What do you model as an Analyst at a D/E firm?

Ah, you've hit the nail on the head! As an analyst at a D/E firm, you'll indeed be doing a lot of acquisition modeling. You'll be inputting debt assumptions for debt transactions, which is a crucial part of the process. It's important to understand the industry's leverage levels, typical lenders that cover the space, covenants, and so on. You might even find yourself pulling public comp credit agreements and reading through them.

On the equity side, you're right again! Waterfall modeling is a big part of the job. This involves understanding the distribution of cash flows between different stakeholders in a deal.

Remember, though, it's not just about the technical skills. You'll also need to manage your workload effectively. This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. You can't be on every deal and help out everyone. That's how burnout happens.

And one more thing, come into every day thinking you'll leave the office at 11 pm at the earliest. If you leave at 8 pm instead on a Thursday, it makes your week. Being an analyst will be a grind and you need to have the right expectations.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Sources: Q&A: Consistent Top Bucket IB Analyst, What do REPE and Developers look for in IS analysts/associates?, Help! MD is asking me to come with him, Q&A: West Coast Tech IB Analyst