One of the most common questions aspiring bankers ask is: “How many hours do investment bankers actually work?” The answer is — it depends. Investment banking hours are demanding by almost any standard, but the reality is more nuanced than the horror stories you read online. Your schedule varies significantly depending on your seniority level, the bank you work at, the group you are in, and whether you are in a busy or slow period.
In this guide, we will break down what a typical week in investment banking actually looks like, how hours change across seniority levels, and what you can do to manage the workload effectively.
How Many Hours Do Investment Banking Analysts Work?
Investment banking analysts — the most junior full-time employees on a deal team — typically work the longest hours. On average, expect to work somewhere between 70 and 90 hours per week. During particularly busy stretches, such as when you are working on a live deal with a tight deadline, hours can push past 90 or even approach 100 in extreme cases.
On a more typical week without a major live deal, analysts might work closer to 65-75 hours. But “typical” is relative — in investment banking, there is really no such thing as a predictable schedule. You might leave the office at 10 PM one night and midnight the next, depending on what comes across your desk.
A rough breakdown of a typical analyst weekday might look something like this:
- 9:00 – 9:30 AM: Arrive at the office, check emails, review overnight comments from senior bankers
- 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Work on pitchbooks, financial models, or deal-related deliverables
- 12:00 – 1:00 PM: Lunch (often at your desk or a quick break with other analysts)
- 1:00 – 7:00 PM: Continue working on deliverables, attend internal calls, respond to ad hoc requests
- 7:00 – 8:00 PM: Dinner break (many banks provide a dinner stipend or meal allowance)
- 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM (or later): Revisions, finishing up materials for the next day, turning comments
Weekends are not guaranteed off. Most analysts work at least part of the weekend — sometimes a few hours on Sunday to prepare for Monday, and sometimes a full Saturday if a deal is live. That said, the day-to-day reality depends heavily on your group and deal flow.
How Hours Change by Seniority
One of the most important things to understand about investment banking hours is that they generally decrease as you move up the ladder — though the nature of the work and the type of stress changes significantly.
Analyst (Year 1-3)
Analysts work the most hours because they handle the bulk of the execution work — building financial models, creating pitchbooks, formatting presentations, and turning comments from VPs and MDs. Expect 70-90+ hours per week on average. The hours are long partly because the work is detail-oriented and there is a steep learning curve in the first year.
Associate (Year 3-6)
Associates still work long hours, but the workload is somewhat more manageable — typically 65-80 hours per week. Associates spend more time reviewing analyst work, managing deal processes, and communicating with clients and senior bankers. The hours can spike during live deals, but associates generally have a bit more control over their schedule than analysts do.
Vice President (VP)
VPs typically work 55-70 hours per week. The role shifts toward project management, client communication, and overseeing deal execution. VPs are the bridge between junior bankers doing the analysis and senior bankers managing client relationships. While hours are shorter on paper, VPs are often on call and need to be responsive to client requests and deal developments at any time.
Director / Senior Vice President
Directors and SVPs typically work 50-65 hours per week. At this level, the focus is more on business development, pitching new clients, and managing the pipeline. While the raw number of hours decreases, the pressure to generate revenue and maintain client relationships is significant.
Managing Director (MD)
MDs have the most flexibility in their schedules, but they are essentially always working in some capacity. Client dinners, industry conferences, relationship-building calls, and internal strategy discussions are all part of the job. An MD might not be in the office until midnight building a model, but they are constantly thinking about deals, pitches, and revenue. Weekly hours might be 50-60 or more, but the nature of the work is very different from what analysts do.
Busy Periods vs. Slow Periods
Investment banking is not uniformly busy all year. There are predictable peaks and valleys that affect your schedule:
Busy Periods
- January – March: Annual planning season, new year pitching, and a wave of new deal activity. Many clients want to kick off processes early in the year.
- September – November: Another busy stretch as companies try to close deals before year-end. This is often when deal activity picks up after a quieter summer.
- Live deal periods: When your team is running a live M&A process, IPO, or financing — regardless of the time of year — hours will spike significantly. A live deal can mean several weeks of 80-100 hour weeks.
