On the Excel side, which has been most helpful for you? Currently evaluating Shortcut and Tracelight, any others worth thinking about?
On the data room / deal life end-to-end management, what has seemed most beneficial? I've heard about F2 and Hebbia.
Any others worth thinking about beyond GPT & Claude?
Trending Content - Investment Banking Forum
| +260 | Earliest you can get fired | 54 | 1h |
| +244 | UBS’s M&A BANKERS ARE DOING TERRIBLY. $200M EXTRA IS BEING CUT | 43 | 9h |
| +220 | Career Crossroads | 31 | 1h |
| +220 | Investment Banking is Divine | 38 | 1h |
| +214 | US 2027 SA IB worried about background check | 52 | 7h |
| +206 | Analyst: Why is UBS IB doing worse than peers?, UBS CFO: No Comment | 41 | 1h |
| +204 | Another $115bn Mega deal for these banks. Congrats! | 43 | 7h |
| +48 | Is UBS really that bad? | 19 | 1h |
| +37 | Is Houston SA 28 recruiting already over? | 32 | 59m |
| +22 | Sweat Group 2026 Discussion | 24 | 2h |
Career Resources
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights:
Excel Tools:
Excel Toolboxes: Custom-designed toolboxes can be incredibly helpful for day-to-day tasks. Examples include:
Excel Resources: WSO offers resources like Excel shortcuts, self-study guides, and advanced formulas, which can enhance productivity.
Deal Life Cycle / Data Room Management:
AI Tools:
Additional Suggestions:
If you're looking for more tailored recommendations, consider tools that integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows and offer customization for finance-specific needs.
Sources: What kind of tools / apps do you wish existed in the industry?, Tricks of the Trade, The Data Room Your Deals Deserve, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/hedge-fund/machine-learning-taking-over-hf-research-analyst-roles-in-near-future?customgpt=1
bump
worth separating these into two different problems because the tools that are good at one tend to be mediocre at the other.
for the excel/modeling side, honestly most of the dedicated ai-for-excel tools are still pretty early. i've seen teams get more mileage out of just using claude or gpt directly to write complex formulas, debug circular references, or build out sensitivity tables from scratch. the dedicated plugins are mostly just wrappers around the same underlying models with a convenience layer. if you're evaluating shortcut and tracelight, pressure test them on something specific to your workflow, like EBITDA bridge adjustments or building a quick lbo from a CIM's financials, and see if the output actually saves time vs just prompting claude in a side window.
on the data room side, hebbia is genuinely interesting for large doc set extraction. where it gets tricky is the unstructured nature of most VDRs. every bank formats their CIMs differently, financials come in as pdfs with wildly inconsistent table structures, and half the critical stuff is buried in footnotes or appendices. the tool matters less than how well it handles YOUR specific data mess.
one thing i'd add to your eval criteria: don't just test on clean sample docs. throw the ugliest, most poorly formatted data room you've dealt with at each tool and see what breaks. that's where real differentiation shows up.
Good point on testing claude side by side with the excel tools, I'll give that a shot. Thanks for your thoughts
Thoughts on tools for the process management side such as managing stakeholders, progress reporting etc?
Process management is a coordination problem and AI becomes less relevant. firms I've seen do this somewhat well use something simple like monday or asana with lightweight automation on top. Auto-pulling status from email threads, flagging stale workstreams, generating a weekly rollup partners can skim in two minutes. Nothing groundbreaking. If I were evaluating tools for this, I'd focus on how easily it integrates with whatever your team already uses, and how consistent it is when input gets more varied (need to stress test - not a demo).
AI LLMs have been very helpful in CIM positioning sections to quickly crystallize what each of the differentiators are. It’s pretty impressive how good it can be
Had the same problem with keeping track of everything across different projects. It gets messy really quickly when the small tasks start piling up.
I’ve had the best results using GPT or Claude alongside Excel rather than relying on a dedicated plugin. I use them to check formulas, explain model errors, and turn meeting notes into action items, but I still verify every number. For deal documents, the biggest benefit has been searching and comparing files, not letting AI make judgment calls.
For multilingual CIMs or client materials, raw machine output can miss financial and legal nuance. I’d use AI Translation for a first pass, then have a qualified human review terminology, tone, and confidentiality before anything goes out.
bump
Shortcut and Copilot are decent
Gemini
I mainly use GPT and Claude at work to assist with Excel modeling and handling CIM documents. They help check formulas, explain model errors, and turn meeting notes into actionable tasks, but I always review all outputs manually. For data room documents, AI is primarily used for searching and comparing files rather than making decisions. For multilingual materials, I typically use AI for an initial translation, followed by a professional review of terminology, tone, and confidentiality.
Consequuntur laborum culpa est veritatis omnis occaecati excepturi. Ipsa inventore est quo eum. Sit inventore ut sunt blanditiis.
Velit sit delectus aperiam porro numquam. Consectetur velit minima commodi provident adipisci fugiat iusto. Nulla vel occaecati voluptas nostrum voluptatibus sit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...