Investment Banking Resource Library
Curated collection of top IB prep resources including technical guides, modeling templates, and interview preparation materials.
Aswath Damodaran’s Online Resources (NYU Stern)
Professor Damodaran offers his **full Valuation and Corporate Finance courses** online for free. This includes lecture note PDFs, recorded lectures, spreadsheets for valuation (DCF models, beta calculation, etc.), and even past exams. For example, you can find Spring 2025 updated lecture notes on valuation techniques, WACC, APV, and more. If you want an in-depth understanding of valuation or to explore topics like dividend policy or cost of capital in detail, this is an authoritative source. (It's more detailed than typical interview prep, but excellent for mastery.)
Street of Walls – Investment Banking Technical & Behavioral Guides
Free online guide series written by former investment bankers. The technical guide covers accounting fundamentals, financial statement analysis, valuation techniques, merger consequences (accretion/dilution) and a basic LBO model. The behavioral guide provides common IB fit questions with example responses and tips. Also features a "Paper LBO Model Example" with step-by-step math for a quick LBO case. Though from ~2013, the content is very thorough and remains relevant for mastering concepts.
Banking at Michigan - Investment Banking Recruitment Guide (2019/20)
153-page student-produced guide decoding the IB recruiting process. Covers networking, resume and behavioral prep, plus detailed technical interview tutorials (accounting linkages, valuation, WACC, M&A math, etc.) with examples. Updated for 2019-2020, making it fairly current and highly relevant for undergrads.
"400 Investment Banking Interview Questions & Answers" (Breaking Into Wall Street)
Comprehensive 94-page Q&A guide covering accounting (basic to advanced), equity vs enterprise value, valuation methods, DCF (basic & advanced), merger models, LBO models, and brainteasers. Also includes tips for "fit" questions and how to craft answers. Originally from Mergers & Inquisitions/BIWS, it's one of the most widely used technical prep resources.
Macabacus – Financial Model Templates & Learning Center
Macabacus (a popular finance add-in) provides **free professional Excel templates** for various models: DCF valuation, operating model, merger model, short-form LBO, long-form LBO, venture cap table, IPO model, etc. Each comes with a guide on how to use it. The site also has an extensive Knowledge Center covering advanced topics like purchase price allocation, tax implications in M&A, and complex Excel functions for finance. These resources let you study best-practice models and learn advanced technical concepts for free.
Public Company 10-Ks and Investor Presentations
Primary source documents for understanding companies. **10-K annual reports** contain detailed info on a company’s business model, strategies, financial performance, and risks – excellent for learning industry specifics and financial statement analysis. **Investor presentations** (found on company IR websites) summarize the company’s story and are often used in equity research and pitching. Reading these for companies you follow (or a deal you heard of) trains you to pick out what’s important. This kind of reading can translate into better interview answers when discussing industries or specific companies.
Damodaran’s Musings on Markets (Blog)
Aswath Damodaran’s blog applies valuation and corporate finance concepts to real-world events and companies. Posts include valuation case studies of companies (startups, IPOs, troubled firms), discussions of market crises (e.g. analyzing market sell-offs), and topics like inflation’s effect on equities. Reading these will show you how to think about current events financially. It’s especially useful if an interviewer asks your view on a recent IPO or deal – you may recall insights from Damodaran’s analysis.
A Simple Model – Financial Modeling Courses & Templates
Free self-paced online courses focusing on core financial modeling. Offers interactive lessons to build an integrated 3-statement model, perform a DCF valuation, and construct an LBO model from scratch. Numerous Excel templates are provided for download (e.g. a blank 3-statement model, DCF template, LBO template). Designed for beginners, it helps you practice modeling with guidance and then test yourself by filling in templates.
Mergers & Inquisitions – 3-Statement Financial Model Tutorial
Step-by-step guide (with an accompanying video) to build a three-statement model from scratch under a 90-minute test scenario. It walks through inputting historical financials, projecting the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement, and linking them correctly. Emphasizes speed and accuracy, mimicking a common interview modeling test. Includes a downloadable Excel and solution outline.
Breaking Into Wall Street – "Paper LBO" On-the-Spot LBO Guide
A free PDF tutorial that teaches how to do a simple LBO analysis in your head or on paper – useful for quick interview questions in PE. It provides a short case prompt with a 5-year projection and shows how to calculate IRR and MOIC step by step, including debt paydown and equity returns. Great for practicing mental math and understanding LBO drivers without a computer.
Axios Pro Rata – Deals Newsletter by Dan Primack
Biweekly newsletter focusing on dealmakers in venture capital, private equity, and M&A. Curated by a veteran journalist, it highlights big funding rounds, buyouts, IPO filings, and trends in the deal ecosystem. For example, Pro Rata might break news of a large LBO or discuss how macro changes are affecting PE activity. Subscribing and reading takes only a few minutes, but gives you timely talking points on recent deals – very handy for interviews (you can reference a deal from last week that interested you).
Sample Behavioral Question Bank – WSO & Others
Collections of commonly asked fit/behavioral questions and advice. Wall Street Oasis forums have threads where users list questions like "Why investment banking?", "Tell me about a time you failed", "What’s your greatest weakness?", etc., and often discuss good approaches. Similarly, guides like the 400Q or Vault Guide provide sample answers. Reviewing these questions is key – you should have personal answers prepared for all the common ones. These banks of questions ensure you’re not caught off-guard by a fit question.
