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Are you interested in a career as an investment banker? Or maybe you currently work in the field and want to level up your skills and expertise to position yourself for more rewarding opportunities?
Consider an investment banking course to learn the basics or advance your knowledge. There are options for various skill levels and budgets, and you can start your continuing education journey today.
Quick Look: Best Investment Banking Courses
- The Complete Investment Banking Course by Udemy - Get this course
- Introduction to Corporate Finance by Udemy - Get this course
- The Complete Financial Ratio Analysis by Udemy - Get this course
- Introduction to Finance: Valuation and Investing Specialization by Coursera - Get this course
- Mergers and Acquisitions - The Ultimate M&A Modeling - Get this course
- Advanced Accounting for Investment Banking by Udemy - Get this course
- Ultimate Private Equity: How to Model Investment Rounds by Udemy - Get this course
- The Complete Financial Analyst Training and Investing Course by Udemy - Get this course
- Investment Banking - Mergers and Acquisitions Modeling by Udemy - Get this course
What to Look for in an Investment Banking Course
There are three main aspects of an investment banking course that you need to consider. The price, the instructor’s reputation and the skills taught are key aspects that determine whether or not the course you’re interested in taking is suitable for you.
Price
Price is a major consideration when choosing an investment banking course. There are some free courses online but they usually just provide basic knowledge and lack accreditation. Also, more expensive courses may indicate that the instructor has a very good track record and resume. But depending on your level of interest and requirements, the most expensive course is not always necessary.
If you're already a junior analyst and you just want a refresher or need to understand some niche concepts, you can try to find shorter courses concentrated on one or two areas of investment banking.
Instructor
What should you look for in an instructor? Investment banking can be a cutthroat field. The potential for earnings is huge so everyone tries to grab ahold and hold on tight. To be the best, you have to learn from the best.
There are many investment banking-related courses online. Some of them offer general knowledge, while others offer more in-depth information and better explanations of the technical terminology and specific concepts of investment banking, trading, etc. One way to compare courses is to research the instructor or the person that designed the course. This won't always be available upfront.
Some learning platforms only offer you a name and minimal background on the instructor or teacher. This means that it's up to you to put in the extra work to dig up information on the teacher. It's a bit time-consuming but it shouldn't be hard overall, given the amount of information you can find online. Furthermore, the easier it is to find stuff about a teacher, the better your odds that he knows what he’s talking about.
Also, try to look for courses designed by teachers that have some skin in the game. This means someone with banking or trading experience. College professors know their theory but quite often lack practice in applying the concepts they're hired to teach.
Skills
There are a few skills that you need, whether as a junior analyst or a seasoned investment banker. Networking skills, analytical skills, communication skills just to name a few. However, you can't just rely on the skills you take with you to an interview. The world of investment banking requires some industry-specific knowledge. This is only attainable from specialized courses and university classes.
As an investment banker or someone working in the investment banking division (IBD) of a bank, you will often be tasked with providing advice, underwriting for capital raising, as well as doing the legwork for mergers and acquisitions (M&A). People skills can only get you so far. An understanding of the market, stock value, investor potential, and matching corporations with clients is essential. Courses that can teach you these skills are more valuable.
Best Investment Banking Courses for Beginners
New to investment banking and searching for foundational knowledge? These course selections are a great place to start!
1. The Complete Investment Banking Course - Udemy
- Price: On Sale
This course comprises 365 courses. A collective of instructors works together to provide insight and knowledgeable information into some of the most demanding professions today, investment banking included.
This course is somewhat unique as it takes you from zero knowledge to a level that allows you to tackle M&A, capital raising, LBO evaluations, and a lot more. It doesn't have the accreditation you would get from college courses. However, it contains most of the same information. Of course, everything is condensed and explained for the ultimate beginner with no prior understanding of investment banking.
The price point is almost unbeatable. However, despite getting all the information you need to pass a Wall Street interview and start working, this course is addressed to beginners. You might be able to acquire all the knowledge needed to get hired as a junior analyst while understanding all the concepts and legal terminology used in an IBD.
2. Introduction to Corporate Finance - Udemy
A free entry-level course is always a good place to start. This Udemy course is aimed at people with no prior banking, finance, or accounting knowledge. It explains the concepts of business valuations, capital markets, debt securities, deal structuring, as well as interview prepping.
This is not enough to land you a high-paying job on Wall Street. However, it's a course you can follow at your own pace and get a good base before starting an in-depth course in investment banking. There are about 1.5 hours of video as well as some downloadable resources.
The course is very popular not just because it's free but also because it offers good explanations of the terminology used in investment banking, equity research, and corporate development.
3. The Complete Financial Ratio Analysis - Udemy
- Price: On Sale
This course is aimed at beginners and people with no prior knowledge of investment banking. It is not long but may take you a while to complete. There are a number of downloadable resources as well as 4.5 hours of on-demand video lessons put together by instructors with real-world banking experience.
The main focus of the course is to teach you how to understand and calculate a company’s profitability, solvency and efficiency, and also how to apply various financial ratios. It has short but on-point explanations of investment banking terminology. Also, you can learn off real-world examples and financial reports.
