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Investment Banking Interview Questions and Answers | Wall Street Oasis

Investment Banking Interview
Questions and Answers
101 common technical, fit, behavioral, and logic
investment banking interview assessments with sample
answers
  Resources  Interviews
 Investment Banking Interview Questions & Answers
REVIEWED BY
Patrick Curtis
Expertise: Private Equity | Investment Banking
Updated:
March 30, 2023
The Investment Banking (IB) interview process is highly
competitive and designed to rigorously filter out potential
candidates. Consequently, answering the behavioral,
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technical, and logical questions that are asked in the
interview with proven answers that we provide is key to
converting an interview into an offer.
The following free WSO IB interview guide is a
comprehensive tool designed to cover every single aspect
of the interview process, guiding you from the very
beginning to the very end.
This guide features 101 of the most common
technical, behavioral, logical, and group-specific
questions that are asked by investment banking
professionals to candidates during the hiring process as
well as sample answers to each one of them. It is a great
place to start your preparation before investing in our
more comprehensive IB interview course.
This resource includes 21 bank-specific questions
from bulge bracket investment banks (Goldman Sachs,
J.P Morgan, Citi, etc.).
This interview guide consists of 16 sections which cater
to various phases of the interview process.
IB Interview First Impressions - Carrying
Yourself
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We've all heard about it at one point or another. Forbes has
written on it.
"First impressions are the best impressions."
Within just a few seconds of meeting, people will form a
solid opinion of who you are. Perfecting your first
impression while carrying yourself with a healthy balance of
confidence and humility lays the foundation and tone for the
rest of the interview. The following section has been written
by Patrick Curtis, CEO of WallStreetOasis, based on his
vast experience of interviewing candidates for investment
banking positions.
Read it over, perfect your entry and learn how to leave a
lasting impression on your interviewer from the get-go.
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How to Carry Yourself
The biggest thing I am looking for is humble confidence someone I would like to grab a beer with.
Listen, listen, listen!!! So many mistakes happen just
because of not listening carefully and not being in the
moment.
Be punchy, brief, and learn how to end a sentence. I
can't tell you how many times people have gotten into
trouble by rambling off into some ass-backward irrelevant
tangent. Learn to be comfortable with a little silence here
and there while we absorb your answer.
Common First Investment Banking
Interview Questions: Crafting Your Story
There are no excuses for not perfecting what is in your
control. Irrespective of the bank, the position, or your region,
you can be sure these 2 questions will be asked as they're a
standard in the industry.
Anticipating both of these questions beforehand, crafting a
compelling narrative around them, and selling yourself on it
will make you stand out from amongst the pool of potential
candidates.
1. Walk me through your background/resume
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Dial-in a cohesive 90-second resume walkthrough that
focuses on the positive and motivating factors behind every
transition (school to job, job to better job, most recent job to
grad school).
A good example:
I went to school to learn how to design cars, but after
my first internship I realized that I like interacting with
clients directly and pursued full-time roles in B2B sales.
In these sales roles, I developed solid selling skills as
well as gained exposure to a, b, and c. Since I wanted
to continue honing those skills and branch out to focus
on x, y, and z, I am seeking a new role/promotion
which provides that opportunity…
Be deliberate. Every move you made should have a reason
(preferably that you initiated). Don't be negative. Never say
you left because you were bored or "wanted to try
something new."
2. Why investment banking?
The answer to this question should be tailored uniquely to
you and to the firm you are interviewing with. While
answering this question, it is key to capitalize on your
previous professional/leadership experience, highlight it and
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create a logical path as to why you are now trying to break
into investment banking. A good answer to this question is
addressing the three main reasons, illustrated below with an
example each:
Given the variety of professional backgrounds that
candidates come from, WSO has created a dedicated page
to answer this question.
Did you know?
WSO's "Why investment banking?" article covers 43
sample answers, tailored for students and
professionals from backgrounds ranging from law to
consulting.
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30 Common Investment Banking
Technical Questions
Technical questions are a critical component of almost
every investment banking recruiting process. You WILL be
asked these questions, and your interviewers will expect
detailed and accurate responses. The following section
features 30 of the most common IB interview questions,
with a detailed sample answer for each of them.
At the end of these 30 questions, we also have provided
you with 14 exclusive bank-specific technical questions
(from 7 bulge bracket banks) to kickstart your mock
interview training.
1. What are the three main financial statements?
Sample Answer:
The three main financial statements are
Income Statement
Balance Sheet
Statement of Cash Flows
The Income Statement discloses a company's revenues
and expenses, which together yield net income over a
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period of time. The Balance Sheet discloses a company's
assets, liabilities, and equity on a specific date. The Cash
Flow Statement starts with net income from the Income
Statement; then adjusts for non-cash expenses, nonoperating expenses like capital expenditures, changes in
working capital, or debt repayment and issuance, to arrive
at the company's closing cash balance.
2. How are the three main financial statements
connected?
Sample Answer:
Net income flows from Income Statement into the Cash
Flow Statement (CFS) as Cash Flow from Operations. Net
income less dividends are added to retained earnings from
the prior period's Balance Sheet (BS) to come up with
retained earnings as on the date of the current period's BS.
The opening cash balance on the CFS is from the prior
period's Balance Sheet while the closing cash balance on
the CFS is the balance on the current period's Balance
Sheet."
The following chart gives you a more comprehensive
overview of how the 3 financial statements are connected to
help visualize and present better for your interview:
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3. If you could use only one financial statement to
evaluate the financial state of a company, which
would you choose?
Sample Answer:
The cash flow statement because it shows the actual
liquidity of the company and how it is generating and using
cash. The balance sheet just shows a snapshot of the
company at a point in time, without showing the
performance of the company, and the Income statement has
several non-cash expenses that may not be affecting the
company's health and can be manipulated. Overall, the key
to a great company is generating significant cash flow and
having a healthy cash balance, both of which are disclosed
in the CF statement.
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4. How would a $10 increase in depreciation
expense affect the three financial statements
(assuming a 40% tax rate)?
Sample Answer:
In the income statement, the depreciation increase of $10 is
set off by a reduction of $4 on taxes as depreciation is a taxdeductible expense for the net reduction in net income of
$6. In the cash flow statement, net income is reduced by $6,
depreciation is increased by $10, net cash from operations
and total cash is increased by $4. This increase in cash is
because depreciation is a non-cash expense that has no
impact on cash while the reduction in taxes affects the cash
flow. In the balance sheet, property, plant, and equipment
balances reduce by $10, cash balance increases by $4, and
retained earnings reduce by $6 due to the reduction in net
income.