Slower Periods
- Late June – August: Summer tends to be slower as many senior bankers take vacations and deal activity dips. Analysts still work, but the pace is often more manageable.
- Late December: The weeks around the holidays are typically quieter, though you may still need to be available for urgent matters.
Keep in mind that these are general patterns. If you are on a live deal during a “slow” period, your hours will still be intense. The best analysts learn to take advantage of quieter periods to recharge, take vacation, and get ahead on personal development.
How Hours Vary by Bank and Group
Not all investment banking jobs have identical hours. Several factors create meaningful differences:
Bulge Bracket vs. Elite Boutique vs. Middle Market
Bulge bracket banks (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, etc.) and elite boutiques focused on advisory tend to have some of the longest hours because they work on the largest and most complex transactions. Middle market banks sometimes offer slightly better hours, though this is not always the case — it depends heavily on deal flow and team size.
Some banks have implemented “protected weekends” or similar policies that guarantee analysts at least one weekend day off. These policies exist on paper at many banks, but enforcement varies by group and by how busy the team is.
Coverage Groups vs. Product Groups
Coverage groups (like Technology, Healthcare, or Consumer) are focused on specific industries and tend to have hours that ebb and flow with deal activity. Product groups (like M&A, Leveraged Finance, or Restructuring) are staffed across deals regardless of industry and can sometimes be busier because they serve multiple coverage teams.
Restructuring groups, for example, tend to get busier during economic downturns — which means their hours can spike when other groups slow down.
The “Face Time” Factor
One thing to be aware of is the concept of “face time” — the expectation that you are physically present in the office even if there is not a pressing task to complete. This has been a long-standing feature of investment banking culture, though it has evolved somewhat in recent years.
Before COVID, face time was a major driver of long hours at many banks. Analysts would sometimes stay late simply because leaving before senior bankers “looked bad.” Since the pandemic, some banks have become more flexible about remote work and face time expectations, but many have pushed hard for a return to in-office work. The degree to which face time is expected varies significantly by bank, group, and individual team culture.
The best advice here is to focus on the quality and responsiveness of your work rather than simply being the last person in the office. Most senior bankers care far more about whether the work gets done well and on time than whether you are sitting at your desk at 1 AM.
How to Manage the Hours
If you are planning to go into investment banking, here are practical strategies for managing the demanding schedule:
- Get efficient at the work: The faster you become at building models, formatting slides, and turning comments, the more time you save. Mastering technical skills before you start the job gives you a meaningful head start.
- Prioritize sleep when you can: You will not always get eight hours, but making sleep a priority during slower stretches helps you perform better during busy ones.
- Set boundaries where possible: While you cannot turn down work, you can communicate proactively about timelines and manage expectations with your VP or associate.
- Take advantage of slow periods: When deal flow is light, use that time to exercise, see friends, and recover. Do not waste quiet periods — they are precious.
- Build strong analyst relationships: Having good relationships with your fellow analysts makes the long hours more bearable. These are the people who understand what you are going through.
Are Investment Banking Hours Getting Better?
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about whether investment banking hours are improving. After several high-profile stories about burnout, many banks introduced formal policies like protected weekends, maximum hour caps, and mandatory vacation days.
In practice, the results have been mixed. Some groups and banks have genuinely improved their cultures and work-life balance. Others have policies on paper that are not consistently enforced. The reality is that investment banking is a client-service business, and when a client needs something done, the team needs to deliver — regardless of what the policy says about Saturday work.
That said, the trend is generally moving in a positive direction. Banks are more aware of burnout risk, and there is more conversation about sustainable work practices than there was ten or fifteen years ago. If work-life balance is a top priority for you, it is worth doing your research on specific groups and teams during the internship or recruiting process.
Is It Worth It?
The hours in investment banking are undeniably demanding. But for many people, the tradeoff is worth it. The compensation is very strong relative to other entry-level jobs, the learning curve is steep, and the exit opportunities into private equity, hedge funds, and corporate development are excellent. Most analysts view the two-to-three-year stint as an investment in their long-term career — one that pays dividends for decades.
The key is going in with realistic expectations. If you understand what the schedule looks like and prepare accordingly, you will be much better positioned to thrive than someone who shows up expecting a nine-to-five job.
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