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DealMaven versus Wall Street Prep (comparing financial training solutions)
 

VCmonkey's picture
VC
 
Points)
 on 4/9/08 at 2:31pm

Hi everyone,

So I know a bunch of people on this board have questioned whether DealMaven, Wall Street Prep or Training the Street (TTS) is better. Having seen the TTS material through a close friend of mine, I think that the program is best suited for liberal arts candidates who have no finance background. The materials are excellent as an academic review of basic finance or accounting, but do not really help with modeling skills. I took a bunch of accounting and corporate finance electives at my university (and counted the credits towards my econ major), so I found the program of little value. So, for me, the decision boiled down to DealMaven or Wall Street Prep. I actually took the (expensive) decision to do both, so here's my take. In my job, I'm frequently building all kinds of models (Accretion/dilution, LBO, M&A) so I check back to these materials frequently. Of course, your background may differ from mine.

DealMaven:
Pros
- Offers a lot of guidance into Excel shortcuts which is highly useful
- Assumes a very basic understanding of finance and accounting (useful for lib. arts grads)
- Offers a great overview of all kinds of different modeling, which is very easy to understand and learn

Cons
- Material expires after 3 months which is annoying because I need to refer back to the material for work/interviews
- Excel formatting guidance is questionable, at best
- Can be a little slow at times, especially if you already know the basics of finance
- Program crashes frequently if running on a slow computer

Wall Street Prep
Pros
- Excel formatting guidance is in line with "industry practices"
- Having materials on paper (i.e. course not delivered online like DealMaven)is way more convenient and less straining on eyes
- Offers a great overview of all kinds of different modeling, which is very easy to understand and learn

Cons
- Assumes basic knowledge of finance and accounting (lib. arts grads may have trouble here)

I personally thought Wall Street Prep is the way to go, especially since I have a basic understanding of finance and accounting already. Also, I found learning something delivered through an online course very difficult to accomplish. I like having my materials on paper because I find myself less distracted. But in terms of overall learning, I really think the outcome from both the courses is the same. I just think you get the upper hand with Wall Street Prep because of their industry standard formatting and you get to keep the materials for future questions/reference.

Tags:
TimothyBrice's picture

Thanks a lot for your

IB
(Chimp, 15
 
Points)
 on 4/9/08 at 2:58pm

Thanks a lot for your comments. You helped me decide which program to choose

FL.Gator's picture

1. How is DealMaven

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/9/08 at 6:34pm

1. How is DealMaven presented online? Html, flash, video?

2. Can you print the webpages (and therefore create a PDF of everything)? Or is it very interactive where printing won't help?

3. Can you give an example of how DM's "excel formatting guidance is questionable, at best"?

4. Did you do both DM knowledge base I and II? What about WSP: premium or basic package?

Thanks very much for the info, very valuable

It just seems to me (not that I know anything) that FactSet/DealMaven would be more well known than WSP, as the certification is only a small part of their product line. Also, the name "Wall Street Prep" seems a bit amateurish... at least that's what I thought when I first read the name. for some reason "DealMaven Certification" sounds more "professional"... as we all know, it's all about the presentation.

k2's picture

Is completing a program like

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/9/08 at 6:47pm

Is completing a program like Wall Street Prep or DealMaven really necessary if you are going in to banking? It was my understanding that most of the modeling/excel/accounting/finance work you do as an analyst you learn on the job. Personally, I am a finance/accounting double-major so I'm not as concerned with learning that before I start as a summer analyst, but how necessary is it to know the modeling that you learn in one of these programs prior to starting the job?

pacmandefense's picture

what one is the most

O
 
Points)
 on 4/11/08 at 3:01pm

what one is the most advanced/technical (LBO modelling, cash sweeps, paydowns, debt schedules...etc) using Excel financial modelling?

soulsearching's picture

Leveraged LTM cash-swap

IB
(Baboon, 133
 
Points)
 on 4/11/08 at 6:45pm

Leveraged LTM cash-swap water fall modeling, hands down.

You need at least 4 weeks of modeling it.