The following points summarize this:
On the income statement
$10 depreciation expense, 40% tax rate
Reduction in net income of $10 x (1 - 40%) = $6
Reduction in net income flows to cash from operations
Net income reduced by $6
Depreciation increases by $10
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Net increase in cash from operations of $4
Ending cash increases by $4
Ending cash flows onto the balance sheet
Cash increases by $4
Property, plant, and equipment lose $10 in value
Net decrease in assets of $6, matches the net drop in
shareholder equity due to the reduction of retained
earnings from the $6 is net income
5. "Walk me through the Income Statement"
Sample Answer:
The first line of the Income Statement represents revenues
or sales. From that, we subtract the cost of goods sold,
which gives gross margin. Subtracting operating expenses
from gross margin gives us operating income (EBIT). We
then (add/subtract) interest expense (income), taxes, and
other expenses (income) to arrive at Net Income.
6. What is Enterprise Value?
Sample Answer:
Enterprise Value (EV) is the value of an entire firm, both
debt, and equity. This is the price that would be paid for the
company in the event of acquisition without a premium.
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EV = Market Value of Equity + Debt + Preferred Stock +
minority interest - Cash
7. What is WACC and how do you calculate it?
Sample Answer:
WACC is the acronym for Weighted Average Cost of
Capital. It reflects the overall cost for a company to raise
new capital, which is also a representation of the riskiness
of investment in the company (higher the risk, higher the
cost of capital). It is commonly used as the discount rate in
a discounted cash flow analysis to calculate the present
value of a company's cash flows and terminal value.
The formula below helps you calculate the WACC of a
company if you are put on the spot and asked to calculate it
as part of your technical interview:
where,
E = Market value of equity
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D = Book value of debt
P = Value of preferred stock
KE= Cost of equity (Calculate using CAPM)
KD = Cost of debt (Current yield of debt)
KP = Cost of preferred stock (Interested rate on preferred
stock)
T = Corporate tax rate
8. What is EBITDA?
Sample Answer:
EBITDA stands for Earnings before Interest, Taxes,
Depreciation, and Amortization.
It gives us a good idea of a company's profitability and is a
quick metric for free cash flow because it will allow you to
determine how much cash is available from operations to
pay interest, CAPEX, etc.
EBITDA = Revenue - Expense (except depreciation and
amortization)
It is also often used for rough valuations in a comparable
company or precedent transaction analysis as part of the
EV/EBITDA multiple.
9. Would you be calculating enterprise value or
equity value when using a multiple based on free
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cash flow or EBITDA?
Sample Answer:
EBITDA and free cash flow represent cash flows that are
available to repay holders of a company's debt and equity,
so a multiple based on one of those two metrics would
describe the value of the whole business from the
perspective of all its investors.
A multiple such as the P/E ratio, based on earnings alone,
represents the amount available to common shareholders
after all expenses are paid, using which you would be
calculating the value of the firm's equity.
10. Can a company have a negative book equity
value?
Book equity value is the accounting value of equity derived
by subtracting the value of a company's liabilities from its
total assets. It is the total shareholder's equity, an amount
shown as "Total Equity" in the Balance Sheet of the
company.
Sample Answer:
Yes. If there are large cash dividends or if the company has
been operating at a loss for a long time.
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11. What is typical of an LBO (leveraged buyout)
transaction?
A firm (usually a PE firm) uses a high amount of debt (70 90%) to finance the purchase of a company, then uses the
company's cash flows to pay off that debt over time.
The acquired company's assets may be used as collateral.
Ideally, the original debt of the acquired company would
have been partially retired at the time of exit.
In the context of a private equity investment, the debt acts
as a way to magnify returns (boost IRR for the fund), but it
can also backfire if the acquisition turns south.
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12. Why would a company issue equity rather
than debt to fund its operations?
Sample Answer:
There are many reasons why a company would want to
issue equity instead of debt. Some of them are:
If the company feels its stock price is inflated, it can raise
a relatively large amount of capital with comparatively
minimal dilution to existing shareholders.
If the projects the company is looking to invest in do not
produce immediate or consistent cash flows to pay its
debt.
If the company wants to adjust the cap structure or pay
down debt.
If the owners of the company want to sell off a portion of
their ownership.
13. How is it possible for a company to have a
positive net income but go bankrupt?
Sample Answer:
This is possible if working capital erodes (such as
increasing accounts receivable, lowering accounts payable,
lower inventory turnover) or the company is growing so fast
that it's unable to raise enough capital to fund operations.
Another possibility is the existence of financial fraud.
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14. What are some ways you can value a
company?
Sample Answer:
The three most common ways of valuing a company are:
Comparable companies or multiples analysis: This is the
most common way to value a company. This method
attempts to find a group of companies that are comparable
to the target company and to work out a valuation based on
what they are worth. The idea is to look for companies in the
same sector and with similar financial statistics (Price to
Earnings, Book Value, Free Cash Flow, EBITDA, etc) and
then assume that the companies should be priced relatively
similarly.
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Market valuation or market capitalization: In this method,
the market value of equity is used and hence can only be
used for publicly traded companies. It is calculated by
multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the current
stock price.
Discounted cash flow analysis: This method involves
calculating the sum of the present values of all future cash
flows to give the value of the entire company including debt
and equity, which is also called enterprise value.
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15. Which of the valuation methodologies will
result in the highest valuation?
Here is a list of the four valuation methodologies organized
from highest valuation to lowest valuation:
Precedent Transaction - Since a company will pay a
control premium and a premium for synergies coming
from the merger, values tend to be high.
Discounted Cash Flow - Those building the DCF model
are frequently optimistic in their projections.
Market Comps - Based on other similar companies and
how they are trading in the market. No control premium
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or synergies.
Market Valuation - Based on how the target is being
valued by the market. Just equity value, no premiums or
synergies.
16. Why might there be multiple valuations of a
single company?
Sample Answer:
Each method of valuation will generate a different value
because it is based on different assumptions, different
multiples, or different comparable companies and/or
transactions. Generally, the precedent transaction
methodology and discounted cash flow method lead to
higher valuations than comparable companies' analysis or
market valuation does.
The precedent transaction result may be higher because
the approach usually will include a "control premium" above
the company's market value to entice shareholders to sell
and will account for the "synergies" that are expected from
the merger.
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17. Walk me through a DCF.
In an interview, it is important to keep your technical
overview at a high level. Start with a high-level overview
and be ready to provide more detail upon request.
Sample Answer:
Project out cash flows for 5 - 10 years depending on the
stability of the company
Discount these cash flows to account for the time value
of money
Determine the terminal value of the company - assuming
that the company does not stop operating after the
projection window
Discount the terminal value to account for the time value
of money
Sum the discounted values to find an enterprise value
Subtract the present value of debt (this is generally the
market value of debt) and then divide by diluted shares
outstanding to find an intrinsic share price
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Common questions that follow this are:
Why do you multiply by (1-tax rate)?
Sample Answer:
You do this because interest expense (the cost of debt) is
tax-deductible so you need to account for the benefit
provided by this "debt tax shield."
What is the cost of equity?
