The Wall Street Skinny

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22. How to Become a Markets Guru: Understanding the Investment Banking Clients Aug 19, 2023

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What is best kept secret for understanding market dynamics and being good in investment banking? You must understand: WHO are the firm’s clients and WHY they need you? We arm you with the intel to ace any banking interview — either on the IBD corporate advisory side, or on the Sales, Trading, and Research side of the bank — by explaining a select few clients’ motivating factors. We talk about hedgers vs. speculators in the markets, and strategic vs. financial buyers in the world of acquisitions. In this episode, we also explain duration and convexity hedging through the lens of GSEs, bank portfolios, mortgage servicers, pension funds, and insurance companies. By the end of the hour, you’ll understand giant forces moving global markets in new ways. Plus, you’ll now be able to tell all your friends that you learned how convexity works by watching Barbie.

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Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

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21. Q&A! Prop Trading, DCF vs. LBO, Beta, Consulting vs. Banking and More! Aug 12, 2023

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We tackle these listener questions and more in our latest Q&A episode!
1. What is the difference is between prop trading and the trading you hear about in the sales & trading division of an investment bank? And how does a prop shop differ from a hedge fund?
2. When running a DCF and choosing your beta for CAPM, when do you use the industry average beta vs. when do you use the company beta? We also get into predicted betas vs. historicals, levering and unlevering betas, if R squared is useful in making decisions about your beta, why banks purposefully don't use what the academics say to use and more.
3. What are these mysterious Greek letters that people in finance toss around like delta, beta, and gamma?
4. Why would some industries like natural resources not use LBOs and instead only use a DCF, like for example when constructing a toll road.
5. How do you choose between a career in banking or consulting?
If you want us to answer YOUR questions in our next Q&A, please write to questions@wallstreetskinny.com.

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

20. FIG Banking & More Feat. Anish Mitra Aug 05, 2023

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When you hear talking heads yelling at you or see a crazy meme on the internet telling to buy or sell a stock, how do you know if they are right or wrong? Today we sit down with Anish Mitra, host of the hilarious podcast Laughing Stocks to discuss his journey through FIG Banking, investing in Goldman Sachs' reinsurance group (now Global Atlantic, part of KKR), and talent development at Goldman Sachs before venturing into the world of comedy and content creation. Anish explains how FIG banking differs from traditional banking (hint it doesn't really), how the foundational training on Wall Street gives you a toolkit with which to analyze companies and form investment theses, and we hear some crazy stories from back in the day when Kristen actually interviewed Anish for a job at Morgan Stanley Sales and Trading. Spoiler alert: it didn't go well.
Anish graduated from Brown in 2010, worked in FIG banking at Barclays then moved to a buyside role at Goldman Sachs (now Global Atlantic, part of KKR), then to talent management at Goldman Sachs when he finally left the finance world to pursue a career in comedy. He now combines all his interests: finance, education and comedy as a content creator. You can find him on Instagram and TikTok at anishkmitra and on LinkedIn, and his podcast Laughing Stocks on your favorite podcasting platform.

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

19. Private Equity vs. Hedge Funds: What it Takes to Land the Most Lucrative Finance Careers Jul 29, 2023

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Two of the most high profile exit opportunities from the sell side are Private Equity and Hedge Funds. In today's uber-competitive environment, recruiting for some of these exits starts BEFORE you've even begun your career on the sell side. We discuss why these jobs are so competitive and attractive to many young people entering world of finance. What really is the difference between them? Is one more lucrative than the other? And, most importantly, WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU....if either???

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

18. Taking Wall Street Skills to Tech Feat. Susie Lee Korb Jul 22, 2023

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In this episode, we are joined by Susie Lee Korb, Head of finance at Chord Commerce. Susie leveraged a successful career of over a decade on Wall Street to catapult herself into a senior role in the tech startup world. We discuss various elements of finance at a startup, such as the role of seed & venture capital, venture DEBT, the lifecycle of taking a company from genesis to IPO, and how Susie's knowledge of the markets helped her company avert disaster during the collapse of SVB. We also learn valuable lessons from Susie's career working at an investment bank, such as: what is municipal finance? How can you break into corporate strategy or corporate treasury? And how do you balance parenthood in the fast paced lifestyle of a sales career?
Susie Korb graduated from MIT with a business degree. She spent her early career at Morgan Stanley, where she worked in municipal finance, interest rate sales, corporate strategy and corporate treasury. She is now the VP of finance for Chord, and currently resides in Massachusetts with her husband and three children.

