Studying process
My situation: My theory+technical understand is not the best. That being said, I actually struggle really understanding what's going on in the markets + news. Id like to be able to actually form my own opinion on matters rather than just tag along what I hear.
Timeframe: I have all day everyday to take full advantage of studying untill school starts in September.
Question: How should I allocate my time studying? From reading books, reading the news, and learning technicals + theory.
Ive been mostly reading the new's daily + working on my excel skills. What do you recommend I tackle first? What's the most optimal way to choose what to study?
Thanks in advance.
If you really want to understand what's going on with the technical side of things, then here is a good book to help you understand technical indicators and things of that nature:
https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Investor-Spot-Market-Trends/dp/047038205
As far as the more fundamental stuff for companies and the economy:
https://www.amazon.com/Millennial-Money-Young-Investors-Fortune/dp/B01L…
https://www.amazon.com/What-Works-Wall-Street-Fourth/dp/0071625763
A good site for understanding the terms that you come across in the news is www.investopedia.com. It has all the definitions and explanations that you need to understand what's going on.
Just keep repeating. Get a notebook or we, and jot down any deals, anything you find interesting, interest rates, and any trends that you might read about.
Keep repeating and you will eventually start understanding. Find a good friend or two that are also prepping and talk about whats going on with them.
Find some podcasts or morning newsletters, I normally do morningbrew, finimize, and marketsnacks.
what podcast would u recommend?
I personally dont do podcasts, but if you search around on the forum, there are a few threads on podcasts.
Bloomberg surveillance/P&L are good for opinions and interviews, I also listen to Robinhood Snacks in the morning and they offer 3 in depth current events or opinions and it is entertaining. Lastly, other than podcasts I think CNBC is good for whats going on now, in my opinion, and they offer facts to back up what they are saying.
Masters in Business by Bloomberg is a good one
So, I think that you probably need more fundamental knowledge on finance to start forming your own opinions on the news. If you like be thrown in the deep end, I would see if you can fins anyone with old CFA level 1 study materials and just start cruising through those. You'll fell overwhelmed, but then you can start mixing in news with what you are learning.
Given that I was in your position before, I will pitch in my best advice:
I remember in College I would block out time each evening after the markets closed to read about the general market activity (Reuters, WSJ, Bloomberg (before the paywall existed)). After a few weeks and discovering M&I plus WSO, I came to realize that was not the best approach for prepping for IB Interviews.
I would recommend learning the technicals and not just memorizing answers (brainteasers are a different thing altogether). Knowing your technicals cold (especially since variations to finance and accounting questions are fair game) allows you better focus on behaviorals (which tends to end up being a core focus of the interview) and your best responses to these types of questions.
As for following the markets, have a good sense for the market and what is driving movement, but don't bog yourself down in it too much (unless S&T or Equity Research (to a degree)) are paths you are considering as well.
Would also recommend having 1-2 M&A deals you can speak about for interviews with key points in mind (Key Points: 1) Company A acquired Company B for $____ (if deal value is disclosed along with Revenue and EBITDA multiples) 2) Why you think the deal happened and what thoughts you may have about the deal's impact on industry or what the deal says about M&A activity in a particular space
Learning for the sake of learning is pretty hard. It’s easy to get lazy and there are so many convenient excuses. If you don’t have a time sensitive inherent reason to learn (class, interview prep) maybe you should try to create those reasons for yourself.
It doesn’t really matter right now whether you end up wanting to do banking (or anything in the finance industry) or not. Instead this would be my thought process.... Banking sounds cool, how does someone get into banking. Read about that. You’ll end up wondering what the interview process is like and the kinds of questions that would be asked. Read the questions. Pick one or two that seem relatively basic and do some research. Try to learn how to answer those two questions.
Now you’ve built some knowledge however small it may be, but that knowledge will guide your curiosity when your reading about a merger in the news for example. Lather, Rinse, Repeat until you end up knowing a lot about something because you were genuinely curious instead of force feeding finance terms to yourself.
Thank you everyone for the valuable advice. Let’s GOOOOO. Seriously, time to get off WSO.
Ttyl ya fellow monkeys!
I would place emphasis on reading books and learning the technicals/theory. I generally only really read the news to stay up to date on topics and events, not to engage in a deep learning session about them.
Most of the news that out there is short term in nature anyway, so while it may provide you with talking points, it is not going to answer the "why," which only comes with true understanding.
With that being said, as you progress and become more proficient, challenge yourself when reading the news to have an answer to the "why" behind what you're reading - don't just skim
Time and repetition will help with markets/news/macroeconomics. Read the WSJ daily in full for now - in time it will be a much shorter process as you become accustomed to it. Follow Lindsey Piegza, Chief Economist at Stifel, on LinkedIn - her articles and summaries on economic news and indicators are truly excellent, very succinct and informative. If you think you'll take the Series 79, the study materials are very useful, good information on markets, monetary policy, economic indicators, etc. and can be found online (although not free). Solomon Exam Prep was great. Barron's is a weekly (plus online) which is a fantastic summary of the most recent news and industry/macro trends, plus tells you which indicators are being reported for the upcoming week and the expectations for such indicator.
While you can cram a bit extra before school begins with various books, it's the daily habit of following the financial news that will get you up to speed over time. There's not much substitution for simply developing the habit of engaging with online or cable news on a daily basis until you're comfortable and familiar with the terminology, trends, indicators, etc. You don't want to be on an interview or even in an informal situation caught off guard without knowing what is happening, so just get into the daily habit now. Sounds like what you are doing, which is perfect. Add PowerPoint to your list - will be important - Wall Street Prep has a fantastic, inexpensive PPT course.
Four things to prepare for interview season:
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