Sample Answer:
The cost of equity is usually calculated using the Capital
Asset Pricing Model (CAPM).
CAPM = Risk-free rate + Beta * (Expected market return Risk-free rate)
What is the exit multiple method for determining the
terminal value?
Sample Answer:
Find an industry average multiple and multiply it by final
year revenue (if using EV/Revenue) or final year EBITDA (if
using EV/EBITDA).
18. What is an Initial Public Offering (IPO)?
Sample Answer 1:
An IPO is the first public sale of stock in a previously private
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company. This is known as "going public." The IPO process
is incredibly complex, and investment banks charge high
fees to lead companies through it. Companies go public for
several reasons-raising capital, cashing out for the original
owners, and investor and employee compensation.
Some negatives against "going public" include sharing
future profits with public investors, loss of confidentiality,
loss of control, IPO fees to investment banks, and legal
liabilities.
19. What is the difference between accounts
receivable and deferred revenue?
Sample Answer:
Accounts receivable is revenue, which has been earned
and recognized because the product has been delivered,
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but the customer has not yet paid the cash. Deferred
revenue is cash that has been collected for products that
have not yet been delivered, so the revenue has not yet
been recognized. Accounts receivable is an asset on the
Balance Sheet, whereas deferred revenue is a liability.
20. When calculating enterprise value, do you use
the book value or the market value of equity?
Sample Answer:
You should use the market value of equity always because
the book value is not adjusted once it is recorded in the
books at the time of issue of the shares. It is common to
very often see a share priced in the hundreds or thousands
having a face value of $1 or $10. This is due to the historical
nature of accounting. Hence, the book value of equity is
useless for any kind of valuation, and market value is the
preferred metric to use.
21. If enterprise value (EV) is $80mm, and equity
value is $40mm, what is the net debt?
Enterprise Value = Equity Value + Net Debt + Preferred
Stock + Minority Interest.
Sample Answer:
If we assume there is no minority interest or preferred stock,
then Net Debt will be $80mm – $40mm, or $40mm.
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22. What is the difference between cash-based
accounting and accrual-based accounting?
Sample Answer:
Cash-based accounting recognizes sales and expenses
when cash flows in and out of the company.
Accrual-based accounting recognizes revenues and
expenses as they are incurred regardless of whether cash
flows in or out of the company at that exact time.
Accrual-based accounting is the more common method for
large corporations.
23. What are the major factors that drive mergers
and acquisitions?
Sample Answer:
Major factors that justify mergers and acquisitions are:
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24. All else equal, should the WACC be higher for
a company with a $100 million market cap, or a
company with a $100 billion market cap?
Sample Answer 1:
Normally, the larger company will be considered "safer" and
therefore will have a lower WACC all else being equal.
However, depending upon their respective capital
structures, the larger company could also have a higher
WACC.
Sample Answer 2:
Without knowing more information about the companies, it
is impossible to say. If the capital structures are the same,
then the larger company should be less risky and therefore
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have a lower WACC. However, if the larger company has a
lot of high-interest debt, it could have a higher WACC.
25. What is Beta?
Sample Answer:
Beta is a measure of the volatility of an investment
compared with the market as a whole. The market has a
beta of 1, and hence, investments that are more volatile
than the market have a beta greater than 1 while those that
are less volatile have a beta less than 1.
26. How/why do you lever or unlever Beta?
Sample Answer:
Unlevering beta allows us to remove the effect of debt in the
capital structure. This shows us the beta of the firm's equity
had it not used any leverage in its capital structure. Also, if
we are trying to do a market comparison with a company
that's not on the market (so no beta), you can take a
comparable company and unlever its beta and use this
unlevered beta as a proxy for the unlisted company's beta.
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27. What is net working capital?
Net Working Capital = Current Assets – Current Liabilities
Current assets include items on the Balance Sheet like
inventory, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, and other
short-term assets. Current liabilities include items such as
accounts payable, accrued expenses, deferred revenue,
and other short-term liabilities.
An increase in net working capital means more cash is tied
up in the operations. This could be from increasing current
assets like inventory or accounts receivable. If you increase
inventory, for example, it is not (yet) a cost on the Income
Statement, but still blocks the cash that was used for
purchasing the inventory which needs to be accounted for
on the CF statement. This is why in calculating free cash
flow you subtract an increase in net working capital.
A decrease in net working capital means less cash is tied up
in operations. This could happen due to changes such as
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increasing accounts payable or reducing inventory. If you
reduce inventory, it means you are selling more goods than
you are producing, which means you are realizing a cost on
your Income Statement. If you are increasing accounts
payable, you are preserving your liquidity by taking a little
bit longer to pay your vendors for your raw materials/inputs.
Sample Answer:
Net Working Capital is calculated as current assets minus
current liabilities. It is a measure of a company's ability to
pay off its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. A
positive number means they can cover their short-term
liabilities with their short-term assets. A negative number
indicates that the company may have trouble paying off its
creditors, which could result in bankruptcy if cash reserves
are insufficient and further financing cannot be arranged.
28. What happens to free cash flow if net working
capital increases?
Intuitively, you can think of working capital as the net dollars
tied up to run the business. As more cash is tied up (either
in accounts receivable, inventory, etc.), free cash flow will
be reduced.
Remember that if the assets go up in value (denoting a
purchase of assets), this is a use of cash; and if a liability
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goes up (denoting funds received), it is a source of cash.
Sample Answer:
You subtract the change in Net Working Capital when you
calculate Free Cash Flow, so if Net Working Capital
increases, your Free Cash Flow decreases and vice versa.
29. How can a company raise its stock price?
Sample Answer:
There are many ways a company can raise its stock price, a
few of which are:
A company can repurchase stock, which lowers the
number of shares outstanding and therefore increases its
value per share.
It can improve operations to produce higher earnings,
causing its EPS to be higher than anticipated by industry
analysts, which will send a positive signal to the market.
It can announce a change to its organizational structure
such as cost-cutting or consolidation, which would lead
to increased earnings in general.
It could announce the institution of a dividend policy or
an increase in an existing dividend.
It can announce an accretive merger or an acquisition
that will increase earnings per share.
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30. If you were the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of
a Fortune 500 company, what would be your
concerns? Explain from a high level what the
long-term financial implications are for your
company.
Sample Answer:
Fortune 500 companies are usually in the mature stage of
their business lifecycle. This means they have stable growth
accompanied by a good amount of stable cash flows and
balances. As a CFO of one, I would look out for signs of
declining products or services to be discontinued while also
actively keeping an eye out for opportunities to expand and
grow, either through mergers and acquisitions or by
increasing the spending on internal research and
development.
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WSO's Bonus IB Interviews Tip From An
Interviewer
Walk me through every calculation you are doing. I want to
hear you think out loud.
The process matters far more than your answer and
gives you a chance to demonstrate a grip on the
concepts.
