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
008Walk me from revenue down to unlevered free cash flow.RBC Capital MarketsLeveraged Finance · London · 2026Centerview PartnersInvestment Banking · Menlo Park · 2025
Say this
Revenue less COGS and operating expenses gives EBIT. Tax EBIT at the marginal rate to get after-tax EBIT, add back D&A, subtract CapEx, then subtract the increase in net working capital.
Then walk it
- Start at EBIT, not net income, because unlevered means before any financing decision.
- Multiply EBIT by one minus the tax rate. This is the step people rush: you tax EBIT, not EBITDA.
- Add back D&A because it is non-cash, but note you already got its tax benefit inside the taxed EBIT.
- Subtract CapEx, which is the real cash going into the asset base.
- Subtract the change in net working capital. Growth normally consumes working capital, so this is usually negative for a growing company.
- The result is cash available to all capital providers, debt and equity, which is why you discount it at WACC.
Where candidates lose it
Subtracting interest. The moment interest appears, it is levered, not unlevered, and you have double-counted the capital structure because WACC already prices the debt. Say 'no interest, because it is unlevered' out loud.
Expect next
- What is the difference between levered and unlevered free cash flow?
- Which one do you discount at cost of equity?
- If I gave you a $10 change in revenue, COGS, or CapEx, which moves your DCF most?
Reported by candidates at RBC Capital Markets (Leveraged Finance, London, 2026); Centerview Partners (Investment Banking, Menlo Park, 2025). Source: Wall Street Oasis.
072Where did the S&P 500 close last night, and what is the 10-year trading at?Morgan StanleyWealth Management · Boca Raton · 2026RBC Capital MarketsSales and Trading · London · 2025
Say this
There is no clever answer to this one. You either know the levels or you do not, and not knowing them tells the interviewer you do not follow markets.
Then walk it
- Know the index level and the direction of the last session. Approximate is fine; blank is not.
- Know the 10-year Treasury yield, the policy rate, oil, gold, and the dollar index. For an India-facing interview, add the Nifty, the 10-year G-sec and the rupee.
- Have one sentence on why the market moved. 'Equities were up on a softer inflation print and the 10-year fell about five basis points' is a complete answer.
- If you genuinely do not know, say so once, quickly, and give the level you last checked with the date. Do not guess a precise number.
- Build the habit rather than cramming: five minutes a morning on one market wrap for the two weeks before you interview is enough.
Where candidates lose it
Guessing a precise number and being wrong. That is worse than admitting you have not checked since yesterday. Interviewers on trading floors do this specifically as a preparation test, and they already know the answer.
Expect next
- Why did it move?
- What is X commodity trading at?
- What do you think the index closes at by year end?
Reported by candidates at Morgan Stanley (Wealth Management, Boca Raton, 2026); RBC Capital Markets (Sales and Trading, 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.