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

17. How to Level Up in Your Career Feat. Helen Dayen Jul 15, 2023

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How do you level up in your career --- or even just not get fired when sh*t hits the fan?!? We sit down with CEO and career coach Helen Dayen to understand the psychology, mindset, skills, and creativity required to advance in the financial services industry and beyond. Helen also shares her own stories from the cutthroat environment on the trading floor, "The Devil Wears Prada of Finance" so to speak, how she was able to pivot and make her self invaluable when she knew she was on the chopping block, and how she forged an entrepreneurial path for personal & professional fulfillment.
Helen Dayen is CEO and coach at The Dayen Group, where she has over 15 years of experience in sales, relationship management, business development and executive coaching. She works with professionals in high stress/high demand industries such as finance, technology, and law.
To learn more about The Dayen Group, you can find their website here:
https://www.dayengroup.com/
Follow The Dayen Group on Instagram @dayengroup

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

16. Q&A! Indexes 101, Financial Modeling, the WACC & More! Jul 08, 2023

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Answering questions we've received from listeners via Instagram, TikTok and email! This week's topics include:
1. Can you explain the different indices? SPX, FTSE, DAX, NASDAQ, Barclays AGG…as an investor, why would you look at indices? What do they mean/represent, and why do we have them?

2. I’m building my first model, and trying to figure out how to connect the Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet. Is there a particular order these should go in??
3. Two similar questions: a) is there any mobility into hedge funds or banks if you’re 10+ years into a career in tech/startups? And b) What about any insights on how JD grads can break into the financial services industry?

4. Does and incremental increase in debt increase or lower the WACC?
5. Why wouldn’t EVERYONE use interest rate swaps to hedge risk?
To have your question featured on our next Q&A episode, please email us at questions@wallstreetskinny.com or follow us on Instagram and send us a DM!

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

15. Equity Research 101 Feat. Steve Haggerty Jul 01, 2023

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Today we are joined by Steve Haggerty, the former Head of Research in both New York and Hong Kong at Bank of America Merrill Lynch before making the move to the Buy-Side, to answer all your questions about Equity Research including:
What is Equity Research? What does a day in the life look like? What is the difference between Buy-Side and Sell-Side Research? How does the skill set differ between Buy-Side and Sell-Side Research? What exit opportunities are there out of Sell-Side Research? and much much more.
Steve Haggerty was Head of Research in both New York and Hong Kong at Bank of America Merrill Lynch before making the move to the Buy-Side, and becoming Head of Research at Moon Capital. Prior to that he worked at General Motors and Schroders Securitues in London before joining Merrill Lynch as an equity analyst in New York and then becoming a research manager.

He retired in 2021 and is now an advisor at Columbia Business School as well as the founder of Interior Lines Research where he helps Sell-Side Researchers learn to be more influential with Buyside clients. He also is working in venture capital in the agtech space and is a hobby farmer in the Hudson Valley.

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

14. News and Finance Feat. Mosheh Oinounou of Mo News! Jun 24, 2023

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The global financial markets and the news are inextricably linked. News stories move the financial markets, and the financial markets make the news. Today we sit down with Mosheh Oinounou of Mo News, an Emmy-award winning journalist who has worked at Bloomberg, CBS, and FOX News in the past. Mosheh has now created his own news service primarily distributed across social media platforms, where he is a trusted source for hundreds of thousands of followers.
We discuss how Mosheh distills critical intel from the vast array of global news, explore the complexities of bias and mistrust in the news media, and debate the role of journalism in a post-AI environment. We swap stories from opposite sides of the newswire during major market-moving events like the financial collapse of 2008 and Fukushima in 2011. And we learn how Mosheh is preparing for his next exciting role as a father!
You can watch Mosheh's TedEx talk referenced at the link below, can subscribe to his news letter or become a Mo News premium subscriber on his website or follow him for. your daily dose of news on Instagram or TikTok.
Mosheh TedEx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBZdjaIR4w8
Mo News Website: https://www.mo.news/
Follow Mosheh on TikTok and Instagram at @mosheh

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

13 The Finance of HBO's Succession Season 1 Jun 17, 2023

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We explore the hot topics of private equity, venture capital, mergers & acquisitions, hostile LBOs, and MORE through the lens of one of our favorite shows: Succession. Think "dual class stock shares" sound boring? Think again! We break down the key corporate finance plot points (note: spoilers included but minimized, especially regarding the season 1 finale) driving the drama inside one of the all-time greatest shows. For additional insight, check out this great article from the FT: https://www.ft.com/content/a7ce31e0-06f0-4986-9eb9-f4322a40ffc3

Shop our Self Paced Courses:

Investment Banking & Private Equity Fundamentals HERE
Fixed Income Sales & Trading HERE

Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@thewallstreetskinny

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