Day in the Life of an Investment Banking Associate in London: 17-hour Workday and Hours Explained
This blog walks through the hours, responsibilities, and daily workflow of an investment banking associate at a bulge-bracket bank in London, based on my own experience at the time.
Hey guys! Ever wondered what a typical day in investment banking looks like? Follow an associate from a bulge-bracket bank in London through a 17-hour Tuesday: come see what a day in my life can look like as an investment banker.
Quick disclaimer: This post reflects my own experience and is shared for educational purposes.
What a typical day in investment banking looks like
It’s December as I’m writing this, and we’re in the middle of a BUSY period. Around Xmas time, you tend to end up in one of two camps: either work is ramping down, or you're one of the few with a busy workload just before the end of the year.
Don't get me wrong, 17-hour days aren't always the norm. Investment banking hours, at least in my case, tend to go up and down quite frequently, meaning my work-life balance also looks different day-to-day.
A day in the life of an investment banking associate: hour by hour breakdown
8am: I logged off at midnight last night, so I set my alarm for 8am today. Like many investment banking associates, the first thing I did when I woke up today was check my work phone for anything urgent.
When I was an analyst, a lot of it was to check if there were any urgent to-do’s from my associate. Now I’m the associate, I’m checking for:
Urgent overnight work from clients / seniors
Any questions from my analyst that I can answer, so I’m not the bottleneck for any work they’re doing on our project
Replied to a couple emails - nothing urgent that can’t wait til I’m at the office.
8.45am: Opened up my Spotify playlist and hopped on the tube to Bank station. Checked my emails again during my commute.
9.15am: Arrived at the office and replied to some more emails. A few rolled in from the accountants on our deal – one of the external parties on the deal called to check for a quick morning update on to-do’s for the day. I pulled up my tracker, gave the update and passed this conversation onto my VP and analyst to keep them in the loop.
10am: Emails. Emails. Emails (+ a couple calls). Since I got promoted from an analyst to an associate, I’ve found myself spending most of the day (my 9-5) answering emails from 5-6 different parties (accountants, other external advisers, buyers, our client). On deals like this, the team typically acts as the main point of contact.
11am: Caught up with my analyst to check in on their progress and come up with a game plan for the afternoon while I’m stuck in my inbox. We popped out for a quick coffee break – an excuse for some fresh air and a break away from our screens.
11.25am: Back to work! My VP stopped by my desk and wanted to discuss the model I sent him last night. We called over the analyst as well. This is one of my favourite parts of the job in all honesty. We spent some time debating my assumptions and figuring out the best way forward.
During my analyst years, for a long time, I didn’t get much opportunity to own the modeling workstream. I found myself staffed on lots of urgent executions, and so my associate would usually have to take on the model - was just a matter of circumstance.
The last 6 months before my promotion, I got to spend a lot more time working on my modeling skillset - the key to it was working with seniors who I got on well with, and who were invested in my learning.
12.30pm: Lunchtime! A bunch of us went to a sushi place down the street - one of the local spots for our team.
I’ve started building up a habit of eating away from my desk - something I didn’t do a lot of in my analyst years (even though I could have, looking back).
Kept an eye on my phone for anything urgent - thankfully nothing :)
1.30pm: Back at my desk - I took another look at our signed-off weekly call agenda for a Zoom meeting at 2pm with the client.
2pm: Led the call – it’s mainly a quick update from our end each time and then passing it to the other parties on the call – nothing technical but super important that these weekly project calls happen so we’re all aware of the latest status for each workstream.
3pm: Cleaned up the model for our discussion points from earlier and sat down with my analyst to go over the “what” and “why” of the latest model.
My analyst then took it over to output while I wrote out some of the key messaging slides on my plate + responded to moreeee emails :)))
6pm: I reviewed the latest slides from both our ends, and combined them into the latest draft of our deck – shipped off to the VP for any comments.
6.30pm: DINNER. I feel like I mentally plan around my meals – writing out this blog right now has made me hyper aware of that fact!!
By now, the MDs are packing up and leaving the office (will still be online later in the day though).
This is my team’s dinner routine: we all have our go-to at this point from Deliveroo and order at the same time. Then it’s dinner in the big meeting room as a group – I don’t know how that comes across through the screen but honestly, it’s a nice part of the day. We just chat about anything and relax while seniors are heading off / reviewing our work.
8pm: Ok, now it’s time to focus and try to get out at a decent time. My analyst and I sat down on our evening game plan – split the slides and comments from my VP and got to work.
11pm: Slides done. My analyst cleaned up our daily tracker while I reviewed our slides once more.
11.30pm: Shared back with the VP and headed home while we waited for comments / sign off.
00.30am: Email from the VP signing off on the version.
I popped a message to my analyst, asking them to share it with the seniors in PDF format - it’s important to create opportunities for your analyst to get their name out there in senior emails. My mentor did it for me, and I’m doing my best to be conscious to create that space for my colleagues now as well.
1am: Email from the MD noting he will review in the morning.
Set my alarm for 8am and I’m off to bed!
What this teaches you about investment banking interviews
Every day in investment banking looks different. Some are more fast-paced, others are less so. In my experience at least, I never know what my day will fully look like when I walk in at 9am. It forms over the day and really depends on our client’s needs.
A lot of what fills my day – reviewing slides, managing inboxes, prioritizing under pressure – also shows up indirectly in interviews, assessment centers, and case studies. Candidates are often assessed on more than just technical knowledge. They’re assessed on how clearly they think, how carefully they work, and how they handle ambiguity, often with limited time and incomplete information.
SelfCapital Network was built to help students practice these skills in interview and assessment center settings, before they ever step into a role. From time-pressured inbox simulations to slide checks and structured mock interviews, the goal is to reduce uncertainty and interview anxiety, so the real thing doesn’t feel unfamiliar.
That's why platforms like SelfCapital Network are here. Whether you’re preparing for Spring Weeks, internships, or assessment centers, go try out our mock interview questions, inbox simulator, and slide checks for free now! Get a feel for how interviews quietly test more than just memorized answers.