"The Pulse" --#37

Pay for 3 coaching sessions, get 1 FREE! Until February 21st, we will be offering an exclusive deal to pay $150 to receive 4 coaching sessions with a current or future analyst (Venmo @ThePulsePrep). Interviews are right around the corner and we want you to be as prepared as possible. Last year, 85% of those coached received offers! See the “Going Forward” section in the bottom of the newsletter for additional detail.

SA 2025 interview szn is HERE! Don’t fall behind your competition by wasting time tracking applications.

Instead, use our Premium Database to gain access to 200+ banks/consulting/buyside firms. Venmo @ThePulsePrep $50 and shoot us an e-mail @[email protected]. Additional details of the database can be found below. Gain an edge over everyone by accessing a wealth of recruiting resources and detailed explanations of the interview processes of each firm.

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Recruiting Timeline:

Banking:

Where We’re At:  

• SA 2025: Nomura, Harris Williams, and District Capital Partners all opened applications this week. So far ~62 banks have opened applications with 7 having opened this week. As forecasted, February is off to a hot start for interviews with interviews kicking off across the Street from BB down to the smallest boutiques. Interviews will continue throughout February and March with ~80% of the process concluding before April. Right now, your technical and behavioral preparation should be perfected. Please reach out if you’re looking for mock interviews or any coaching!

• Advice: Practice interviewing! Whether you practice with us or friends at school, make sure you’re doing more than reciting answers to yourself. Answering questions out loud, on the spot is much more difficult than thinking through an answer in your head

Newly Released Applications:

• Nomura: Large Japanese bank (SA 2025)

• District Capital Partners: Small, DC-based boutique (SA 2025)

• Harrison Co: Boutique, consumer focus (SA 2025)

• Harris Williams: Strong boutique in Richmond, VA. M&A focus (SA 2025)

• Berkeley Research Group: Boutique bank (SA 2025)

• MTS Health Partners: Healthcare-focused boutique (SA 2025)

• England & Company: Boutique (SA 2025)

See below to gain access to our premium database, updated weekly, which houses the application processes for over 200+ banks/consulting/buyside firms! Gain an edge over everyone else by not having to spend countless hours tracking applications and deadlines.

Consulting:

Where We’re At:

• SA 2025:  Five Firms have released applications. We are still very early in this process (MBB have not released apps and will not until March/April). However, applying to jobs early and often is the best way to get interviews, secure an offer early, and practice for more high-stakes interviews. Reach out if you want to schedule a mock interview or speak to a coach! 

SA 2025 released apps:

• KPMG: Advisory Intern, Deal Advisory - Financial Due Diligence (SA 2025)

• PWC: Management Consulting Intern - Women's Consulting Experience (SA 2025).

• Curtis & Co: Boutique firm (SA 2025)

• Protiviti: Tech Consulting (SA 2025)

• RSM: Tech, Risk, and Business Improvement Intern (SA 2025)

Pre-Consulting:

• Bain: Consulting Kickstart Program (Interactive, virtual series designed to give freshman/first year undergraduate students who identify as Black, Hispanic/Latin American, and/or Indigenous heritage, exposure to business leaders and the exciting world of consulting)

Apply ASAP if you’re interested!

Buyside:

Where We’re At:

SA 2025: Point 72, LBC Credit Partners, and Investure all opened SA 2025 apps this week. So far ~44 buyside shops have opened applications, with many firms interviewing already. Similar to banking, interviews will take place over February and March—although some processes may bleed over closer to May/June given the more ad-hoc nature of buyside recruiting

Released apps:

• Point 72: Large hedge fund with a rigorous training program (SA 2025)

• LBC Credit Partners: $38bn AUM credit shop (SA 2025)

• Trinity Hunt Partners: Small PE shop (SA 2025)

• Investure: $17bn AUM asset manager in Charlottesville, VA (SA 2025)

Premium Database:

The database is updated weekly and contains 200+ Investment Banking and Consulting internships/full-time positions along with:

• Interview tips for specific companies

• Interview prep material

• Applications and deadlines linked so that you can apply with one click

• Insider information about the application process

• Professionals to network with

• Buyside deadlines, interview prep, and people to network with for the sweatiest of students

We send the updated dataset every week with the latest banking and consulting job postings. We released our 37th update today.

Students we have been helping have already landed roles at Blackstone, Goldman, J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Citi, and Solomon.

To get access to the database and the weekly updates, you pay a one-time fee of $50 (Venmo @ThePulsePrep) that grants you annual access to the updated database (You can enable purchase protection if concerned). If you don’t find our services helpful, we simply ask for feedback on an area we can improve upon and will refund your $50.

This is a small investment for a huge payout when you secure your dream offer!

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Market Update:

How High is Too High? A Note on Valuation

First, a breakdown of some key market events:

• S&P 500 eclipsed 5,000 for the first time ever!