I sometimes just ask for a simple calculation, along with
"Are you sure?" to put on a little pressure and see how you
respond.
I am looking here for you to take five seconds, doublecheck your math, and answer with a confident, "Yes, I am
sure."
Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know" to a tough technical
question.
As an analyst, I expect you to ALWAYS tell me when you
don't know something, and never wing your way through
an answer.
If you give an, "I don't know" follow it with, "But here is
what I am thinking. Tell me if I am on the right track."
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And walk me through your thoughts. This is a great
analyst quality because it shows that you'll think about a
problem critically before you call me and ask about it.
Everything You Need To Break into
Investment Banking
Sign Up to The Insider's Guide on How to Land the
Most Prestigious Jobs on Wall Street.
Learn More
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14 Bank-Specific Hard Technical
Questions
Being able to clearly, confidently, and consistently answer
the 30 technical questions bank-specific questions above
will undoubtedly give you a competitive edge over the
applicant pool. However, to achieve full technical mastery, it
is critical you expect technical questions that are specific to
each of the investment banks.
The following section features 14 exclusive questions (2 per
investment bank) for 7 of the biggest investment banks in
the world, to help kickstart your training process for your
interviews and superdays.
The following questions have been taken from WSO's
company database which is sourced from the detailed
experiences of more than 30,000 people with IB interviews.
The WSO IB Interview Course includes access to over
4,000 interview questions across 400+ banks (no other
resource comes close).
Goldman Sachs IB Interview Questions
1. Walk me through a Leveraged Buyout (LBO) model.
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2. What might cause a company's Present Value (PV) to
increase or decrease?
JPMorgan Investment Banking Interview Questions
3. How would a significant event impact financial markets?
4. How do interest rates affect the market?
Morgan Stanley Interview Questions
5. Are there any special multiples that only apply to some
industries or sectors?
6. If there was an earthquake in a country, what would
happen next year to the country's GDP growth compared
to the year of the earthquake?
Citigroup Interview Questions and Sample Responses
7. Can a company have a negative book equity value?
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8. What is risk?
BoA Sample Questions on Superday
9. How do you calculate Terminal Value?
10. What does an investment banking division do?
Credit Suisse Interviewing Questions
11. If a REIT is trading below NAV, what strategic options
would you provide them as a banker?
12. Walk me through the full math for the deal now.
Assume that Company A has 10 shares outstanding at a
share price of $25.00, and its Net Income is $10. It acquired
Company B for a Purchase Equity Value of $150. Company
B has a Net Income of $10 as well
UBS Questions Asked by Interviewers
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13. Company A is acquiring Company B; firm A has a stock
price of $10/share, B's share price is $20/share. A has a $4
Cash Flow (CF)/share and B $8 CF/share; is the deal
accretive or dilutive if the transaction was all-stock?
14. Company A has an Enterprise Value (EV) of $1B, an
EBITDA of $200M and is leveraged 2.5x wants to buy
company B which has EBITDA of $100M; A will finance the
acquisition with $250M debt; how does this transaction
affect leverage? What if the deal was e
Most Common Technical Interview Question WSO Bonus:
15. "Pitch me a stock"
Many interviewers will ask you in one way or another to
pitch a stock if you have any experience with trading, a
private wealth management internship, a hedge fund
internship, or anything that deals with market transactions. If
this is you, spend 30 minutes to a couple of hours finding a
stock you like and why. Even if it doesn't get asked, it's
always better to be safe than sorry. Here's a good
explanation of how to answer this question.
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16 IB Product Group-Specific Questions
Do you have an M&A group interview coming up? Or
perhaps an ECM superday right around the corner? We've
got you covered.
The following 16 group-specific questions have been taken
from our forums and company database where over 30,000
candidates have reported their interviewing experiences for
different divisions within investment banks.
The following questions and sample answers will help you
achieve specialized focus and demonstrate expertise for the
group you're interviewing for.
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Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
1. What are some reasons that would incentivize two
companies to merge?
2. What is the difference between a strategic buyer and a
financial buyer?
Leveraged Finance (LevFin)
3. If I have a credit card loan, a car loan, and a mortgage,
explain and rank their relative interest rates.
4. If I have a hardware and a software company, both with
the same revenue and EBITDA, which can I lever up more
and why?
Debt Capital Markets (DCM)
5. What are some of the major macro factors that can
affect the spreads on corporate bonds? Explain their
effects.
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6. If the price of a bond increases, what happens to the
yield?
Equity Capital Markets (ECM)
7. What is an IPO?
8. How would you calculate the WACC of a private
company?
Restructuring
9. If a firm has a leverage ratio of 5x and it has an interest
coverage ratio of 5x, what is the firm's interest rate?
10. Given an operating income of 40, depreciation of 10, a
tax rate of 40%, interest expense of 15, and CAPEX of 15,
what's the levered FCF?
Equity Research
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11. In a high inflation environment, do you favor value or
growth stocks?
12. Is it right to use WACC as the discount rate in a DCF
model?
Sales & Trading (S&T)
13. How would you approach a client to sign them?
14. How can you create an equity portfolio with 0 beta?
Risk Management
15. How do credit card companies make money? What are
the costs?
16. What is the purpose of tapering? What must the federal
reserve consider when implementing it?
16 Common IB Industry-Specific
Questions
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Are you looking for questions that are unique to particular IB
group that you are interested in joining? Do you have an
interview coming up and have preferences on what industry
you want to join? We've got you covered.
The following 16 industry-specific questions have been
taken from our forums and company database where over
30,000 candidates have reported their interviewing
experiences for different divisions within investment banks.
The following questions and sample answers will help you
achieve specialized focus and demonstrate expertise for the
industry you're interviewing for.
Consumer & Retail
1. If the CFO of the company needs to increase their
margins for the quarter but revenue is lower than in the
past, what would you recommend doing?
2. If assets increase by X amount what would happen to
shareholders equity? Are assets recorded at cost, market
value, or book value?
Energy and Utilities
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3. What are some possible regulatory issues facing the
power sector?
4. How would you forecast the forward-year production of
an E&P company with a well-established production
history?
Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
5. Graph the WACC as a function of the debt-to-equity
ratio.
6. Walk me through a DCF and a DDM for FIG and explain
how they are different.
Healthcare
7. When would you use DCF vs. trading comps to value a
company?
8. Why is there no terminal value for biotechnology
companies?
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Industrials
9. What is the difference between a levered and unlevered
beta?
10. When you're doing a DCF, how do you calculate the
terminal value using the multiples method?
Natural Resources
11. Rank the betas of four segments of the oil industry: 1.
Upstream 2. Downstream 3. OFS 4. Midstream
12. What’s a Section 338(h)(10) election and why might a
company want to use it in an M&A deal?
Real Estate
13. How would you underwrite a real estate loan?
14. What do you look at when deciding whether or not to
invest?