Best,
SoulSearching

Best,
SoulSearching

pacmandefense's picture

i meant which program is the

O
 
Points)
 on 4/11/08 at 10:11pm

i meant which program is the most technical in terms of Excel modelling....

btw, i've modelled securization waterfalls. its easy. account for servicer fees, paydown, yada yada.....

dramatown's picture

Don't firms go over the same

(Chimp, 14
 
Points)
 on 4/14/08 at 10:32pm

Don't firms go over the same stuff during FT training? If so, then what is the use of doing these programs?

smartrip's picture

[deleted]

(Chimp, 7
 
Points)
 on 11/30/10 at 6:58pm

[deleted]

CDN's picture

thats true, why do you guys

IB
(Baboon, 168
 
Points)
 on 6/14/08 at 1:32pm

thats true, why do you guys think senior bankers know so little about the technicals/modeling? Is it because at the MD level its been so long since they were excel monkeys, so they just simply forgot? Or maybe the standards of getting into the business were easier back when they were starting out?

CaptainPachter's picture

Finally the Truth

 
Points)
 on 6/20/08 at 11:17am

Ok, TTS Does NOT teach MS & GS. I was an analyst at MS, and AMT did all training programs. It COULD be that TTS did the incoming interns, but this was a few years ago, and I think MS had since cut out intern training.

So that's it. Anyone that tells you otherwise they're lying(and I know TTS says they do it, but I am proof that they don't)

nagpalarjun's picture

thanks for the posts

IB
(Chimp, 1
 
Points)
 on 7/13/08 at 2:09am

thanks for the posts guys..

im going to get back to the DealMaven vs WSP thing again..

i agree that a 3 month course could be frustrating in the sense that you cant refer to the material later on..which i believe is very important..

however one can buy the liftime subscription to offset this..it costs 599 bucks (student)

as for WSP, one can add on the excel tips and tricks course for an additional 39 bucks making the entire package worth 538..

in light of this , and as a brand , which training is more well recieved at the BB firms?

thanks

cheers

investment_banker's picture

After carefully reviewing the

IB
(Chimp, 2
 
Points)
 on 8/2/08 at 5:21am

After carefully reviewing the content of many service providers, I finally registered for Wallstreet Prep. It is the best - hands down! WSP's content is clearly more applicable when it comes to being interviewed or even in the industry. I doubt it adds any value to the CV though, or certification from any other service provider.

Kahlen's picture

wall street prep 4 days boot camp

(Baboon, 111
 
Points)
 on 8/2/08 at 10:48pm

is anyone attending the upcming 4 days boot camp? how useful are the training sessions in the boot camps?

ibnew's picture

I used Wall Street Prep and passed all 3 levels of CFA

O
(Chimp, 13
 
Points)
 on 9/16/08 at 9:52pm

I passed 3 levels of CFA exams recently. Coming from a non-finance background, Wall Street Prep definitely helped me a lot in understanding financial statement and relationships among different items. If interested, you can check out my blog at http://wallstreetprep8.blogspot.com/ to read my profile and my blog on investing.

lezynski's picture

r u still in college???

IB
 
Points)
 on 10/8/08 at 2:42pm
ibnew:

I passed 3 levels of CFA exams recently. Coming from a non-finance background, Wall Street Prep definitely helped me a lot in understanding financial statement and relationships among different items. If interested, you can check out my blog at http://wallstreetprep8.blogspot.com/ to read my profile and my blog on investing.

r u still in college?

accidentalbanker's picture

used wsp for sale contact me

IB
(Monkey, 41
 
Points)
 on 10/17/08 at 5:23am
Solaxun's picture

I'm interested.

HF
 
Points)
 on 11/14/08 at 9:08pm
masnariktap's picture

Personally, I would say

IB
(Monkey, 58
 
Points)
 on 3/31/09 at 12:27am
bhm's picture

TTS 2 for 1 Deal (5 days - $2,500 each)

IB
(Chimp, 3
 
Points)
 on 7/26/09 at 9:55pm
Cornelius's picture

nothing beats

(King Kong, 1,707
 
Points)
 on 7/31/09 at 1:01am

------------
I'm making it up as I go along.

wcatx's picture

does analyst training teach

IB
 
Points)
 on 11/23/09 at 6:31am
Advisory88's picture

TTS also does modeling

IB
(Orangutan, 298
 
Points)
 on 12/21/09 at 8:38pm
PooSlinger's picture

Both good. Support Patrick!

IB
(Monkey, 39
 
Points)
 on 12/21/09 at 10:52pm

-----------------
Will throw some poo for silver. Just send me a PM.

supershick's picture

*BACK FROM THE DEAD* Hey

O
(Chimp, 1
 
Points)
 on 6/14/10 at 3:24pm
MrBroadway's picture

bump

IB
(Baboon, 160
 
Points)
 on 5/20/12 at 11:47pm

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