Best M&A Book for 1st Year Analyst Preparation
Hi Guys
I passed the first round interviews for CS and DB and will probably have the next interview in January if they don't decide to cut the analyst positions, which I am really hoping for...
Well for the Interviews I used Vaults Guide to Finance interviews and another Book that I got in German as the Job is in Germany and German is not my Mother Tongue (neither is English as you can see).
However, as I have non experience in IB and probably the other candidates already have an internship, I am in a big disadvantage, especially in todays environment.
I will have to learn something more than the "Basics" if I want to get the job but still don't know, which book I should actually read.
Any Suggestions?
Thanks
I don't have a book suggestion for you, but your English is just fine. If you hadn't pointed it out that it wasn't your first language I doubt I would have noticed.
~~~~~~~~~~~ CompBanker
Thanks :P
The Practitioner's Guide to Investment Banking, Mergers & Acquisitions and corporate finance.
It's more of a desk guide, but goes from the basics to the in-depth stuff.. None of that theoretical crap, only real banking info...
Gluck
Yea I think that is the (blue cover) SCOOP book that I always recommend
Well... we'll be releasing the WSO Technical Interview Guide within a few weeks (for cheap) so that might be a good place to make sure you have most of the technical stuff down...the guide also gives suggested answers so you know how to phrase your responses.
Check back later this month - there will be a new menu titled "Guides".
Thanks, Patrick
My recommendation would be two parts: For the Interview & For the Job.
For the interview, in addition to the Vault Guide, I would strongly recommend that you visit the website ibankingfaq.com and check out the Technical questions page. I have personally found this site to be invaluable in my interviews and best of all its free. The Vault Guide + IBankingFAQ will prepare you really well for the second round.
If you get the job, I would then recommend getting your hands on some Wall Street Prep books. If you are going into the M&A group, I would check out the M&A Modeling booklet as it would give you detailed instructions on how to do an accretion/dilution analysis and even an LBO. Otherwise, just check out their booklet on DCF. No offense intended to Wall Street Prep, but I wouldn't sign up for their seminars if they are being held in your area - but just get their books.
Once you have mastered the "basics", I would recommend Aswath Damodoran's Investment Valuation book. I have heard some BB's used to give it out to their first-year's. Luckily, Damodoran has a website where you can read all his books for free - http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/ - and even have some interesting spreadsheet models for you to play with.
Hope this helps.
Hey Guys,
I already ordered the Practitioner's Guide to Investment Banking, Mergers & Acquisitions and corporate finance.
Think will not only help me for the interview but also for the future!! looks really complete!! I liked that.
I also saw the IBanking FAQ they are very similar to the Vault Guide Questions but with some extra info... like LBO Analysis better explained... and something about minorities. I had some difficulties with the last ones at DB, when they asked me about the Equity Bridge of a transaction... to be honest I did not know what it was so I had to ask him... then by using logic I could answer the question but still would have been better if I did not ask for the hint :D.
I will let you know how I performed in the second interviews and thanks for the tips.
M&A prep (Originally Posted: 05/02/2008)
Hey Guys,
I will be doing M&A this summer at a BB firm.
What do you guys think I should be doing to prepare? Which books are good to read?
Thanks!
This topic has been covered ad nauseam. I would introduce yourself to the search function.
My personal favorite and reliable desk reference has always been ScoopBooks Practitioner's Guide to banking, corp. fin and M&A
M&A Reading material. (Originally Posted: 06/12/2010)
Hey guys,
So, I've been really getting into M&A recently and I was wondering if there were any good books you would suggest for beginners? Sort of a book that will help me understand the industry, how pitches work, etc..
Gods at War is a good detailed play-by-play of recent M&A deals. It has a lot of legal aspects of the deals that you might find interesting.
For detailed info on the M&A process: - "The Art of M&A" by Reed - " Applied Mergers & Acquisitions" by Bruner
For case study compilations: - "Deals from Hell" by Bruner - "Big Deal" by Bruce Wasserstein - "M&A Titans" by Brett Cole
Some good books about banking in general: - "Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions" by Rosenbaum & Pearl - "The Practitioner's Guide to Investment Banking" from Scoopbooks
Thank you so much for this. I really do appreciate it.
5 months to prepare for M&A... (Originally Posted: 02/01/2013)
Hello
I'll be starting as a first year analyst at an elite boutique in London this coming summer. I will be working as a generalist, mainly focusing on M&A but will also gain exposure to restructuring.
I have a considerable amount of free time between now and then (I'm no longer at University so don't have the stresses of exams to worry about), and am keen to prepare myself as best as possible.