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Technology / Media / Telecom (TMT)
15. What is the difference between MOIC and IRR?
16. What do you think Apple should be doing during the
Coronavirus?
12 Most Common Behavioral Fit
Questions
You've reached the behavioral/ fit interview. This means that
the firm believes you are smart enough for the job. At this
point, the little things matter. Fit questions are a major part
of the IB analyst interview. The focus of fit questions is to
see who you are and how you would fit into the firm's
culture.
This section features 12 of the most common behavioral/fit
questions you are likely to be asked during your interviews,
followed by an exclusive set of 7 bank-specific (from 7 bulge
bracket banks) behavioral questions to support you in
tailoring your response to each bank and walking out with
an offer.
1. What are some of your strengths?
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Going into the interview, you should have your three top
strengths in mind and a story ready to go for each of them.
When you answer this question, make sure
you identify your greatest strength and
explain it clearly. Don't dance around the
answer. The strength you describe must be
a quality that will help you become a great
junior employee.
If you can, bring up a strength that doesn't appear on your
resume but could catch attention. For example, if you have
performed in concert or theatre all your life, learning to be
poised in front of strangers and/or large groups, it may be a
good strength to share.
2. What is the one word that describes you best?
Motivated, smart, driven, humble, efficient. All of these are
good options to use. Make sure to have an example to back
up whatever word you choose with a specific story.
3. What has been your favorite class in college
and what was your grade?
The course you name should have something to do with
business/finance/economics, and the grade you report
should be a good one. If you say your favorite class was
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"dancing", why are you looking to go into finance? Why do
they want to hire you?
It is worth noting however, you must have a genuine
justification and rationale behind claiming a finance class
was your favorite. If you do not have a compelling reason
behind your answer, interviewers will call your bluff and see
through it easily.
4. "What is the most important thing your resume
doesn't tell me that I should know?"
Talk about a skill that is unique to you (something that
makes you memorable) and that cannot be documented on
a resume. Think about things like your communication skills,
teamwork skills, etc…not your math skills, which can be
seen in GPA or SAT scores.
Once you decide on the quality you want to present,
illustrate it with a story from your life. A common variation of
this question is "What separates you from the last person
with your GPA from your school?"
Sample answer:
Ever since my freshman year of high school, I have loved to
perform. I was in the musical each year of high school, and
have had a lead role in a play each year in college. This has
allowed me to develop a comfort speaking in public
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situations, and with people, I don't know or have just met. I
think that this will be an extremely valuable skill in finance,
speaking with clients, on the phone, and when presenting
my work to my coworkers.
5. "Tell me about a time that…"
There are countless variations of this question, from "Tell
me about a time you acted with integrity" to "Tell me about a
time that you had difficulty dealing with coworkers". It is key
to have a well-rehearsed response for each of them, and a
general guideline to follow.
Ideally, you can come up with 6-8 stories that cover the 3040 basic questions, with only slight modifications. DON'T
wing it. For every potential question, map out the story
using the SOAR framework.
Describe the Situation (10-15 seconds), Obstacle (10-15s),
Action (60-75s), and Result (15-30s). Stories for these
questions should be 1.5 - 2 minutes long and focus only on
what's important.
6. What is your biggest weakness?
Seeing as to how common this question is (even outside of
the finance industry), we have a dedicated page for this
question to support you in answering it perfectly during the
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interviewer. The "Good Responses To Biggest Weakness
Questions" page can be found here.
7. What are you looking for in this job?
The interviewer wants to make sure you are aware of what
this job entails, and what most analysts get out of the
experience. You should acknowledge the long hours and
the heavy workload while making it clear that you are ready
to take on the challenge. Emphasize the appeal of a great
learning experience that you would be unable to get in any
other job straight out of school.
Explain how you relish the prospect of pushing yourself and
being challenged to do your best work in this job, and
working with and learning from successful people.
Sample answer:
I am going into this as an unparalleled learning experience.
Everyone I have spoken to within the industry tells me you
learn everything on the job. While my undergraduate
studies prepared me for business, I know that most of the
skills I need will be acquired on the job. I understand the
hours and the workload, and I want to work incredibly hard
to gain real-world experience that isn't available in any other
profession at this stage in my career. I know these skills will
prepare me for anything I want to do later in my career.
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8. What has been your favorite job so far?
If possible, pick a job that requires similar skills to the job for
which you are applying and explain why those skills or
requirements made it you're favorite. Talk about how you
were forced to learn on the fly or multi-task or think critically
because those are all skills you will need in finance.
9. What has been your least favorite job so far?
Talk about a job where you were bored, or not challenged,
or not busy. None of those things will be the case in finance
so they won't be an issue.
10. What competitive activities have you
participated in, and have they been worthwhile?
Finance is competitive. Firms are always competing for
business and colleagues can even be competitive with one
another (although most won't admit it). You need to show
that you are comfortable in competitive situations, but still
can act with class and show respect.
Sample answer:
I played varsity football in college. We won the conference 2
consecutive years and played at the NCAA tournament.
Working with my teammates to accomplish a common goal
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and beat the competition was an amazing experience, really
exhilarating.
11. If you had a million dollars that you weren't
allowed to invest, how would you spend it?
Make sure your background backs up whatever answer you
give. If you have never volunteered in your life, don't say
you're going to donate your money to a non-profit and go
work for them. Have it relate to something you are
interested in, and make sure that whatever you are
spending it on can cost roughly a million dollars.
12. What are you interested in?
There are two ways that you can answer this question
properly and you may want to explore both in your answer.
First, you can mention things that you are interested in that
are job-related like keeping up with current events, studying
for the CFA, etc. Second, you can speak about your
hobbies and your interests outside of work. The latter works
great if you happen to share an interest with your
interviewer. Hint: If you know the names of your interviewer
you can do a little research beforehand and see if you can
find any common interests so you can push the
conversation in that direction.
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WSO's Bonus Tip
"Once you get yourself in that room, I don't care
about your GPA or what else you have on your
resume. I am looking for 3 things, A connection with
myself and the firm's culture, Will you be able to do
the work? and Do you have a passion for the job?"
As taken from our forum.
7 Exclusive Bank-Specific Behavioural/Fit
Questions
Knowing the culture of each bank before walking into an
interview is key to clicking with the interviewer and walking
out with an offer.
The following section features 7 exclusive questions for 7 of
the biggest investment banks in the world, to help you jump
start your training for the respective investment banks you
are interviewing for.
The following questions have been taken from WSO's
company database which is sourced from detailed IB
interviews experiences of more than 30,000 people.
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1. What do you like to do outside of school and
work? (Goldman Sachs Behavioral Questions)
Ideally, the interviewer is looking for anything you can speak
genuinely and passionately about, and support it with
examples of your dedication towards it from your past
experiences.
2. What makes you stand out / What should we
remember you by? (JP Morgan Fit Questions)
This is similar to the 'What are your strengths?' question.
