Investment Banking Tombstone: Complete Guide to Meaning, Cost & Ordering
May 10, 2021, In Tips & Tricks
An investment banking tombstone is a custom commemorative trophy given to the deal team after closing a major financial transaction, such as an M&A deal, IPO, or restructuring. Also called a “deal toy”, “financial tombstone” or “lucite tombstone”. It typically displays the deal details, company logos, and closing date. Altrum has been producing deal toys since the 1970s and serves 80% of the world’s top 100 investment banks.
What Is an Investment Banking Tombstone?
Investment banking tombstones have been part of finance culture since the 1960s, when law firms and banks embedded lucite slabs with print announcements of completed financial transactions. Published in the Wall Street Journal and other financial publications, these rectangular print ads resembled headstones, giving rise to the name “”tombstone.”” The original tombstone ads served as public deal announcements, but today’s physical deal toys serve a very different purpose: a lasting thank-you to everyone who made the deal happen.
A financial tombstone is now a three-dimensional, custom-designed award that memorialises the transaction. Every tombstone typically goes to:
- Client management teams
- Internal deal teams (bankers, analysts, associates)
- Key advisors and legal counsel
A tombstone can commemorate any type of transaction, including:
| Transaction Type | Also Called | Common Design Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Mergers & Acquisitions | M&A tombstone | Interlocking shapes, dual logos |
| Initial Public Offerings | IPO tombstone | Stock ticker, market symbols |
| Leveraged Buyouts | LBO tombstone | Bold geometric, premium materials |
| Debt Offerings | Bond tombstone | Minimal, corporate |
| Real Estate Closings | Real estate tombstone | Building silhouette, aerial imagery |
| Restructurings | Finance tombstone | Custom narrative, milestone dates |
| Private Placements | Deal toy | Compact, elegant formats |
Investment Banking Tombstone vs. Deal Toy: Is There a Difference?
The terms are used interchangeably in the industry. “Tombstone” comes from the finance world’s history of rectangular print announcements. “Deal toy” is the modern term used to describe the physical commemorative piece. You’ll also hear “deal cube”, “lucite tombstone”, “financial tombstone” or “M&A tombstone”, all referring to the same category of recognition award.
What Materials Are Used for Investment Banking Tombstones?
The material you choose affects both the look and the price of your deal toy. Here’s a quick comparison of the most common options:
| Material | Appearance | Durability | Best For | Relative Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucite / Acrylic | Crystal-clear, modern | Very high | Classic designs, logo embedments | $ |
| Crystal | Brilliant, premium | High | Prestige deals, top-tier gifts | $$$ |
| Metal | Sleek, industrial | Excellent | Tech M&A, energy sector | $$ |
| Wood | Warm, organic | High | ESG deals, boutique banks | $$ |
| Mixed materials | Unique, bespoke | Varies | Creative or iconic deals | ~$ |
Lucite (acrylic) is the most popular material for investment banking tombstones, it is durable, flexible for custom shapes, and cost-effective at scale. Crystal is chosen when the deal warrants a premium piece or when impressing a key client is the priority. Combining materials (for example, a crystal element on a sustainably sourced wood base) is increasingly common for deals that need to stand out and for banks with ESG mandates.
Altrum offers eco-friendly alternatives including recycled acrylic, sustainably sourced wood, and carbon-neutral shipping worldwide, an increasingly important consideration for ESG-focused investment banks and their clients.
Why Do Investment Banks Still Give Tombstones?
In an era of digital recognition and remote-first work cultures, the physical investment banking tombstone has become more meaningful, not less. The reasons go beyond tradition:
- Tangible recognition outlasts digital: An email acknowledgment or a Slack message disappears. A deal tombstone displayed on a desk remains visible for years, regularly reminding the recipient and every visitor to their office of what was achieved.
- Team cohesion: When every member of a deal team receives the same commemorative award, they share a physical symbol of a common experience. This is particularly important for distributed teams across multiple cities or countries.
- Client relationship reinforcement: Presenting a financial tombstone to a client after closing a deal demonstrates gratitude and signals a long-term partnership mindset. In competitive advisory work, these gestures build loyalty that repeat business fees cannot.
- Cultural continuity: The tombstone tradition connects today’s deal teams to decades of investment banking culture. For analysts and associates early in their careers, receiving a first tombstone is a milestone in itself.
- Finance tombstone trophy status: In many firms, the collection of tombstones displayed in an MD’s office is a visible portfolio of completed work, a form of professional credibility that no CV bullet point can replicate.
How Much Does an Investment Banking Tombstone Cost?
Deal toy pricing depends on four main factors:
| Factor | Impact on Price | What to Know |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Higher with more material | Larger pieces cost more to produce and ship |
| Material | Lucite is most affordable; crystal most expensive | Mixing materials adds cost |
| Shape | Stock shapes cost less | Custom shapes require new molds |
| Quantity | Unit cost drops with volume | Ordering more can bring the per-unit price down significantly |
The best approach: come to your vendor with a target budget. At Altrum, every project starts with a budget conversation so the design team can maximize quality within your means, including all shipping and setup costs.
Do Analysts Get Investment Banking Tombstones?
Not always and it depends on the bank and the specific deal. Junior analysts are typically the ones coordinating the tombstone order, but whether they receive one themselves depends on the deal team’s budget and firm culture. In many cases, analysts can order one for themselves as part of the total order.
When budget is tight, priority typically goes to:
- Managing Directors and Partners
- Client representatives
- Senior associates and VPs
- Junior team members (analysts, associates) depending on available budget
At firms with established deal toy programs, it is increasingly common for the entire deal team (including analysts) to receive a tombstone. Altrum’s ordering process makes it easy to include personal orders at the same time as the main team order.
How to Order an Investment Banking Tombstone
Altrum’s ordering process is designed to be simple for busy deal teams. Here’s how it works, step by step:
Step 1 – Initial consultation (Day 1-3)
Reach out to your designated Altrum sales executive by phone or email. You’ll discuss budget, closing dinner timeline, deal information (confidential details are fine), and any design ideas you have in mind. No ideas? That’s okay, the team will lead the design process.
Step 2 – Design review (Day 4-10)
Altrum’s artists produce 3 initial designs. Your account manager reviews them for quality before sharing. You and your team review, give feedback, and request changes. All designs and revisions are complimentary, no limits.
Step 3 – Prototype approval (Week 2-3)
Strongly recommended: order a physical prototype first. You hold it, pass it around the team, and confirm there are no errors before the full order goes into production.
Step 4 – Production and delivery (Week 3-6)
Once the prototype is approved, the full order is produced and shipped. Altrum can ship to an event location, your office, or drop-ship individually to each recipient’s home address. Allow approximately 2-3 weeks after final approval for delivery.
Rush options are available if your closing dinner timeline is tight.
Where Do Investment Bankers Find Deal Toy Vendors?
If your bank doesn’t have a preferred deal toy vendor, asking within your team is the best first step, many banks have vendor relationships at the MD level that junior team members may not be aware of. Beyond that, reviewing a vendor’s portfolio is the most reliable way to assess quality before committing.
Altrum offers two routes depending on your needs and timeline. For teams that want something fully unique, the custom design path starts with a blank canvas, Altrum’s artists produce original concepts based on your deal details, logos, and any creative direction you provide. For teams with tighter deadlines or budgets, a Classic Catalog of pre-designed stock shapes is available: choose a shape, and the team customizes it with your logos, colors, and deal information. Pre-designed options also tend to have faster turnaround times.
Either way, Altrum’s online gallery lets you filter thousands of past designs by industry (oil & gas, tech, real estate, pharma) or by material, a useful starting point before your first call.
