Investment Banking Fairness Opinions: Profitable and Prestigious, or Glamorless Gruntwork?

“Morgan Stanley is acting as financial advisor to the buyer and Credit Suisse is acting as financial advisor to the seller, with the fairness opinion provided by Houlihan Lokey.”

So we’ve been over this “financial advisor to the buyer and seller” stuff before, but what about that fairness opinion bit?

You always see sentences like the one above at the bottom of deal announcement press releases – so what is this mysterious “fairness opinion,” why does it matter, and what should you do when your VP calls you at 2 AM and asks you to help out with one?

The 4-Hour Investment Banking Body: How to Keep Off the First Year 15 and Get In Shape While Sitting In a Cubicle Staring at Excel All Day

It’s midway through your first year as a banker.

You just got back from the holiday party, and after taking a day off to recover from your hangover, you’re ready to rock and roll.

You pull out your favorite pair of slacks from the closet, fumbling to put them on…

…and as you do so, they split in half – far too small for your waist, which has gained 4 inches (10 cm) in the past 6 months.

You’re fat.

And now you’re naked from the waist down, too, but that’s a smaller issue.

Here’s what went wrong, and how you can lose all that weight you just gained – with only 4 hours of free time (or less) per week.

Stuff Investment Bankers Like, Round 3

It’s been awhile, so let’s jump right back into it.

Parts 1 and 2 are here – essential reading if you ever plan to go to Buenos Aires or hit “Reply All” in your email client.

15) Unsolicited Advice

Working in investment banking, you will age more rapidly than the average person.

That’s just what happens when you go to Starbucks 10 times a day, eat junk food all the time, and then work 100 hours a week to boot.

So many bankers start to feel that their true age is higher than the number of years they’ve been on the planet - which is what inspires them to give unsolicited advice.