Investment Banking interview preparation
Every question below is either traced to a named firm from a public candidate report, or tagged at desk level when we could not trace it. Answers are written the way you would actually say them out loud — answer first, then the mechanism, then the limitation.
100 questions, mapped to the firms that asked them
- Questions
- 100
- Traced to a firm
- 100
- Firms
- 46
- Updated
- September 2026
076Pitch me a stock to buy and one to sell.Bank of AmericaInvestment Banking · New York · 2023Morgan StanleySales and Trading · Tokyo · 2025Balyasny Asset ManagementEquity Hedge · New York · 2020
Say this
Lead with the recommendation and the target, then give the variant view, then the catalyst, then the risk. Ninety seconds. The variant view is the whole pitch: what do you believe that the market does not?
Then walk it
- One sentence: 'I would buy X at its current level with a target of Y, about 30 percent upside over 12 months.'
- Then the business in two sentences, so the interviewer knows you understand what it actually sells.
- Then the variant view, which is the only part that matters. 'Consensus models margin flat; I think it expands 200 basis points because the pricing taken last year has not annualised yet.' No variant view means no pitch.
- Then the catalyst and the timeline. What event makes the market agree with you, and when.
- Then the two biggest risks and what would make you exit. And on the short side, be rigorous: a short thesis needs a catalyst and a borrow cost, because 'it is expensive' is not a thesis.
- Know the numbers behind it: revenue growth, margin, multiple, and roughly what the market values it at.
Where candidates lose it
Pitching a mega-cap that everyone covers, with a thesis that is just the consensus narrative. If your reason is the reason in the newspaper, there is no edge. And never pitch something you cannot defend on valuation.
Expect next
- What would make you change your mind?
- Are you sure your thesis can be backed up? What if their costs do not fall?
- How would you hedge this name?
Reported by candidates at Bank of America (Investment Banking, New York, 2023); Morgan Stanley (Sales and Trading, Tokyo, 2025); Balyasny Asset Management (Equity Hedge, New York, 2020). Source: Wall Street Oasis.
088Comparing two identical buildings, how would you value them differently?Apollo Global ManagementReal Estate · Williamsport · 2022Morgan StanleyInvestment Banking · London · 2025
Say this
Identical bricks do not mean identical value. The difference is in the leases, the tenants and the debt. Value is net operating income divided by cap rate, and both terms can differ completely for the same building.
Then walk it
- Net operating income first: what rent is actually contracted, at what escalations, with what vacancy and what recoveries of operating expenses. One building leased at above-market rent is worth more than its twin at below-market, today.
- Then lease duration and tenant credit. Ten years remaining to an investment grade tenant supports a much lower cap rate than two years remaining to a weak covenant. Duration and credit are the risk in real estate.
- Then the cap rate itself, which is where location micro-differences show up: the side of the street, the transport access, the parking, the floor plate efficiency.
- Then the debt in place. Assumable below-market fixed-rate debt is a real asset and can be worth several percent of the value. Expensive debt with prepayment penalties is a liability.
- Then everything outside the four walls: property tax assessment, ground lease versus freehold, capital expenditure deferred by one owner and not the other, and zoning or development rights above the building.
- So the short answer: I would value the cash flows and the risk of those cash flows, not the building. Two identical structures can easily differ 30 percent in value.
Where candidates lose it
Assuming the question is a trick with no answer, or listing only location. Leases and tenant credit are the substance. Naming assumable debt is the detail that marks out someone who has looked at real deals.
Expect next
- Walk me through getting to exit value from gross potential rent using a cap rate.
- What is the cash-on-cash return at a given LTV and cap rate?
- How does a cap rate relate to a multiple?
Reported by candidates at Apollo Global Management (Real Estate, Williamsport, 2022); Morgan Stanley (Investment Banking, London, 2025). Source: Wall Street Oasis.
Firm tags come from public, anonymous candidate reports on Wall Street Oasis: strong signal, not sworn testimony. Firms are named as the places a question was reported, not as partners of Fin Maverick. Answers are written for this page to show how to think out loud; they are not scripts to recite.