Investment banking is one of the most specialized fields wherein investment banks or other financial entities assist public and private corporations in issuing debt and equity securities with assistance in mergers, acquisitions, and corporate restructuring.
So, if you, too, wish to succeed or be a part of this incredibly lucrative yet competitive field, you must pledge to learn from the best thinkers. We will discuss about some of the best investment banking books for subject knowledge and there are a few bonus reads as well. These are inspiring compilations of how Buffet or Goldman Sachs made it this big.
When it comes to investment, regardless of your specialization or profession, it is paramount to indulge in good books and learn from the experiences of industry pros and practitioners.
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- Investment Banking Books That Could Give You Insights That None Can!
- Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions
- Investment Banking For Dummies
- Financial Modeling and Valuation: A Practical Guide to Investment Banking and Private Equity
- The Best Book on Investment Banking Careers
- Investment Banking Explained, Second Edition: An Insider’s Guide to the Industry
- The Business of Investment Banking: A Comprehensive Overview
- Investment Banking Explained: An Insider’s Guide to the Industry: An Insider’s Guide to the Industry
- Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity
- Some Inspirational Reads
- To Sum Up
Best Books To Learn Investment Banking – 8 Choices For You!
1. Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions
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| Author | Joshua Rosenbaum (Author), Joshua Pearl (Author), Joseph R. Perella (Foreword) |
| Rating | 4.7 |
| Ideal for | Beginners |
| eBook | No |
If you wish to keep pace with the continually evolving world of finance, you must possess a solid technical foundation. It can pave the way for your success.
This book will help you understand the nitty-gritty of investment banking. It is an authoritative and accessible book. Across the book, the instructor uses a step-by-step approach for easier understanding.
What will you learn?
In this best books to learn investment banking, you will discover the following:
- Primary valuation methods currently used on Wall Street or comparable companies
- Methodologies used to determine valuation for public and private companies
- Precedent transactions, DCF, and LBO analysis
- Restructurings and investment decisions
- LBOs and IPOs
What did we not like?
You can buy this book but the structuring could have been better.
2. Investment Banking For Dummies
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| Author | Matthew Krantz (Author), Robert Johnson (Author) |
| Rating | 4.4 |
| Ideal for | Beginners |
| eBook | Yes |
Next, we have another of the best investment banking books that remedy common misconceptions related to investment banking with a straightforward assessment of banking-related fundamentals.
It is crafted by top experts from the stock market proceedings and is almost parallel to an introductory investment banking class. You can ace any investment banking class with the information acquired in this book.
What will you learn?
In this one of the top investment banking books, you will learn the following:
- Strategies for risk management
- Key investment banking operations
- Competition and government regulations
- Relationships between leveraged buyout funds
- Hedge funds
- Corporate and institutional clients
- Expectations to prepare you for the future
- Radical changes that have revamped the stock market since the financial crisis
- Practical aspects of finance and investment banking
- How to value a company
- How to construct a financial model
- Basic knowledge of issuing bonds, stocks, and other financial products
What did we not like?
It is one of the most excellent books every investment banker should read, but it is only an introductory insight. If you need more details, this may not be the fit,
3. Financial Modeling and Valuation: A Practical Guide to Investment Banking and Private Equity
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| Author | Paul Pignataro (Author) |
| Rating | 4.6 |
| Ideal for | Universities or business students |
| eBook | Yes |
Crafted by New York School of Finance’s CEO and founder, Paul Pignataro, it is a great investment banking book. This book takes you through the elementary tools to help you assess the soundness of a stock investment.
It is designed around the comprehensive case study of Walmart and helps you learn to perform an in-depth examination of the financial standing of any company. You will find several chapter-end questions, practice models, interview questions, and case studies to solidify your understanding of the techniques you grasp in the book.
What will you learn?
It is one of the best books to learn investment banking. Here, you will discover the following:
- Doing an in-depth analysis of a company’s financial health
- Following Wall Street analysts to create financial models
- Performing valuation
- Discounted cash flow analysis
- Compiling a complete model
- Performing comparable company analysis the right way
- How to extract proper metrics from relevant proxy statements
What did we not like?
It may be too elementary for intermediate or advanced learners.
4. The Best Book on Investment Banking Careers Paperback
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| Author | Donna Khalife (Author) |
| Rating | 4.3 |
| Ideal for | All levels |
| eBook | Yes |
It is not easy to start a career in investment banking. High pressure, intensive competition, and limited positions make it more challenging to access. But, you can find several structured and concrete processes to help you outshine others in the interview and land your dream banking job.
So, whether you are an undergrad student seeking a career in investment banking or anyone who wishes to know the ins and outs of the industry, this is one of the best books to read for investment banking.
What will you learn?
