Firm Research
“Why this firm?” is the most failed question on Wall Street
The exact six things to research about a firm before applying or interviewing. Sector-calibrated for investment banking, consulting, law and Big 4. Built around the firms graduates actually apply to.
Pick a firm, get the dossier
What good research looks like
Same firm. Same question. Two depths of research.
Surface research
“Goldman Sachs is one of the leading investment banks globally and is known for its commitment to excellence. The firm has a strong reputation in M&A and a great culture of teamwork. I am particularly interested in the TMT group as I find technology and media fascinating.”
What is missing
Analyst-grade research
“Goldman's 2025 exit from consumer credit and refocus on Global Banking & Markets concentrated capital on the institutional franchise where the firm leads, particularly in cross-border TMT. The Synopsys-Ansys $35bn combination and the firm's advisory on the Capital One-Discover consolidation show the kind of complex transactions I would be working on. The TMT group operates lean 3-4 banker teams co-led by Sam Britton, pushing juniors into substantive valuation work from week one.”
What it shows
The six areas
Six categories of research. Hit all six and your application answers, cover letter and interview commercial-awareness answers all become easier to write.
The transactions the firm has advised on in the last 12 months. Not just the headline deal everyone knows - the second and third tier mandates that show real coverage strength in your target sector.
Example: Goldman's lead role on Synopsys-Ansys, plus its advisory on the Capital One-Discover combination and the BlackRock-GIP integration.
Major direction changes in the last 18-24 months. Exits from product lines, expansions into new geographies, acquisitions of capability, public commitments to a sector or technology theme.
Example: Goldman exiting consumer credit to refocus on Global Banking & Markets, McKinsey expanding its sustainability practice, JPMorgan's data centre buildout for AI infrastructure.
How your target division actually operates: headcount, revenue contribution, recent leadership changes, the named partners or MDs who shape it, the cultural quirks specific to that desk.
Example: Goldman's TMT group typically runs lean 3-4 banker deal teams, pushing juniors into substantive valuation work from week one. The group is co-led by Sam Britton.
How the firm is positioned vs its closest peer in your target sector. League table standing, deal-fee market share, areas where it leads and areas where it lags.
Example: In European tech M&A, Goldman, Morgan Stanley and Centerview compete for the same top mandates. Goldman leads on cross-border complexity; Centerview wins on pure-advisory conflict-free positioning.
What genuinely differentiates the firm's culture from its peer, beyond generic 'teamwork' words. Specific traditions, internal norms, performance-management style, in-office policy.
Example: Goldman runs a strict 5-day in-office mandate and an annual bottom-decile cull. Morgan Stanley has a more flexible hybrid policy. Bain runs a partnership-promotion model unique to MBB.
Who runs the firm globally, who runs the region, who leads your target division. Recent senior departures or hires often signal strategic shifts before they are publicly stated.
Example: Stephan Feldgoise and Mark Sorrell now jointly lead Goldman Global M&A. The 2024 hire of senior tech bankers from Morgan Stanley signalled the TMT investment was about to step up.
The sources
Most candidates do their research on Wikipedia and the firm's About page. Strong research uses the same primary sources analysts use on the job.
Firm careers site and most recent annual report
Strategic priorities in the firm's own words. Annual reports are filtered through PR, but the chair / CEO letter is the most reliable signal of where the firm is genuinely investing.
Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg
Deal flow, leadership changes, strategic moves. The FT Lex column and Bloomberg deal coverage are the highest-signal sources for graduate-level commercial awareness.
Mergermarket, PitchBook, Capital IQ
Transaction-level data: deal value, advisors, league table position. If you have university or society access, use it.
Recent hires and departures. Patterns in senior moves often reveal divisional priorities before any press release.
Networking conversations
The highest-signal source of all if you can land them. One 30-minute coffee with a current analyst or associate tells you more than 4 hours of reading.
Why research fails
The patterns that produce generic answers, no matter how many hours you actually spent reading.
Citing the firm's league table position
"Goldman is number one in global M&A" is filler. Every candidate already knows it, and using it as your differentiator signals you have not read past the homepage.
Quoting the firm's own values back at them
"Goldman's 14 Business Principles align with my values" reads as recycled marketing. Reference behaviour, not stated values.
Mentioning deals you cannot defend
Naming a recent transaction without being able to discuss the strategic rationale, financing or risks is worse than not mentioning any deal at all.