Best Intermediate Investment Banking Courses
If you have investment banking experience, you may find the following courses useful.
1. Introduction to Finance: Valuation and Investing Specialization - Coursera
- Who's it for? Intermediate
- Price: On sale
This is a very interesting course. Although it's labeled as an intermediate course into finance, it requires quite a bit of prior knowledge of finance and investment banking.
The course was put together by the University of Michigan. This means that it's a paid course, but there's a nice twist. If you want the accreditation, you have to enroll. However, you can also audit the entire course for free. Therefore, you can get all the information you need to be better at your job.
Additionally, reading some extra finance books should also help.
2. Mergers and Acquisitions - The Ultimate M&A Modeling - Udemy
- Price: On Sale
This course takes a different approach than most. It combines the explanation of industry terminology and real-world examples of complex M&A modeling and transactions.
The course is designed and aimed at junior analysts who have prior accounting knowledge but lack on-the-job experience. In lessons such as Case Studies, What M&A Firms Do, Valuation Methods, Merger Failures and more, the course prepares junior analysts and inexperienced graduates. It teaches you what to expect once you land a job at an M&A firm or investment bank. Although somewhat complex, the course only features about 11 hours of video lessons, examples and guides. For someone with basic accounting knowledge and a working copy of Excel, finishing the course shouldn't take too long.
3. Udemy – Advanced Accounting for Investment Banking
- Price: On Sale
Prior accounting knowledge is a must in order to follow this course. There are multiple instances in investment banking where even junior analysts need to have an understanding of accounting terminology and financial ratios. If you have little job experience, this course allows you to get a crash course in intermediate to advanced accounting at a fraction of the cost it would take to follow a college tuition program.
There are four hours of on-demand video available and a very detailed breakdown of all the fundamental and niche topics that you may encounter when working in an IBD.
Best Expert-Level Investment Banking Courses
Are you an experienced investment banker? These courses will enhance your knowledge of investment banking.
1. Ultimate Private Equity: How to Model Investment Rounds - Udemy
- Price: On Sale
This course focuses on Waterfall Analysis and building Cap Tables from scratch. It’s aimed at financial analysts with on-the-job experience and a grasp of the fundamentals of investment banking. The course does little in terms of explaining terminology, which is why it is considered an expert-level course.
4.5 hours of video lessons are available. A working copy of MS Excel is required as well as prior knowledge of how to use the program as all lessons are taught via Excel. Tips on how to use and apply the learned skills in other business intelligence (BI) programs are also offered. Kiley Grant, the brains behind the course, is an experienced former analyst and startup founder. This makes him one of the best instructors to tutor young analysts and show them complex investment banking concepts as seen from the eyes of angel investors and business owners.
8. The Complete Financial Analyst Training and Investing Course - Udemy
Who it's for: Advanced students
Price: On sale
Seasoned venture capitalist and award-winning MBA Professor Chris Haroun presents this highly-rated Udemy bestseller. It’s curated for the Udemy for Business collection and features 22.5 hours of on-demand video, 4 articles and 34 downloadable resources to prepare you for a career as a financial analyst. The instruction provided will also help you become a better stock picker, portfolio manager or investor.
You’ll learn how to pick stocks, manage a portfolio, build financial models, value companies using different methodologies, identify venture capital investment ideas and master Excel for financial analysts. There are also lessons on initial public offerings (IPOs), technical analysis, fiscal policy, financial statements and much more.
Join over 185,000 students who have chosen this course to level up their knowledge and jumpstart their careers. It only takes a few minutes to register, and the enrollment fee includes a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re unsatisfied for any reason.
9. Investment Banking - Mergers and Acquisitions Modeling - Udemy
Who it's for: Advanced students
Price: On sale
Offered by the Institute of Investment Banking, this advanced course is designed for investment and equity research professionals. Students who are enrolled in an MBA (finance) program or preparing for the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) or chartered accountant (CA) exams will also find this course useful.
It explores the merger modeling process and its execution through the Economic, Industry to Company (EIC) framework. You’ll also discover tactics you can leverage you can use to gauge if a merger is feasible or not.
The class begins with a brief introduction, followed by segments on assumptions, purchase price calculations and financial statements. Instruction is delivered through 30 lectures condensed into 3.5 hours of on-demand video and 1 downloadable resource.
It’s best if you have basic accounting and Microsoft Excel knowledge before you enroll.
Final Thoughts
Remember that not all online courses offer accreditation. Still, this doesn’t mean that you can’t learn valuable concepts from the video lessons of self-paced online courses. At the very least, they provide you with the knowledge you need to make a good impression in an interview or at an entry-level job as a junior financial analyst. Perhaps more than college classes, these courses prepare you for the real-world situations that you may encounter on the job.
Frequently Asked Questions
What factors do you consider in an excellent investment banking course?
You should think about the content, price and instructor’s experience.
What are the best investment banking courses for beginners?
Benzinga recommends Introduction to Corporate Finance, The Complete Financial Ratio Analysis and The Complete Investment Banking Course.
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