Have a concise 30-second pitch prepared. Concentrate on
the three main bullets highlighted in the introduction, and
identify three of your traits that manifest those qualities.
Examples include things like being extremely driven, never
giving up, wanting to learn, looking for challenges, etc.
Make sure you take only 20-30 seconds and speak with
confidence, but make sure to avoid arrogance.
3. What are your leadership involvements outside
of finance? (Morgan Stanley Fit Interview)
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It is important to show that you are comfortable taking up a
leadership role or working under the leadership of someone
else. It is important to be able to do both. Talk about past
projects that show you being successful in both types of
roles. Talk about your teamwork skills (communication,
collaboration, etc.) and how those skills are effective when
you are the leader as well as when you are supporting
someone else's leadership.
4. Why Citi? (Citigroup Soft Skills Evaluation)
This question can generally be asked by any bank, and the
preparation routine is consistent across all such banks.
Ideally, you want to tie in and present an alignment between
your interests and values, with the firm's culture, and
support this with examples.
An exceptionally strong way of demonstrating this would be
networking with current investment bankers at the bank,
and talking about the appreciation you felt towards the
characteristics of those you networked with (refer to specific
people wherever possible) and concluding with how that
makes you feel the bank would be a great place to work.
5. What do you consider the biggest negative
about this job? (Bank of America Behavioral
Questions)
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Your interviewer is giving you a chance to give a "negative"
about the job and explain why you don't see it as a
negative. The overwhelmingly popular response to this
question is the lack of work-life balance, long hours, very
unpredictable schedules, etc. Quickly mention the negative
and then move on to why it doesn't bother you.
Sample answer:
I have been fortunate enough to have a lot of contacts who
work in finance, and their usual response to this question is
the long hours. However, every single person I have spoken
with has said that they enjoy their job and they think the
hours are worth it. This job will give me 4 - 5 years of work
experience in only two years. It's an opportunity I crave and
a learning experience I don't want to miss. I am ready for
the challenges and I want to show that I can handle them.
6. How important do you think it is to be
maintaining connections in this industry? (Credit
Suisse Fit Assessment Question)
While networking is generally seen as important for
advancing one's professional career irrespective of industry,
there is significantly more weight placed on its value within
the investment banking industry relative to other industries.
Ideally, your answer should acknowledge this fact, and you
should support this with examples of you maintaining
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connections with a variety of professionals and the insights
you have learned through their shared experiences.
7. What are your hobbies? (UBS Behavioural
Interviews)
This question is quite a personal one, so feel free to expand
upon this as per your choice. One key point we'd like to
iterate is that it is disadvantageous to "fake" an interest or
hobby with the intent of faking a "click" with your interviewer.
Interviewers can often see through this, and it could
potentially harm your chances of getting an offer.
It is much more beneficial to highlight a hobby that requires
a set of transferable skills or values to IB, such as
competitive sports (which involve having a strong work
ethic), and passionately speaking about them.
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Everything You Need To Break into
Investment Banking
Sign Up to The Insider's Guide on How to Land the
Most Prestigious Jobs on Wall Street.
Learn More
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6 Logical Puzzles - Interview Brain
Teasers
Logical puzzles, brainteasers, and riddles are an important
part of the interview process as they allow the interviewer to
determine your critical thinking abilities.
For this section of the interview, interviewers aren't focused
on whether you get the right answers or not. Rather, they
are interested in your thought process while solving the
riddles you are presented with.
Given this, it is key to walk your interviewer through your
thinking as you progress through the riddle, who may even
probe you with questions to assist you. Giving them a
rundown of your thoughts and occasionally asking if you're
headed in the right direction demonstrates your capabilities
to reflect, and approach a problem with composure.
It is still, however, extremely useful to anticipate these
logical puzzles beforehand to avoid being put on the spot
and caught off guard in the interview. The following section
has 5 commonly asked logical puzzles that you can prepare
for beforehand to impress your interviewer.
1. A room with no windows has 3 light bulbs. You
are standing outside with 3 switches that control
each of the three bulbs. If you can only enter the
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room once, how can you determine which switch
controls which bulb?
Answer:
First, turn on two switches: call them Switch 1 and Switch 2.
Leave them on for a couple of minutes to let them get nice
and hot.
Then, turn off Switch 1 and enter the room. The bulb that is
lit should be the one that is controlled by Switch 2.
Of the remaining two bulbs, the hot one is the one
controlled by Switch 1. The last one, off and not hot, is
controlled by Switch 3.
2. What is 17 squared? What's 18x22?
Answer:
Don't worry; they want to know how you will handle this
question, and it is not difficult if you think about it correctly.
Think 17 x 17 is just 17 x 10 plus 17 x 7. You know 17 x 10
is 170. Now 17 x 7 is 10 x 7 and 7 x 7. This gives you 170 +
70 + 49, or 289. Whatever you do, don't panic!
Now see if you can do 18 x 22: 18 x 20 + 18 x 2. Easy, 360
+ 36 = 396.
As far as brainteasers go, this is a rather common one. You
will do better if you have practiced these types of questions.
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3. How many NYSE-Listed companies have 1
letter ticker symbols?
Answer:
It could be 26 (letters in the English alphabet), but it is only
24 because I & M are saved for Intel and Microsoft, in case
they change their minds.
4. How many gas stations are there in the United
States?
Answer:
With a question like this, the interviewer is looking at your
thought process, not that you can figure out how many gas
stations are in the U.S.
The easiest way to go about answering a question like this
is to start small and work your way to the bigger question.
Think about your town. Say your town has 30,000 people,
and you have 5 gas stations serving that area.
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So you have 7,500 towns with 5 gas stations and 2,500
"towns" with only 1.
Do a little mental math and you get the number of 40,000
gas stations in the U.S.
5. A stock is trading at 10 and 1/16. There are 1
million shares outstanding. What is the stock's
market cap?
Answer:
This is just a test of your mental math.
If a fourth is .25, an eighth is .125, and a sixteenth is
.0625...
The stock price is 10.0625 and the Market Cap is 10.0625
million.
6. How many degrees are there between a clock's
two hands when the clock reads 3:15?
Answer:
The quick thought would be 90 degrees, but it isn't. If the
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clock is 360 degrees, the minute hand will be exactly at the
90-degree mark. The hour hand will be ¼ of the way
between the 3 and the 4. Since there are 12 numbers, the 3
and the 4 are 30 degrees apart, making the hour hand 7.5
degrees beyond the 3, and 7.5 degrees from the minute
hand. The picture below helps illustrate this better.
Questions To Ask The Interviewer At The
End
After approximately an hour of drilling from the interviewer,
here you are, at the very end. The interviewer looks at you
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and asks, "Do you have any questions for me?" This is your
last and best chance to leave a lasting impression, so ask a
thoughtful question for which the answer cannot be found
with a simple google search.