• S&P 500 trades at ~27x PE

• Another killer jobs report: 353,000 jobs added in January

• Additional consumer debt is a stride towards normalization, not a cause of concern (yet)

• Continued deflation in China

The S&P 500 just hit 5,000 and is trading at a PE multiple of 27x. Are things too frothy? (Let’s examine from a long-term perspective)

3 EASY reasons why this makes sense:

1. The FED did a great job bringing inflation down from ~9.0% to ~3.5% over a short time period. In June of 2022, CPI clocked in at ~9.0%, in December of 2023 it only clocked in at 3.4%. Now, consensus believes we have a longer battle ahead before reaching the coveted 2.0% target

2. The job market is extremely healthy. Unemployment is only at 3.7% and jobs aren’t only getting created, but wages are rising too

3. Corporate earnings are healthy. Many Fortune 500s cut costs in expectation of a softening economy as rates were hiked. They also benefited from relatively weak earnings forecasts in 2022, which they were able to beat due to the surprise in the strength of the consumer

When the FED started hiking rates, they wanted to 1). ease inflation and 2). keep the job market healthy. So far, they have been successful and the market has recognized this success with the run up in equities.

However, is a 27x PE multiple alarming? Well, let’s take a look:

To address the elephant in the room, you may be thinking “what the fuck was going on in March of 2009 to command a 120x PE multiple?” I thought the same.

Looking into the detail, this multiple is calculated based on a trailing 12-month earnings (TTM). Earnings were really shitty in the 12 months preceding March of 2009, prices were depressed too, but the ratio of price to TTM EPS was outsized. Therefore, the S&P 500 traded at 120x PE in March of 2009.

*Bottom line, ignore this data point*

Ok, when focusing on today we can see that a 27x PE multiple is high on a lifetime basis. However, over the last 1-2 decades, 27x really isn’t too abnormal from the median (17-25x). From a quick PE analysis, things don’t seem crazy overvalued.

I also want to note that the market has returned 15.3% on average the year following ATH is reached.

Please, please remember past performance is not indicative of future returns. Nonetheless, the market doesn’t immediately go to shit the year after ATH is reached.

A few other reasons why ATH today isn’t scary (if you have a long-term horizon):

1. Markets move upwards in the long-term. Everyone knows this. Any 10-year short on a macroeconomic index like the S&P 500 has been unprofitable

2. The democratization of finance + financial education= more capital invested in financial assets. Today, you can place a trade in seconds, free of charge. Not so long ago, there were fees attached to trades and sometimes they’d take days or weeks to execute. Also, as countries develop, people grow to learn that investing money is important for growing one’s wealth

3. Companies have become more efficient. Despite the lack of low hanging fruit, tech + AI will allow companies to operate more efficiently. No Fortune 500 today is dependent on a boardroom full of egos and cigar smoke

At the end of the day, valuation is wholly dependent on the price someone is willing to pay. If everyone thinks the S&P is fairly priced at 5,000, then it is worth 5,000. At one point, the S&P reaching 500 felt like a big milestone and not too long after, people felt like it was worth 500.

Disclosure: Nothing written here is financial advice or should be used for investment decisions.

Private Markets vs. Public Markets (Round 2)

We previously discussed some differences between private markets and public markets in "The Pulse" -- #29

Today, we are going to focus on the migration of capital and companies to the private markets.

Starting with companies.

In the 1980s, there were more public companies than there are today: 

Why are fewer companies public today? Going public is expensive and exhausting. Quarterly reporting sucks and costs tons of money. Also, bad earnings means your valuation gets hit hard in a matter of seconds. Not very forgiving.

Staying private allows many companies to focus on executing long-term initiatives instead of short-term quarterly improvements. They also don’t need to shell out tons of money to meet extensive regulatory requirements subject to all public companies.

Now, the private markets aren’t necessarily better than the public markets since the cost of capital is typically more expensive. Private markets investors demand a premium on illiquidity and imperfect information.

On that note, let’s look at the flow of capital to private markets:

As private markets mature, the flow of capital increases. Investors have realized that allocating capital to the private markets can support their portfolios through the nature of diversification and the opportunity to generate outsized returns through different investing strategies.

Marry the rationale for companies to stay private and the rationale for capital moving private, and you have a booming private capital markets. 

Why go public when all of the funding you need can be found privately? Unless the business is mature, cash flowing, and predictable, it makes sense for many companies to just stay private and focus on what is important: executing long-term initiatives to become better and return more capital to shareholders. 

The burning question: will capital continue to flow earlier in the investing phase? Private capital today is concentrated within traditional private equity and private credit strategies.

As companies become more mature in the private space, will investors venture into earlier strategies such as venture capital in the hunt for yield?

Going Forward:

Pay for 3 sessions, get 1 FREE! We will pair you with a current or future analyst to help with everything from:

• Resume Review

• Mock Interviews

• Developing Recruiting Preparation Plans

Last year, 85% of those coached received offers! Venmo: @ThePulsePrep $150 to claim this offer; sessions are ~1 hour long and we are fully flexible to your schedule

Please reach out to us with any questions about recruiting or if you’re interested in meeting the team! ([email protected])

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“The Pulse” #37