow around corporate stress. At the time of the announcement, their official spokesperson said that, “to become more constructive we either need to see big recoveries on exiting NPLs or improvement in core PPoP (pre-provision operating profit) margins. We prefer ICICI bank to state owned banks, but prefer retail private lenders and Axis Bank over the same”.
Brokerage firms like Morgan Stanley have the responsibility of selling various types of securities to banks like ICICI Prudential in the field of investment banking. Thus it becomes important for the professionals working here in to be well versed with the various core concepts of the financial situations and the knowledge of the various trends in the market. While someone with a background in finance or related fields could understand this piece of news, but would just be scratching over the surface. This is exactly the reason why a lot of companies prefer to hire candidates with experience in specialization courses and a refined C.V. Private Institutes today, are also striving to offer industry endorsed courses, which ensure that the individual would understand everything that the current markets need. Imarticus Learning is a part of the same sphere, offering courses and guidance in a bid to bridge the gap between academics and industry.

Friday 20 January 2017

Here’s What the Professionals Are Resolving For 2017

You must have definitely noticed, a number of people readily getting on to the bandwagon of, “New year, new me”, at the beginning of 2017, there’s one more phrase which is popularly being used by all those professionals, across the corporate industry. This slogan is the ‘New year, new job’, which is being entertained by a number of corporate professionals. While there is nothing new about this, as this feeling is a familiar notion, which every professional experiences annually. But, this time what’s interesting is the statistic, according to a certain study, out of the 3,411 employees who were a part of the survey, about one fifth which equals to about 22% stated, that their resolution for this year would be to leave their current job, in order to look for more lucrative opportunities elsewhere.

While it was 35% of the younger generation of workers, aged between 18 and 34, who would consider not only leaving, but also be certain about landing a new and better job by the end of 2017. At the same time, the past couple of years, have seen a steady rise in the search for employees, who possess skillsets that are in keeping with the industry standards. In order to tackle this demand of top employers and HR managers, many employees and professionals have begun to opt for professional online training courses, which ensure that a candidate is groomed according to industry standards.

here are many popular institutes in India, like one Imarticus Learning, which offer a number of courses in fields like Finance and Analytics.  Imarticus Learning is one of the best institute that specializes in courses covering fields like Investment Banking, Portfolio Management, and Asset Management, Certification courses in Big Data Hadoop, R Programming, SAS Programming, Python, and Corporate Finance and so on. But what sets this institute apart, is not only their online and classroom course format, but also their mentor run courses and the extensive industry relevant training.

Apart from the resolution to look for a new job, there are some other very popular resolutions, that the corporate world is known to take. Like for instance, every year, almost half of the entire workforce decides to unanimously take a pledge to put more of their pay checks, into savings. There are a number of professionals, who would be ready to look for more recreational ways, in order to reduce the amount of stress in and around their work sphere, while many would be aiming for a salary increment, or a promotion in order to jet set their career, thus climbing a rung higher on the corporate ladder. Many companies have begun to already roll out new health promoting activities, in order to ensure that all of their employees remain in the pink of their health. This is also a common resolution among a number of professionals, who are looking to eat healthier and cut out on the junk. While many others would be willing to learn a new skill or take up a productive hobby. 

Wednesday 18 January 2017

Why Do Firms Train Their Employees

As the industry changes, there is an influx of new improved trends as well. Today a qualified professional doesn’t necessarily have to go out in search for jobs, its actually the employers who go out of the way, in their search for candidates, who would be able to suffice their expectations. With college or university placement rising in popularity, there is another line of thought, which is becoming quite well known these days. A lot of firms believe in hiring freshers, because they are like a blank canvas for them, apart from knowing certain basic theoretical details. This way the firms get to train these employees, in a way where these professionals would be able to meet specific expectations. Apart from that there are a lot of companies and HR managers who are of the belief that, about 30% of their candidates don’t have the proper skill set required to perform their job, hence have to undergo training.
The concept of ‘employee induction’ has become the most used policy of the HR teams, across various fields. Earlier, this process only comprised of a short description of the company, its various fundamentals and an introduction about all the head honchos, on board. Now it has transitioned into something bigger and inclusive of more layers. Firms today are actually going a mile, in trying to get all of their employees on par, by equipping them with the proper behavioral and technical skills, as well as the knowledge that is required to ensure that, the company’s operational and strategic objectives are met. A great effort is taken, to ensure that an employee fully understands the core values, that form the foundational base of an organization and works accordingly. Firms don’t just train their new employees, but also ensure that their old ones, have a successful transition into newer roles in a more seamless manner.
This has become quite the popular norm lately, which a lot of organizations indulge in. There are various other reasons why a firm, would want their employees to be trained. Like for instance, any kind of training that is in keeping with the organization’s strategies, would ensure that the employees would go the extra mile to complete the same. Another reason why training is the right way to go is, because every organization has employees with invaluable corporate experience and training these employees, would be like creating incentives for them. Thereby, ensuring that these employees remain loyal and prove an asset for the organization in the long run. Statistics state that only about 25% employees are engaged at work, the rest of them find it to be a fulfilling experience, of various degrees. Training these employees, would mean a more focused and productive workplace. Training is also used as a means for performance management and development of employees and can help develop leadership skills in those with a lot of potential. In a way, organizations also come across as places, where every employee is valued and encouraged to reach their optimum potential.
A new addition to this is the training in collaboration with various learning institutes. Organizations approach various institutes, to ensure their employees develop the necessary skill sets to excel in their profession. Imarticus Learning is one such institute, which has collaborated with many top banks and investment organizations, in providing their employees with proper suitable employee training programs.
 Source: http://articles.org/why-do-firms-train-their-employees/