Financial Modeling Self Study Program

Welcome to IBankingFAQ

I am excited to say that I’ve finished work on my book, How to Be an Investment Banker: Recruiting, Interviewing, and Landing the Job + Website (Wiley Finance) which will be released on April 1, 2013. It was a lot of work but I hope many of you find it useful for the investment banking recruiting process. Basically, the book is an extension of this site covering in greater detail information about investment banking and lifestyle, recruiting and interviewing and the technical stuff that you need to know, including an overview of accounting, finance, financial statement analysis, valuation, modeling, M&A and LBOs.

I’ve also recently launched a website called igokids. This has nothing to do with finance or investment banking but it is my full-time gig so feel free to check it out. igokids is local search and discovery site for everything kid related in New York City (in a nutshell, “Yelp for parents”). I’m proud to say that I developed it from scratch myself, being a totally self-taught programmer. See all the exit opportunities that investment banking can lead to?

I also want to remind you about my financial modeling self study program, which costs only $49. You can learn how to build a financial model in the comfort of your own home or office. Knowing how to build an integrated cash flow model will definitely help you in your interviews plus it is a great way to prep for those dreaded technical interview questions. Click to view more information about the financial modeling self study program.

As always, I look forward to your comments/suggestions/questions and emails (andrew [at] ibankingfaq.com).

How to be an Investment Banker

Random FAQ: What is a boutique bank?

Pretty much all banks that are not considered “bulge bracket” are referred to as being boutiques.  Boutiques, while ranging in size from a few professionals to hundreds or even thousands of professionals, can generally be categorized into three types:  (1) those that specialize in one or more products, (2) those that specialize in one or more industries and (3) those that specialize in small or mid-sized deals and small or mid-sized clients (generally less than $500 million).

There are boutiques that specialize in any number of the products that bulge bracket banks offer.  Boutiques known for M&A, for example, often compete with the bulge bracket banks for M&A transactions.  A few examples include Lazard, Greenhill, Evercore and Gleacher.  Other boutiques offer many different products but specialize in one or more industries.  Such boutiques often compete with the bulge bracket banks on the basis of their industry knowledge and expertise.  A few examples include Cowen & Co. (healthcare), Allen & Co. (media) and Thomas Weisel Partners (technology).  The third type of boutique, those that offer many products and cover many industries but compete only for “middle market” or smaller deals include Jefferies & Co., Piper Jaffray, Raymond James and Robert W. Baird.  Many of these middle market boutiques are regionally focused. Some boutiques, including several of the M&A focused banks, are considered to be as (or even more) prestigious as the bulge bracket banks.

View more frequently asked questions about: About Investment Banking.