Primers

Canadian finance, explained.

Short guides for students new to the industry. Every primer is written for Canada: the firms, the offices, the recruiting process and the technicals that U.S. guides leave out.

1. 01Investment banking in Canada, explainedWhat bankers do, how a deal runs from pitch to close, the six kinds of firm that make up the Canadian market, and what makes Bay Street different from Wall Street.9 min read
2. 02Groups and offices: where the work happensWhich firms are organised into groups and which work as one team, what each industry and product group does, and why Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal look so different from Toronto.9 min read
3. 03Canada's buy side: pensions, private equity and asset managersThe investors on the other side of the table: the pension funds, private equity firms, asset managers, hedge funds, lenders and venture firms, and which of them actually hire students.8 min read
4. 04Recruiting in Canada: how students break inHow the ladder works, when firms recruit, what the process looks like, and how to plan, network and stand out in a market where each office hires a handful of people.9 min read
5. 05What's different about Canadian technicalsThe accounting standards, sector valuation methods, disclosure rules and deal mechanics that come up in Canadian interviews but not in U.S. guides.7 min read
6. Coming soonInterview prepQuestion banks by career path. For a specific firm, its page has a sourced “Why this firm?” kit, and BSO Pro adds what candidates there reported being asked.