Some of the questions WSO recommends are
I bet you were in my shoes a few years ago - what
initially attracted you to X bank?
How would you describe the culture here?
Can you talk about your role in the last [M&A, ECM,
DCM] deal you worked in and what specifically you
learned from it?
These questions have been taken from "What Are Some
Good Questions To Ask The Interviewer At The End Of The
Interview?", posted by WSO user @soontobe. Check out
his full post with additional questions here.
Once you have asked your question, listen sincerely to the
interviewer's response. They want to see if you are
genuinely interested, and not simply asking for the sake of
asking. Take down notes occasionally if you have to.
As you wrap up, thank the interviewer once again for their
time and shake their hands firmly. Sometimes an interview
may go extremely well, while at other times not so much so.
Irrespective of the situation, show respect and leave on a
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positive note with the interviewer. A thank-you email a few
hours after the interview is generally appreciated.
Resources to learn more about
sending thank you emails after
interviews:
The Muse - How to Write an Interview Thank You
Note Email Template
Indeed - Sample Thank You Letter After Interview
Zety - Thank You Email After an Interview
The Balance Careers - Thank You email After Job
Interview
Career Sidekick - Thank You Note After Interview
Bonus Interview Preparation Tips
Having mastered all the technical and behavioral/fit
questions, as well as logical riddles above, you are in an
exceptionally strong position for your IB interviews.
However, there is much more to excelling in IB interviews
than simply memorizing sample questions and answers. In
a pool of highly qualified and competitive candidates,
interviewers look for more than someone who simply aces
technicals.
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They look for a candidate who would fit right into the
company, who are able to stand out and showcase their
strengths in a way their competition can't match.
Given this, it is no surprise that the most successful
candidates go above and beyond in the preparation
process, taking the time to master the art of selling
themselves in an interview and clicking with their
interviewers. They build upon their social skills, and utilize
these soft skills to steer the direction of the interview in their
favour, giving them an upperhand which cannot be
matched.
When considering this, it is not a stretch to say one's soft
skills play just as much as a role in their interview's outcome
as their technical skillset.
If you'd like to get started on learning these powerful tips,
here are some additional resources from WSO's hall of
fame.
3 Tools That Will Take You A Long Way
Read Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence
People: If you have read it, read it again. Take the time to
practice every single one of the principles over and over
again. You can become excellent at communicating with
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this one book, and if you are ambitious, please check out
Influence by Robert Cialdini.
Master selling: Again, people think of selling as
something you either have or you don't. WRONG. Selling
is a skill that brings together preparation and the skills of
communications and influence. Read How to Master The
Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins. If you are serious,
consider creating a Selling Black book to sell your most
valuable commodity - YOU.
If you're bold, dip your toe in the water and learn the
most advanced skills of influence - NLP and
conversational hypnosis. As part of this, you will learn
nuances of language and non-verbal communications
that few people even know about. It's hard to learn from
a book, so feel free to google for courses on NLP.
Note: This tip was provided by WSO user @geoffblades, A
former investment banker at Goldman Sachs and investor
at the Carlyle Group. The full writeup by him, "How Do You
CRUSH Your Interviews?", can be found here.
Show Them What They Want to See
Your general personality will come out throughout the
interview - there is no hiding it. Being able to do the work
well is shown through the confidence you display while
answering the general questions along with how well you
answer the technicals.
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Showing passion is a little more difficult, but it comes out in
different ways. A few things that make the interviewer say
"This kid knows his stuff" are:
How excited you are to answer questions,
The level of detail that you can answer a technical
question
The types of questions that you ask when I tell you about
what I do and the product that I trade.
Chances are, showing passion comes from a combination
of those examples.
Additionally, this is learned more with experience, but there
comes a point in the interview where you have the ability to
gain control of the interview and steer it in the direction you
want. If you're having a conversation about China or
Michael Lewis, you can keep it going by talking about
another book that you have read. If you are asked a
question, you can answer it in a way that almost guarantees
the next question, which you will be prepared for.
The number of choke points in an interview where you can
gain control and dictate flow is endless, you just need to
learn how to spot them.
Note: These are 2 of 10 tips by WSO user @Gekko21. His
full writeup, "Gekko's Guidance (10 Rules To Interviewing) https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/resources/interviews/investment-banking-interview-questions-answers
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Part 1" can be found here.
So If You Want To Give Yourself A Leg-Up In
Getting An Interview (Written by an interviewer)
Below are a few tips to help give you a boost in your
investment banking interview:
It helps to have a high GPA but is not a guarantee for
anything.
You SHOULD address the question of "Is he/she
interested in banking?". If you've never interned in
finance and are a non-traditional major, you should be
actively involved (pref. at a senior level) in the finance
clubs, you should participate in finance/modeling training
seminars sponsored by your school, or have a section
under interests with "Readings'' or "Favorite Books'' that
have a finance tinge to them (more "When Genius
Failed" or "Fooled by Randomness" or "Barbarians at the
Gate", less "Monkey Business" or "Liars Poker")... Wall
Street Journal, DealBook, FT, etc... I wouldn't advise
adding that section if the rest of your resume already
sells your finance interest... otherwise, it's overkill and
you seem uninteresting and boringly uni-dimensional.
You want to be well-rounded.
Formatting is EVERYTHING and there is NO excuse for
typos or inconsistencies in formatting.
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The full undergrad recruiting series
from our forums is available here:
UG Recruiting Part I: How A Resume Becomes
An Interview
UG Recruiting Part II: The First Round Interview
UG Recruiting Part III: The Super Day And Offer
Hirevue Investment Banking Tips
What is Hirevue?
Hirevue is a video conferencing program built to reduce
hiring time for their clients whilst still attracting and acquiring
talented candidates. Hirevue is used by many major banks
including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley.
How does Hirevue work?
Hirevue gives candidates a certain set of questions to
answer during the interview process, in which their answers
are recorded and then analyzed using artificial intelligence
(AI). The results provide insights into candidates which
investment banks then use to make informed hiring
decisions.
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The AI tracks and analyzes verbal, as well as non-verbal
cues such as facial movements, body language, speech
formation, as well as attire, and clothing. These data points
are then processed by algorithms and generate results
(employability score) allowing employers to predict a
candidate's performance on the job based on their
presentation during the interview.
What are the questions asked in Hirevue
interviews?
Hirevue aims to predict your capabilities for the job you're
applying for based upon your soft skills and presentation of
yourself during the interview. As such, the interview consists
of a majority of behavioral questions (as covered above),
with some banks not even asking a single technical
question to candidates.
The following is a list of 15 sample questions Hirevue has
previously asked candidates during interviews, credit to The
University of Colorado.
1. Tell me a little about yourself.
2. What are your long-term career plans?
3. What made you leave your previous job?
4. Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.
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5. Why do you want to work here?
6. What makes this position a good fit for you at this point
in your career?
