How to prepare for the summer internship in Leveraged Finance?

So I just accepted my offer for a summer internship in Leveraged Finance group at a large regional bank. What would you say are the most important skills that I should brush up on before the summer starts? I am a finance&accounting major. I definitely need to work on my relatively poor Excel skills. Since I have no experience with financial modeling I was thinking about buying one of the training packages e.g. WSP or BIWS to learn those skills asap. I am not sure, however, if the IB modeling courses would be very applicable to what I will be doing over the summer. How much modeling do Interns really do in a group like Leverage Finance? I don't think there will be a formal training involved in the program. What would be the best bang for the buck in my case?

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Best Response
  • Brush up on your modelling skills, it always help to be familiar with lbo models although the extent to which you will model will largely depend on your team culture / bank (as mentioned countless times, some LevFin teams do more modelling than others)
  • I would also not forget to work on your powerpoint skills - although you do significantly less powerpoint than in industry coverage teams, it still helps to be efficient at this level
  • Understand the differences between leveraged loans and high yield bonds, the processes, the technicalities, etc. This is probably the most important as being able to understand the technical aspects can really make you stand out
 

You will most likely not be modelling, especially if you do not go through a week of structured training which covers modelling. If you are given any modelling, it'll likely be plugging figures into a straightforward template.

Read chapters 4&5 of Rosenbaum & Pearl Investment Banking (PDF available via Google). If you do want to learn how to model, build the LBO model from chapter 5. Can also use Macabacus guides (http://macabacus.com/lbo-model/introduction). Read S&P Primer on Leveraged Loans and HY Bonds (https://www.lcdcomps.com/lcd/f/primers.html) and keep up to speed on news around rates / credit markets.

 

Do NOT buy one of the training packages. They will not help you learn those skills.

There are a bunch of free resources online. You will be doing very little modeling.

Better to have just good familiarity with Excel and basic accounting. I would start off by rebuilding the Macabacus simpler operating model in a blank Excel. Pay attention to the Excel formatting he uses and the formulas. Even if you don't fully understand it while you're doing it, if you persist it will begin to make sense, and it's great training.

If you get through that, try the Macabacus simpler LBO (same thing).

Bang for your buck = free.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I've decided not to buy any of these training packages. I will work on my Excel skills in the next few weeks and I will also use some of the free resources online to gain some modeling skills. Should I focus on learning the operating model and LBO first?

 

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