Investment Banking Foundations

Investment banking is often described in jargon and rarely explained. This five-lesson course starts from first principles: the core businesses of an investment bank and how firms of different sizes divide the work; how underwriting spreads, retainers and success fees work, using published data and FINRA rules rather than folklore; how broker-dealers and their bankers are registered, examined and checked in the United States; the step-by-step anatomy of a capital raise or company sale, from engagement letter to closing; and a sourced snapshot of venture, IPO, M&A and interest-rate conditions as of the third and fourth quarters of 2026. Every factual statement is tied to a primary source or named dataset. The course is educational only and is not investment, legal or tax advice.

What you’ll learn

• Explain the difference between underwriting, placement and M&A advisory work, and how bulge-bracket, middle-market and boutique firms differ.
• Read an engagement letter's fee terms, including gross spreads, retainers, success fees, expense allowances and tail provisions.
• Describe how broker-dealers are registered with the SEC, join FINRA, and qualify their bankers through exams such as the SIE, Series 79, Series 82 and Series 63, and how to verify them on BrokerCheck.
• Walk through the stages of a deal, from mandate through marketing materials, diligence, signing and closing, and name the key participants.
• Summarize late-2026 conditions in venture, IPO and M&A markets and the Federal Reserve's policy stance, citing the underlying data.