Guides
Long-form student guides to common public investment-banking concepts, with sources and limitations made visible.
Every term below is also a lesson and a graded mock question inside IB Atlas.
Sector guides
Explore what a coverage group does, how common deal structures work, and general public recruiting themes to use in your own study plan.
Consumer & Retail
The complete guide to consumer and retail investment banking: coverage, valuation, unit economics, and interview prep.
DCM
The desk that finances every investment-grade borrower: bond issuance, syndicate pricing, ratings, and how to land the seat.
Energy
The energy interview canon: upstream, midstream, downstream, and services map, reserve-based valuation, hedging, A&D deals, and how to answer why energy.
ECM
The ECM interview canon: the IPO process, follow-ons and blocks, convertibles, syndicate mechanics, and how to answer why ECM.
Financial Sponsors Group
How the Financial Sponsors Group covers private equity clients, how it differs from M&A and leveraged finance, and how to prepare for FSG interviews.
Healthcare
The complete guide to healthcare investment banking: sub-sector coverage, biotech valuation, reimbursement dynamics, deal structures, and interview prep.
Industrials
The industrials interview canon: coverage sub-sectors, backlog and aftermarket economics, mid-cycle valuation, portfolio reshaping, and why industrials.
Leveraged Finance
The desk that finances every LBO: leveraged loans, high yield bonds, credit analysis, and how to land the seat.
M&A
The M&A interview canon: sell-side and buy-side process, deal valuation, fairness opinions, defense basics, and how to answer why M&A.
Power & Utilities
The power and utilities interview canon: rate base and regulation, the sub-sector map, valuation, project finance, and how to answer why this group.
Real Estate, Gaming & Lodging
The REGL interview canon: NAV and cap rates, FFO and AFFO, REIT tax structure, lodging and gaming business models, and how to answer why real estate.
Restructuring
The restructuring interview canon: debtor and creditor mandates, distress and Chapter 11 mechanics, valuation, and how to answer why restructuring.
TMT
The TMT interview canon: sub-sector map, software and SaaS metrics, semiconductor cyclicality, media and telecom economics, and how to answer why TMT.
Process and term guides
How recruiting actually runs, the paths it leads to, and the vocabulary interviewers expect you to already know cold.
Leveraged finance terms: a student study guide
Maintenance vs incurrence covenants, TLA vs TLB, fixed charge coverage, and control premiums, explained the way LBO interviewers actually ask them.
M&A terms: a student study guide
Accretion vs dilution, earn-outs, precedent transactions, goodwill, and the deferred revenue haircut, explained the way M&A interviewers actually ask.
Accounting terms: a student study guide
Deferred revenue, DTAs and DTLs, negative working capital, and the treasury stock method, explained the way IB accounting interviewers ask them.
The investment banking recruiting timeline, in three waves
When summer analyst applications actually open, by firm. Boutiques go first, the bulge brackets cluster around New Year, and the middle market never stops.
Coffee chat questions for IB, sorted by who you are asking
What to ask an analyst, a VP, a cold contact, and an alum, the questions that end a conversation, and the follow-up cadence that earns referrals.
The IB interview process, from first application to signed offer
The application, the HireVue, the first round, and the superday, stage by stage, with what each interviewer in the room is actually testing.
Finance career paths: what each one actually does
Eighteen seats from M&A to venture capital: what each one does, what its interviews test, where people exit, and how recruiting differs by path.
What sector coverage interviews actually test
Healthcare, industrials, consumer, energy, and FIG: the valuation methods and metrics each coverage group expects beyond the generalist playbook.
Interviewers also ask about real transactions: the deal case studies cover the landmark M&A and LBO deals worth knowing cold. Weighing IB Atlas against other prep options? See how it compares.