The job of structurer is interesting to know in finance, and especially in investment banking. Indeed, you may have to work with structurers and even offer their financial products to your clients. It is therefore important to know this job!
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What are the structurer's missions?
Structurers generally work in the investment banking divisions of large banks. Their role is to design and implement complex financial products tailored to the bank's clients: corporate, institutional, and sometimes retail. To do this, structurers work closely with clients to understand their needs and objectives, as well as with traders, salespeople, and analysts to design and implement these tailored financial products.
They must also ensure that the products they create comply with applicable regulations and the bank's risk management policies.
What skills should a Structurer have?
First, the banking structuring profession requires strong technical skills in finance, including financial mathematics, as well as a thorough knowledge of financial markets and products. Structurers must be able to understand and analyze the risks associated with different financial products, evaluate their profitability, and optimize their performance.
In addition to these technical skills, structurers must also have excellent communication skills to work effectively with clients and team members. They must be able to clearly explain the characteristics of financial products and the associated risks, as well as identify client needs and propose appropriate solutions.
In addition, structurers are involved in other aspects of the banking business such as sales strategy, marketing, project management, back and middle office processes, and legal and compliance relationships.
Two main aspects: pricing and innovation
Pricing is the process of determining the price of financial products offered to clients, considering factors such as associated risks, financing costs, market interest rates, etc. In addition, some clients come to them with a specific product idea in mind and want to know how much they can invest in that product. So, the objective is to provide them with a price (and a good price because otherwise they will go elsewhere).
Innovation consists in inventing products, financial strategies that are original and adapted to the specific needs of the clients. The structurers work closely with the sales teams to understand the needs of customers and propose products that meet their expectations while being profitable for the bank.
The Structurer's salary
Structuring is considered a very demanding and competitive profession, but it can also be very rewarding in terms of compensation and career prospects. For example, the salary of a structurer is between 45 and 60K gross per year as a junior. With a few years of experience, the salary can rise to 80 or even 90K€ annually. Structurers then receive bonuses depending on the company's results.
What does a structuring intern do?
The structuring intern will be primarily responsible for the valuation of complex products, commonly known as "pricing". Depending on the bank, he/she may also perform booking tasks by entering the parameters of the products processed in the systems. The trainee will then be able to participate in the automation of certain tasks and contribute to the improvement of certain systems or models, where VBA and Python skills can be very useful.
