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We surveyed over 100 Investment Banking professionals and asked them for their favorite Investment Banking related books. Based on the survey results, we compiled a list of the top 8 must-read books that give readers an inside scoop of the industry. The material we collected contains an understanding of the Investment Banking, financial services, and private equity industries as well as valuable case studies that can help navigate opportunities effectively.
1. Intelligent Investor: The Classic Text on Value Investing by Benjamin Graham Benjamin Graham is perhaps the greatest minds in investment banking. He crafts an excellent resource which teaches about protecting investors from monumental mistakes and tells about using long term strategies. This book is treated as The Holy Bible of the wall street since its publication. The merits of Graham’s strategies have been proven repeatedly over the past half-century. Modern revisions have preserved the integrity of the original writing of the author and added excerpts from financial expert Jason Zweig. His perspective has been introduced to show the real-time situation in the current market. His works include comparisons of Graham’s thesis with the financial situation today. This allows students to more clearly understand how to use Graham’s principles.
2. King of Capital – David Carey and John E. Morris A highly interesting read on investment banking resume and private equity. The authors lay out the history of the biggest buyouts in the industry. One such example is the Gibson greeting cards. The company was bought in 1982 for $80 million. The managers and investors made a combined investment of $1 million, whereas the rest of the amount came from bank loans. In two years the company had tripled in valuation and sold for $290 million. In short, the investors earned over 200 times the amounts they had invested. The book takes a detailed look at how this was made possible. The history of Blackstone Investment Management firm and the beginning of BlackRock is also discussed as well as the investment style of the founder, Stephen Schwarzman. Houdaille Industries buyout by KKR is also fascinating.
3. Analysis of Investments and Management of Portfolios An investment banker interview prep basics include the fundamental aspects of managing money to gain maximum benefits, and this book provides that. The book provides a very solid foundation for students in investments. It talks about the mix market strategies for identifying risk-return objectives, various instruments of investments and the capital markets.
4. Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions by Joshua Rosenbaum, Joshua Pearl John Wiley & Sons, Inc. A must-have guide to investment banking. This book is highly appraised by scholars and students alike. It delves into the three important pillars of investment banking: leveraging buyouts, valuation of a corporation and the detailed outlook on mergers and acquisitions in the corporate sector. This book is considered a know-how manual instead of a classic textbook. It does not follow academic criteria because the writers are not professors of Investment Banking, but senior practitioners in the industry. Joshua Pearl and Joshua Rosenbaum are long-time associates of the UBS and Deutsche Bank. The authors decidedly have a limited scope by keeping their work inside the basics of structuring transactions in investment banking. For example, they recommend the use of extracting historical numbers to create cash flow projections.
5. Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle by John Rolfe & Peter Troob The authors Peter Troob and John Wolfe take a brilliant and funny route to explain the functioning of Wall Street. Thought to be glamorous, high risk – high reward, and fast-paced, something every young business school graduate dream of, the realities behind the unforgettable and empowered personalities at Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jenrette are quite different. DLJ is one of the biggest Wall Street giants in the 90s. From recruiting to mergers and acquisitions, this book has a tell-all of the business world.
6. Financial Modeling & Valuation: A Practical Guide to Investment Banking and Private Equity by Paul Pignataro A comprehensive guide to performing stock valuations efficiently through financial modeling. To accomplish this, the author has written a full-length, practical description of Walmart’s valuation to support this method. Even a beginner will easily be able to follow the detailed instructions provided in the book and developing its financial model for valuing a stock. The book also contains discussions on the concept of value in a company and has a detailed analysis of the standard valuation techniques that are used by professionals in the industry. There are questionnaires at the end of each chapter that can aid students in interview prepping. The supplemental website also contains additional case studies and other study material.
7. Insights from Leading Practitioners on the Art of Raising a Fund, Deal Structuring, Value Creation, and Exit Strategies by Mahendra Ramsinghani Anyone interested in understanding the core concepts of the venture capital business, building investments, the technique of raising venture funds, creating value and evaluating exit routes for investments. With a wealth of insights from top experts in the industry, this book is the perfect guide for students. It has detailed writing on developing investment opportunities and working diligently to negotiate investments.
8. Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar This book delves into the fascinating take on the buyout of RJR Nabisco. Even though the book is quite dated, coming out in the late 1980s, the outlook on how the banking industry works is still just as valuable. The author has carried out hundreds of interviews with all the stakeholders involved in the negotiation of this legendary business deal, therefore it has a fantastic outlook on the whole picture of what exactly goes on behind the scenes as the biggest leveraged buyout till 2005, is carried out. The envy and greed that persists in the industry till today thoroughly influences the book.
