Investment bank

An investment bank is a financial intermediary whose main business is securities underwriting, acting as an intermediary between a securities issuer and the investing public, facilitating mergers and acquisition (M&A), asset management and securities trading.

Investment banks mainly operate along two lines: a “buy” side and a “sell” side. Buy side operations include services such as securities trading and portfolio management. Sell-side activities include underwriting new lines of stocks, marketing financial products, and publishing financial research. Some of the major investment banks include Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.