Erik Lie’s "A Primer on Equity Valuation" (2023)
A succinct 23-page primer by Prof. Erik Lie explaining how to value a company’s equity. It covers **DCF valuation and relative valuation (multiples)**, with examples and an illustration of presenting valuation results on a chart. It also touches on valuation for M&A (how an acquisition’s value can be assessed). This is a great refresher on the fundamental valuation methods and when each is appropriate.
NYT DealBook – Business & Policy News by Andrew Ross Sorkin
A daily newsletter analyzing the top business and economic stories, authored by New York Times columnist Andrew R. Sorkin and team. DealBook provides insight into major developments – from mega-mergers to regulatory shifts – and often includes quotes from industry power brokers. It helps readers understand not just the facts of an event but the implications. For an interviewee, this is useful to develop a well-informed perspective on current events that could impact banking or markets.
Mergers & Inquisitions – Industry Specific Guides (Tech, FIG, Energy, etc.)
Free articles that overview different coverage groups. Each guide discusses what deals in that sector look like, key metrics and valuation nuances, and recent trends. For example, the TMT guide covers how telecom is evaluated (subscriber counts, ARPU) vs media (content spend, streaming metrics); the Oil & Gas guide explains reserves, PV-10, and how commodity price swings affect valuations. If you know which industry you’ll be interviewing for (or have a stated interest), reading that primer will give you talking points and show your enthusiasm for the sector.
Ray Dalio – "How the Economic Machine Works" (Video)
Animated video (~30 min) explaining the economy in simple terms – covering how debt cycles work, the role of credit, central bank levers, inflation, and deleveraging. Dalio’s model provides a mental framework for answering big-picture questions (e.g. "What factors drive economic growth or recessions?"). It’s especially useful if an interview veers into macroeconomics or if you’re asked about current Fed policy impacts. The concepts are conveyed in a very digestible way, suitable even if you haven’t taken economics courses.
Vanderbilt University - Quick Guide to Investment Banking (2015)
28-page overview of the investment banking industry and recruiting tips. Includes a "big picture" introduction to what investment bankers do, example interview questions, and recommended resources (books, blogs, news sites). Useful as a broad orientation and for the included resource lists; not focused on detailed technical Q&A.
Investopedia (Finance Dictionary & Tutorials)
A comprehensive online finance dictionary and learning platform. Investopedia provides definitions for almost every finance term (from "accretion" to "zero-coupon bond") and articles explaining concepts in layman’s terms. It’s great for quickly looking up unfamiliar jargon or brushing up on basics (e.g. the components of GDP, how an IPO works). For deeper technical topics, Investopedia gives a starting point, though candidates should ensure they understand interview-level depth from other sources as well.
Federal Reserve & Bank of England Explainers (Macro Topics)
Central banks offer educational content on how the economy and monetary policy work. The Bank of England’s **KnowledgeBank** articles (and the U.S. Fed’s public FAQs) break down topics like inflation, interest rates, quantitative easing, and GDP in simple terms. For example, BoE’s "What is inflation?" explains how inflation is measured and why it matters. These resources can help you frame answers about the economic environment (e.g. "Why are interest rates rising?") in a clear, factual way.
Wall Street Prep – Excel Shortcuts Cheat Sheet (Finance Edition)
A one-page PDF listing dozens of keyboard shortcuts that bankers use in Excel – from basic navigation (e.g. Ctrl+Arrow keys) to formatting (Alt-H-O-I for auto-width) and formulas. Separate sections for PC and Mac shortcuts. This cheat sheet helps increase speed in modeling tests and on the job. Print it out or keep it open while practicing in Excel to build muscle memory.
Wall Street Oasis – "The Daily Peel" (Market Newsletter)
A free daily email that provides a quick, witty recap of yesterday’s market action and business news. Typically covers stock market indices, notable earnings or deal news, and a funny headline or meme. Reading The Daily Peel each morning can build up your market awareness and also familiarize you with the casual finance slang/jokes that often come up in conversation. It’s a light but useful resource to ensure you know what’s happening in the financial world day-to-day.
PrepLounge Mental Math Tool
An interactive web tool to practice fast mental arithmetic. You can choose difficulty and types of problems (addition, percentages, multiplication, etc.) and get instant feedback. This is great for sharpening your calculation speed for any interview where you might need to do math without a calculator (consulting-style market sizing, or a technical interviewer who asks something like "What’s 17% of 245?"). Regular use can improve your confidence in handling numbers on the fly.
"IB Quick & Dirty" Interview Cheat Sheet (2-page)
Ultra-condensed cheat sheet summarizing common fit questions and key technical questions with bullet-point answers. Includes the major financial statements and how they link, one-statement interview answers, definitions of Enterprise vs Equity Value, basic valuation methods, etc. Great for last-minute review and memory refresh, but should be supplemented with deeper study.
Estimation Question Practice (Management Consulted / RocketBlocks)
Free practice questions and drills for market sizing and guesstimate problems. Websites like Management Consulted offer sets of business math questions (e.g. profitability calculations, growth rates), and RocketBlocks has a tool (some parts free via university partnerships) that gives you industry-specific mental math problems. While these are more targeted at consulting, they can be very useful in honing structured thinking for estimation – a skill that occasionally appears in IB interviews (and frequently in PE case studies).
STAR Method Framework for Behavioral Answers
STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is a technique to structure responses to behavioral interview questions. This 2-page guide outlines how to pick a specific **Situation/Task**, describe the **Action** you took, and highlight the **Result**. Using STAR helps ensure your answers are organized and impactful. Practice applying STAR to your go-to stories (leadership experience, conflict resolution, failure, etc.) so that you naturally answer in this format during behavioral interviews.