What does a vice president in investment banking do?

A vice president in investment banking runs deals. Where the analystWhat does an investment banking analyst do?An investment banking analyst builds the models and presentation pages behind every deal, works long weeks, and usually moves on after two or three years.Jobs and ranks · revised 28 September 2026 · 835 words · 5 sources · 4 min builds the pages and the associateWhat does an investment banking associate do?An investment banking associate runs the day-to-day of a deal: checking the analysts’ models, owning the presentations and making the numbers tell a story.Jobs and ranks · revised 28 September 2026 · 682 words · 4 sources · 3 min manages the details, the vice president is responsible for the execution of the transaction as a whole, supervises the associates and analysts on the team, and is one of the client’s main points of contact. It is the first rank that spends more time managing and talking than modelling.

What the work is

The textbook description: vice presidents “are responsible for managing most deals and managing both Associates and Analysts who work on deal teams”. They are a principal source of communication with clients, take part in winning new business and in client relationship management, and negotiating and creating solutions for client problems is a core part of the role[1Source 1David P. Stowell, Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity, 3rd ed. (Academic Press, 2017), ch. 10: the positions, p. 223; vice presidents, p. 224.]. They also mobilise resources inside the firm, coordinating with other banking teams and other divisions to meet a client’s needs, and may manage five to ten projects at once[1Source 1David P. Stowell, Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity, 3rd ed. (Academic Press, 2017), ch. 10: the positions, p. 223; vice presidents, p. 224.]. Off the deals, they recruit, mentor and promote the firm’s business, and are expected to understand the firm’s internal relationships, resource questions, the legal issues of particular transactions and its ethical standards[1Source 1David P. Stowell, Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity, 3rd ed. (Academic Press, 2017), ch. 10: the positions, p. 223; vice presidents, p. 224.].

A guide written for the client’s side says the same thing from the outside: vice presidents “have usually left behind modeling and most pitch drafting and are more focused on developing pitch ideas, managing live deals, and sometimes pitching clients”[2Source 2Michael E. S. Frankel and Larry H. Forman, Mergers and Acquisitions Basics: The Key Steps of Acquisitions, Divestitures, and Investments, 2nd ed. (Wiley, 2017), “Advisor Staff”, pp. 45–46.]. The ethnographic account calls them the links between the corporate client, the managing director and the team of associates and analysts, in charge of supervising deals day to day[3Source 3Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Duke University Press, 2009), ch. 2, “The White-Collar Sweatshop”, pp. 85–87, and “Hard Work”, p. 97.].

Where it sits in the ladder

Associates are generally promoted to vice president after three and a half to five years, depending on the firm, and vice presidents typically hold the rank for four to ten years before the next step[1Source 1David P. Stowell, Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity, 3rd ed. (Academic Press, 2017), ch. 10: the positions, p. 223; vice presidents, p. 224.]. Titles vary. One guide to the industry notes that the rank above associate may be called manager, senior manager or, more often, associate director or vice president, with a few more years at that level before promotion[4Source 4Philippe Espinasse, IPO: A Global Guide, 3rd ed. (Hong Kong University Press, 2018), §1.6.1, “Entry level and beyond”.]. Between vice president and managing director, most banks put one or more further layers, a senior vice president, principal or directorWhat does a director in investment banking do?A director or senior vice president in investment banking sits between VP and managing director, runs deals at a high level and starts to win business.Jobs and ranks · revised 28 September 2026 · 614 words · 4 sources · 3 min[3Source 3Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Duke University Press, 2009), ch. 2, “The White-Collar Sweatshop”, pp. 85–87, and “Hard Work”, p. 97.]. The hierarchy articleWhat is the investment banking hierarchy?The investment banking hierarchy runs from analyst to associate, vice president, director and managing director: what each rank does and how long it lasts.Jobs and ranks · revised 28 September 2026 · 887 words · 4 sources · 4 min lays the whole ladder out.

How the day changes

The shift from associate to vice president is the shift from producing the work to being responsible for it. The pages still come from the juniors, but the vice president develops the pitch ideas, reviews the draft, and sometimes presents it[2Source 2Michael E. S. Frankel and Larry H. Forman, Mergers and Acquisitions Basics: The Key Steps of Acquisitions, Divestitures, and Investments, 2nd ed. (Wiley, 2017), “Advisor Staff”, pp. 45–46.]. The ethnography describes the consequence for everyone below: drafts go up to the vice president for comments and come back for revision, and that loop, together with the senior bankers’ schedules, is one of the reasons the juniors’ hours are what they are[3Source 3Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Duke University Press, 2009), ch. 2, “The White-Collar Sweatshop”, pp. 85–87, and “Hard Work”, p. 97.]. Its example is a managing director who asks for changes to the deck by the next morning, wants a copy to take home at six and calls at nine with more; the juniors then work from seven in the evening into the small hours[3Source 3Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Duke University Press, 2009), ch. 2, “The White-Collar Sweatshop”, pp. 85–87, and “Hard Work”, p. 97.].

Frequently asked questions

Is a vice president in investment banking a senior executive?

No. In investment banking “vice president” is a mid-level rank on the deal team, reached after a few years as an associate[1Source 1David P. Stowell, Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity, 3rd ed. (Academic Press, 2017), ch. 10: the positions, p. 223; vice presidents, p. 224.], and there are usually one or two further layers between it and managing director[3Source 3Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Duke University Press, 2009), ch. 2, “The White-Collar Sweatshop”, pp. 85–87, and “Hard Work”, p. 97.]; the title carries less than it does in most companies.

How long does someone stay a vice president?

The textbook gives four to ten years at the vice president level, or its equivalent, before promotion to managing director; where a firm has a director rank, that span includes it[1Source 1David P. Stowell, Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity, 3rd ed. (Academic Press, 2017), ch. 10: the positions, p. 223; vice presidents, p. 224.].

Does a vice president still build models?

Rarely. By this rank the modelling and most of the pitch drafting have been handed to associates and analysts, and the vice president’s time goes into running live deals, developing pitch ideas and client contact[2Source 2Michael E. S. Frankel and Larry H. Forman, Mergers and Acquisitions Basics: The Key Steps of Acquisitions, Divestitures, and Investments, 2nd ed. (Wiley, 2017), “Advisor Staff”, pp. 45–46.].

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  author       = {{xlsx.dev}},
  title        = {{What does a vice president in investment banking do?}},
  howpublished = {xlsx.dev Wiki},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = sep,
  url          = {https://xlsx.dev/wiki/investment-banking-vice-president}
}