7. Tell us how your experience and training have prepared
you for this position.
8. Give us your understanding of our organization
9. Tell us about a time when you had to balance multiple
priorities. Please give an example that demonstrated
how you navigated completing work priorities to attain
the best result.
10. Describe a work scenario in which you were faced with
competing priorities. How did you juggle them all and
still meet everyone's expectations?
11. Describe a high-pressure situation (either within a work
setting, or beyond) that you were put in unexpectedly.
How did you adjust and still create a successful
outcome?
12. Tell us about a time you were most creative.
13. What do you enjoy about working in customer service?
What do you dislike or find challenging?
14. Explain your approach to completing multiple
assignments in a workday.
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15. Tell us about a mistake you've made on the job and what
you learned from it.
The following youtube video by Afzal Hussein, an exGoldman Sachs employee, shows him covering 18
questions and answers asked by J.P.Morgan's Hirevue
interviews.
WSO's bonus tips to excelling in Hirevue
interviews:
Dress appropriately (especially for investment
banking interviews)
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This is pretty self-explanatory, make sure you
are dressed well and look presentable.
Rehearse and practice
You're at an advantage with Hirevue as you
can anticipate which questions are going to be
thrown at you. Prepare for these questions beforehand,
rehearse and practice your stories. Record yourself and
replay it, find places to improve, and repeat the process
until you are able to consistently and confidently answer
questions. Ideally, the actual Hirevue interview itself
should simply be a rehearsal of your past practice
sessions, nothing should be catching you off guard. If
you want the upper hand, ask your close friends and
other respectable people in the industry to review your
recordings and offer feedback. Perfect your delivery,
practice makes perfect.
Adopt good speaking practices
Adjust your audio settings well in advance, and
ensure your voice is clearly transmitted through the
microphone. Maintain eye contact with the camera,
straighten your posture and deliver your answers with
confidence.
M&I 400 Investment Banking Questions
Guide Vs WSP's The Investment Banking
Interview Guide (The Red Book) Vs
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WSO's Investment Banking Interview
Prep Course
One question we receive a lot from students and
professionals alike, given the many courses flooding the
market, is which interview course is the best in the industry
for breaking into investment banking.
The following table and comparison present a comparison
between the top three resource providers: the Wall Street
Oasis (WSO), WallStreetPrep (WSP), and Mergers &
Inquisitions (M&I). This comparison explains why we believe
WSO's IB Prep Course remains the gold standard in the
industry, with features unmatched by competitors.
M&I
400
Product
WSO IB Prep
Guide
WSP IB Interview
IB
Guide (The Red
Ques
Book)
tions
Guid
e
Number of
sample IB
questions
and answers
7,548 Questions
across 469
1,000
400
investment banks
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3 Modules to
Modules
master Technical +
Tech
Technical + Fit
Fit + Networking
nical
Only
Database
Access to
6-Months Access
Access
Exclusive
to Macabacus
Company
Excel Add-In
None
Database for 12
months which
includes:
68,666 Salary
Entries
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30,734 Interview
Insights
33,181 Company
Reviews
Number of
candidates
who have
20,000+
< 1,000
completed
Unkn
own
the course
With that being said, WSO leads the industry for IB
recruiting as the IB prep course gives you access to
thousands of interview insights by actual candidates all
across the world across a variety of divisions in finance. The
advantages and insights gained by this are simply
unmatched by our competitors, and we believe you'll feel
the same way as us once you've got our guide as well.
Full WSO IB Prep Guide & Additional
Resources
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Many of the sample answers in the guide above were taken
from WSO's very own Investment Banking Interview Prep
Course, which features:
7,548 questions across 469 investment banks
3 Modules to master technical + fit + networking
Access to Company Database for 12 months
Think about it - if this page can set you miles ahead of the
competition, imagine what our complete guide can do for
you.
Receiving the title of, "The Insider's Guide on How to
Land the Most Prestigious Jobs on Wall Street", the
WSO IB Interview Prep Course will walk you step-by-step
through the interview process, and place you in the
strongest position to land the job. Click the button below to
check it out.
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Everything You Need To Break into
Investment Banking
Sign Up to The Insider's Guide on How to Land the
Most Prestigious Jobs on Wall Street.
Learn More
Additional resources from our forums:
Investment Banking Resume Template - Official
WSO CV Example
Investment Banking In The UK - An Overview
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Investment Banking Analyst: A True Day In The
Life
P/E Vs. EV/EBITDA Advantages/Disadvantages?
Investment Banking Vs. Capital Markets - How
Different Are They?
WSO Financial Dictionary
Some Observations From An MD
List Of Bulge Bracket Investment Banks
And Boutiques
Currently, the bulge bracket consists of the following banks:
Goldman Sachs (GS or Goldman) | GS Overview | GS
Site
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) | JPM Overview | JPM Site
Morgan Stanley (MS) | MS Overview | MS Site
Credit Suisse (CS) | CS Overview | CS Site
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) | BofA Overview |
BofA Site
UBS | UBS Overview | UBS Site
Deutsche Bank (DB) | DB Overview | DB Site
Barclays Capital (BarCap) | BarCap Overview | BarCap
Site
Citigroup (Citi) | Citi Overview | Citi Site
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Boutique IBs can range in size from reasonably large,
global firms to tiny one-person firms. Below is a list of some
of the larger and more well-known boutiques, sometimes
referred to as the 'elite boutiques':
Piper Jaffray (Now Piper Sandler) | Piper Jaffray
Overview | Piper Jaffray Site
Rothschild | Rothschild Overview | Rothschild Site
Moelis | Moelis Overview | Moelis Site
Jefferies & Co. | Jefferies & Co. Overview | Jefferies &
Co. Site
Blackstone | Blackstone Overview | Blackstone Site
Lazard | Lazard Overview | Lazard Site
Qatalyst Partners | Qatalyst Partners Overview | Qatalyst
Partners Site
Evercore | Evercore Overview | Evercore Site
Houlihan Lokey | Houlihan Lokey Overview | Houlihan
Lokey Site
Centerview | Centerview Overview | Centerview Site
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Everything You Need To Break into
Investment Banking
Sign Up to The Insider's Guide on How to Land the
Most Prestigious Jobs on Wall Street.
Learn More
Additional interview resources
To learn more about interviews and the questions asked,
please check out the additional interview resources below:
Private Equity Interview Questions and Answers
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Hedge Funds Interview Questions and Answers
Finance Interview Questions and Answers
Accounting Interview Questions and Answers
FP&A Interview Questions and Answers
About this content
Patrick Curtis is a member of WSO Editorial Board which helps ensure
the accuracy of content across top articles on Wall Street Oasis. Prior to
becoming our CEO & Founder at Wall Street Oasis, Patrick spent three years
as a Private Equity... This content was originally created by member
WallStreetOasis.com and has evolved with the help of our mentors.
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