Some things you will study in this book are:
- Insiders’ perspectives on the investment banking industry
- Investment Banking basics
- Understanding Investment Banking Divisions, Industry Groups, Product Groups
- Tips For Undergraduates
- What Recruiters Look For in Undergrad Applicants
- Tips For MBA/JD Applicants
- Expectations of an Associate over an Analyst
- Resources For Investment Banking Applicants
- Top Networking Techniques For Recruiting
- Investment Banking Cover Letters for Analysts and Associates
- Investment Banking Interview Advice
- Identifying Your Weaknesses
- Things You Don’t Want To Say In Your Interview
What did we not like?
It is one of the best investment banking books for beginners, and there’s nothing to not dislike about it.
5. Investment Banking Explained, Second Edition: An Insider’s Guide to the Industry 2nd Edition
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| Author | Michel Fleuriet (Author) |
| Rating | 4.1 |
| Ideal for | Anyone hoping to start a career in investment banking |
| eBook | No |
Next, we have another one of the top books every investment banker should read. The book was revised and updated recently as per the new financial landscape. It is written by an experienced investment banker. This book covers everything you need to know about investment banking from a broader perspective.
What will you learn?
In this one of the best books to read for investment banking, you will discover the following:
- Investment banking introduction
- How to make profits for your clients?
- Evolving industry dynamics
- Knowing successful firms and how they operate
- Developing strategic relationships with large corporate clients
- Importance of technology in this field
- Undertaking a successful IPO
- Advising a client in mergers and acquisitions
- The strategies for value creation in asset management
- Startup financing
What did we not like?
It is somewhat costly for the content it delivers.
6. The Business of Investment Banking: A Comprehensive Overview, 3rd Edition 3rd Edition
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| Author | |
| Rating | |
| Ideal for | Professionals and students |
| eBook |
It is one of the best investment banking books for beginners. The book is comprehensive and has a lot on offer.
What will you learn?
In this book, you will study the following:
- Changes since the 2008 financial crisis
- New opportunities for students and professionals seeking to advance their careers
- Recent financial regulation overhaul
- Dodd-Frank legislation
- Volcker rule and its impact on trading desks
- Investment banking in BRIC countries, such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China
- Reasons for a shift in the listing of securities away from New York to various financial centers around the world
- How major exchanges compete for the same business
- The current state of the investment banking industry
What did we not like?
There is way too much jargon in this book on investment banking careers.
7. Investment Banking Explained: An Insider’s Guide to the Industry: An Insider’s Guide to the Industry 1st Edition
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| Author | Michel Fleuriet (Author) |
| Rating | 3.6 |
| Ideal for | All levels |
| eBook | Yes |
What will you learn?
It is one of the top investment banking books to discover the following:
- Overview of investment banking in its modern form. You can also refer to this guide on how to learn investment banking step by step.
- Key terms associated with investment banking
- Structures, systems, and operational aspects
- Strategies in each of the main functional areas of an investment bank
What did we not like?
Students experienced multiple difficulties with the Kindle version. So, you can avoid it.
8. Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity 3rd Edition
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| Author | David P. Stowell (Author) |
| Rating | 4.5 |
| eBook | Yes |
With the economic evolution, there has been a change in how hedge funds, private equity groups, and investment banks cooperate and compete. In this one of the best investment banking books, the author helps you study and examine this change.
What will you learn?
In this book, you will learn the following:
- Actual work that associates and vice presidents do
- Templates for real transactions
- Content about the ways liquidity is supplied in secondary markets
- Overview of high-frequency trading/electronic market making
- Quantitative trading strategies
- Evolution of cash equities from open outcry pits to fully electronic central limit order books
If finance is what you dig, here are some personal and corporate finance courses you might like.
Books You Should Have On Your Reading List
A. The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs Paperback
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For an investment banker, it is vital to know the most crucial periods in Goldman Sachs’s history and the individuals behind one of the world’s largest investment banks. So, that is the purpose of this one of the top investment banking books.
B. Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist Paperback
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In this book, Roger Lowenstein provides you unprecedented access to three years of the life of Warren Buffett’s family, friends, and colleagues, along with an inside account of his life and career. You will study Buffet’s investment strategy and the philosophies behind his investments.
C. The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade That Transformed Wall Street
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In this book, Jonathan A. Knee depicts the bubble burst and the free fall of the industry from the nineties to the twenty-first century engagingly and humorously. This insider account is 100% going to tell you things nobody has ever told you about investment banking.
To Sum Up…
So, these are the top 8 best books to learn investment banking. In this guide, we have included all details about these books.
We have two personal favorites here. You will love Investment Banking For Dummies if you are a beginner.
And secondly, The Business of Investment Banking: A Comprehensive Overview, if you are someone with a background in the field and an understanding of industry jargon.
Happy Learning!
