The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is one of the key inputs in discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis and is frequently the topic of technical investment banking interviews. The WACC is the rate at which a company’s future cash flows need ... Read More
The Series 79 exam, also called the Investment Banking Representative Qualification Examination, is an exam administered by FINRA for investment banking professionals. As long as the investment banker is engaged exclusively in investment banking activities, this exam can be taken ... Read More
The Series 7 exam, also called the General Securities Representative Exam, is a regulatory licensing exam administered by FINRA to assess the competency of entry-level finance professionals involved in the selling, trading or dealing of securities. The Series 7 is ... Read More
Beginning October 1, 2018, FINRA will overhaul the format of its regulatory exams: A new general knowledge exam called the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) will become a corequisite for the Series 7 (General Securities Representative), Series 79 (Investment Banking Representative) and other Series Exams. The individual Series ... Read More
Sell-side equity research analysts are typically part of an investment bank and focus on a universe of stocks within one or two industries in order to provide insightful investment ideas and recommendations: Directly to institutional investors; Directly to the investment bank’s ... Read More
A confidential information memorandum (CIM) is a document prepared by a company in an effort to solicit indications of interest from potential buyers. The CIM is prepared early on in the sell-side process in conjunction with the seller’s investment banker ... Read More
Virtually every new investment banking analyst has experienced some version of this: You’re staffed on a pitch or a live deal; You spend several sleepless nights trying to determine a company’s value so your analysis can be included in the pitch; ... Read More
One of the most common slides in an investment banking pitchbook is the football field. The football field is a floating bar chart in Excel that puts several valuation analyses side-by-side to provide clients with the full context of a company's ... Read More
Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the fair market value of a company’s net assets: If a business is simply a collection of assets, why would an acquirer pay more than the fair market value of that collection of assets? There ... Read More
When an M&A buyer has done enough due diligence to satisfy a decision to proceed, it provides the seller with a formal Letter of Intent (LOI). An LOI is a letter from the buyer that states the broad terms of what ... Read More
The Wall Street Prep Quicklesson Series
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