I don't need advice on how to prepare myself non-professionally (i.e. I will have plenty of fun and enjoy my time over the coming months), but I think I'd be silly not to use some of this time to gain some more career momentum (or at least to think about it...)
What can I do between now and summer to put myself in the best position when I come to start my job? I'm thinking along the lines of learning technicals and accountancy (any source suggestions?), gaining specialist industry knowledge etc.
Thanks and much love
Buy the M&I tech guide and Rosenbaum & Pearl, the technicals in M&I will definitely provide you with what you need to know going in and Rosenbaum should be required reading for all analysts.
Do you have a training program before actual work starts?
Yes, I have a formal training program before starting. Thanks for the suggestions.
Once I've ensured my technicals are solid, is there something more unusual/differentiating I could perhaps look into?
Good advice here.
I also used M&I to learn about and structure M&A and LBO models. I took stocks I owned - where I had performed some type of valuation modelling - and built said models for them from the bottom up.
Also, I think its underrated how much having a strong command of the language helps. Your paragraph was fine, but I think a lot of people could benefit from reading a book on grammar and practising their writing.
Learning technicals via M&I and Pearl/Rosenbaum is a very good idea. Might help building up a good reputation in the office quickly ("This guy knows his stuff") and will help you avoiding some (time) pressure.
Nevertheless, learning things which directly affect your work efficiency might be more valuable. These efficiency improvements were the one thing which helped me most when starting. Especially being perfectly comfortable with Excel and PowerPoint (navigation w/o mouse, knowing most functions, ...) makes life much easier. You will be working long hours under time pressure. Saving 30-50% of the normal time because of a perfect use of the standard software will put you ahead, lower time pressure, shows your professionalism, makes you feel more comfortable.
IMHO, efficiency will be higher (and therefore pressure lower) learning Excel/PP by heart than reviewing technicals over and over again - google the latter or look them up in books in the specific situation if needed. It's a pain in the ass when you had a long day and realize that you could have saved one hour if you were quicker in Excel/PP!
Unusual/differentiating I'm not sure besides brushing up on Excel shortcuts/PowerPoint, etc., but make sure to read How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Great post OP, il be starting FT in July too for training and like you have been thinking of this
and SEC...LOL arent u an intern? not hating here but im assuming he wanted advice from FT ppl that in hindsight could give him recommendations...but carry on
The faster you get with ppt and excel the lower lack of sleep you will have... Congrats for your offer!! Did you intern there last summer? Maybe you should get in touch with people that will be working with you and ask them for some advices (ie. if they usually work more on specific industries you should learn of and stuff like that).
something i found helpful (i'm not in ibd and this applies to everything), was to be really fucking good at excel and vba. there's nothing like building the trust and respect of your higher-ups because you are a technical whiz.
by the same logic, what some other posters have said about M&I models is true as well
Thanks for the responses guys. How much vba is actually likely to be used in m&a? I like programming so I'm happy to spend time learning it, but I can't see why I'd use it much (the firm has already created a bunch of macros to help with standard formatting etc)
I have interned there and as far as I can tell the firm is very generalist. Would it be a good idea to forge a niche for myself in terms of industry knowledge/understanding?
Well, I don't know about the macros they are already using but I know that if I was able to make a macro that help me to update standard ppt from an existing excel that would have helped :).
I would not spend too much time learning on a specific niche since you can end up in 2/3 years doing something completely different.
Is it Lazard/Roth or something like GHL/EVR/PWP/Moelis?
It's something like GHL/EVR/PWP/Moelis
Nice! Good luck!
Sorry for the stupid question, but what is M&I guide? I'd like to study it as well, and I already have Rosenbaum & Pearl... Thanks!
M&I guide is Mergers & Inquisitions.. not so beneficial if you read Rosenbaum's book.
To the OP: don't do anything but enjoy life while you have it. You will learn everything on the job.. most of what I read/learned before I started is not practical..
Do you have any friends that are already in banking? Maybe you can get their training guides. Our bank gave us 3 books of approx. 500 pages each about Accounting, Financial Markets and Valuation & Modelling that are quite helpful.
Hey above_and_beyond could you share the names of those books? Already have Rosenbaum's but a little extra literature wouldn't hurt anybody... TY!
A follow up question: What are the best resources for learning how to understand financial statements?
Mergers and Acqusuitions (Originally Posted: 12/29/2015)
Hey, I have just started pursuing my MBA in finance and wanted suggestions on good books i can read to get a deeper and better insight in the space of Mergers and Acquisitions. Any recommendations?
Practitioner's Guide to Investment Banking, Mergers & Acquisitions and corporate finance is a pretty decent book.
Investment Banking by Pearl and Rosenbaum
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