iRX:

You should know the technical questions in the Wall St Prep, Vault, etc. guides like the back of your dick.

now this is an interesting question, which side is the back? like after i've just seen a Mila Kunis the "top" seems like the back, but after i've just watched The Antichrist, i feel the "bottom" is the back..........
"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

if anything, the difficult of technical questions at bbs tend to be lower. of course, for top groups such as morgan stanley m&a, there are exceptions. when i was looking though, the bbs tended to ask very soft technicals and be more fit based.

smaller firms asked the harder technicals since they don't have the same resources to train employees. hlhz restructuring, greenhill, jefferies leveraged finance, perella weinberg, evercore, lazard and such all gave me some pretty intense grillings.

 

Be prepared to defend your background -- if you are looking for a SA you obviously will not have to know/be expected to know what someone applying for an analyst position.

fdba Emory Blaine and BBA or otherwise trying to find the perfect pseudonym.
 
BBA:
Be prepared to defend your background -- if you are looking for a SA you obviously will not have to know/be expected to know what someone applying for an analyst position.

If you are applying to SA, you should know everything an analyst should. The interviews are nearly identical except for SA, there is a strong focus on what you did in past internships and for FT there is a strong focus on what you did for SA.

MS SA interviews made people people look at the statements of two companies and determine if the merger would be dilutive or not.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

It will also depend on your background. If you have a decent amount of prior internship experience or if you have an accounting or finance background, you should be prepared for more technical questions and technical questions that are more difficult or, rather, require more knowledge of the field than if you are a liberal arts major for example without much internship experience.

Check out this link for more help on the interview process and technical questions: http://www.bankonbanking.com/bankonbanking-survival-guides/

 

Some basics:

1) How do you value a company? (answer: DCFs, Comparables, Precedents, and also LBOs) 2) Walk me through a DCF. 3) What would you look for in a stock investment? (is same question as how do you value a company)

Also, know what Comparables, Precedents, and LBOs are. After that a less likely question could have to do with understanding CAPM, knowing the difference between levered and unlevered Beta, and stuff like that.

 
Best Response
JDimon:
Some basics:

1) How do you value a company? (answer: DCFs, Comparables, Precedents, and also LBOs) 2) Walk me through a DCF. 3) What would you look for in a stock investment? (is same question as how do you value a company)

Also, know what Comparables, Precedents, and LBOs are. After that a less likely question could have to do with understanding CAPM, knowing the difference between levered and unlevered Beta, and stuff like that.

This is a pretty great summary of the technicals I was asked during recruiting for SA spots this year. I was routinely asked basic accounting questions as well (how are the financial statements connected, how does a $X change in depreciation affect the other statements, etc).

 

^^these

What's the hierarchy of the cap structure? (more important for product groups) What's cheaper, debt or equity? Why? Sometimes need to know what some recent trading levels were (DJIA, benchmark treasuries, etc..) If you have any sort of investment club EC on your resume expect to get asked about a recent pitch and how you came up with a recommendation. What's the most important financial statement? (no real "correct answer" but most would answer statement of cash flows) More stupid questions but a surprising many would get these wrong: What is IB? What's the role of an analyst? (making sure you actually know what you're applying for and understand the general deal process)

 

Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it. Interview is tomorrow and I'm feeling pretty prepared, any last minute tips/pointers that you may have would be greatly appreciated.

 

Now that you're feeling prepared, just remember - what will actually win you the offer is most likely not mastery of technicals, but your personality and fit in connecting with the interviewer. Screwing up the technicals can hurt, but it'll take more than correct answers to get the internship.

Spend some time reviewing and practicing your "why bank XX," "why IB," and "what makes you stand out as the best candidate" answers. Those are probably the three most important pieces of information that the interviewer will try and get out of you tomorrow.

Good luck!

 

You don't understand me entirely when I say read the Vault guide. Read the Vault guide and attempt to understand everything that is going on. For example, you should know what happens when you use levered free cash flow in a DCF analysis. You should figure out why you subtract cash from the EV of a firm. Why do you use an unlevered beta in CAPM? Read everything and ask yourself why they are doing that? Your studies will take you beyond the Vault guide but it is basically all inclusive. I would also agree with iwiibank, just search for interview questions.

 

Absolutely any interview guide is going to be good enough. We're loading up interview Q&A for free as we speak so ask away but since we're on WSO here's your answer to what's in a pitchbook so everyone can read it.

"In a pitchbook there are generally 3-5 sections. In a larger pitch for an M&A transaction for example it would be organized as follows 1) Overview of firm with credentials/tombstones 2) Industry analysis (why the firm is going to grow in the future), 3) Dive into company specific information of firm you want to sell 4) Valuation accretion dilution/merger combined model to explain why transaction would work 5) Comps/precedents and other simple valuations in the back [note: biographies may show up here as well]."

There ya go good luck.

 

I'm assuming that you're asking about investment banking? I'd recommend 3 resources and I'd limit it to these three in the beginning because tackling a number of books/prep guides will be confusing. Stick to a few resources and spend time learning them. 1. Use the WSO Prep/Technicals Guide (similar to the Vault w/ out a ton of extra bullshit) 2. Read Investment Banking by Pearl/Rosenbaum 3. Read the WSJ / Dealbook on a daily basis. Investment Banking, the book, will give you a good overview of the industry and then also hold-your-hand through the technical aspects at a high level. WSO Prep/Technicals will prepare your specifically for answering technical questions in an interview. These resources will work well together b/c Pearl/Rosenbaum may walk you through modeling the DCF, but the WSO tech. guide will show you how to assemble a quick/punchy response in an interview for the DCF. When an interviewer wants to dig a little deeper beyond your quick answer, Pearl/Rosenbaum will give you a little depth, but if they don't then the tech. answer come of nice and neat. WSJ/Dealbook will give you a feel for the 'goings on' and real world shit to talk about. Hope this helps.

'Before you enter... be willing to pay the price'
 

Agree with the earlier reply. I started with Pearl & Rosenbaum, reading 10 pages per day, spending about 2 hours per day to get it down really well. Then I went through the M&I study guide technicals. Then I worked on my behavioral stuff. It is really just a matter of planning, putting in the time.

 

Sounds like you've already done some preps. Rosenbaum would be a good read, although I only skimmed through it once and never had any problems with technical questions during the interviews. What I found really helpful was setting up mock interviews with people in the industry and asking them for difficult questions, because those are the ones you can never find in any guides. With that said, once you know the basics, you don't necessarily have to learn more; you just practice utilizing what you already know in order to answer the "creative" questions. What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to know every nitpicky detail in the Rosenbaum book. Just try to look at the big picture and understand intuitively. (Maybe someone will disagree...)

 

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