Researching only the firm, not the division
Every applicant knows about the firm. Few have done division-level research: headcount, deal mix, named leaders, recent moves.
Using only the careers microsite
The careers site is filtered marketing. Recruiters know this. Strong research draws on FT, Bloomberg, annual reports and primary deal coverage.
Confusing the firm with its closest peer
Mixing up Morgan Stanley wealth strengths with Goldman, or BCG cases with McKinsey. Sloppy firm research that gets caught in the interview is immediately disqualifying.
Hours of research, no notes
Reading without note-taking means nothing sticks. Build a one-page research dossier per firm with the five things you would cite in a "Why this firm?" answer.
What works
Two deals you can defend
Two firm-advised deals you understand well enough to discuss for 5 minutes each beats five deals you can only name.
A specific strategic shift
One direction change the firm has executed in the last 18 months, with the why behind it. Shows you actually follow the firm beyond the news headlines.
Division-level intelligence
Headcount, named leadership, recent moves, divisional culture. Most candidates research the firm; few research the desk.
One networking conversation logged
A 30-minute coffee with a current analyst or associate is worth more than 4 hours of independent reading. Cite it where the application allows.
A one-page dossier per firm
Five bullet points per firm: top deal, strategic shift, division intel, peer comparison, cultural anchor. Reviewed before every application and every interview.
Refreshed each application cycle
Last year's research is mostly stale. Recent deals matter most; old deals signal you have not updated your knowledge.
By sector
The six research areas apply across sectors, but the weighting changes. What scores in a banking interview is different to what scores in a law interview.
Deal flow is the single most important research area. Know two or three recent firm-advised deals in your target sector well enough to discuss strategic rationale, valuation, and financing structure.
Thought leadership and recent client wins. Read the firm's published research and case studies. Know which industries the firm leads in, and which it is investing to grow.
Recent legal mandates and partner moves. Magic Circle and US law firms publish detailed press releases on lead-counsel roles - know the firm's wins in your interest area (M&A, finance, dispute resolution).
Service line strategy and firm-wide values. Big 4 firms compete heavily on cultural positioning - know how PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG differentiate themselves vs each other.
Compare your options
The honest comparison. Intervyo dossiers are structured around what graduate recruiters actually score commercial awareness on, not generic firm summaries.
| Feature | Intervyo | Wikipedia / firm site | Independent research | Glassdoor / WSO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current-cycle deal flow with strategic rationale | partial | |||
| Division-level intelligence | partial | partial | partial | |
| Named leadership and recent moves | partial | partial | ||
| Peer-firm positioning | partial | |||
| Cultural anchors specific to the firm | partial | partial | ||
| Time to compile | partial | |||
| Updated each cycle | ||||
| Cross-firm comparison ready |
How it works
Each Pack includes a structured current-cycle dossier on the six research areas, refreshed every recruitment cycle.
Recent deals, strategic shifts, divisional intel, leadership, peer comparison, cultural anchors. All in one place per firm.
Use the dossier to back up "Why this firm?" answers in cover letters, application portals, HireVue and live interviews.
Keep going
FAQ
A focused 3-4 hours per firm gives you everything you need: 60 minutes on the firm's recent strategic shifts and deal flow, 60 minutes on the division you target, 30 minutes on leadership and culture, 30 minutes on networking with one or two professionals. More than that has diminishing returns; less than that produces generic answers that read like every other applicant.
The firm's careers site and most recent annual report are the foundation. Layer on: Bloomberg, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal for deal flow; Glassdoor and Wall Street Oasis for cultural context (with skepticism); LinkedIn for current professional moves; Mergermarket / PitchBook / Capital IQ for transaction data if accessible; the firm's research notes and CEO letters for strategic direction.
Five things: (1) one specific recent deal the firm has advised on in the last 12 months, including the strategic rationale; (2) one strategic shift the firm has executed in the last 18 months; (3) the rough headcount and revenue contribution of your target division; (4) the name and background of one senior figure who shapes that division; (5) one cultural anchor that genuinely differentiates the firm from its closest peer.
Start with the firm's investor relations or press release page (every public firm publishes deal announcements). Layer on Mergermarket league tables, the FT Lex column, and Bloomberg M&A coverage. For private equity buy-side activity, the firm rarely advertises - use trade publications like PEI, Buyouts, or Private Equity News.
Specific enough to defend. Naming a deal without being able to explain the strategic rationale, financing structure or key risks is worse than not mentioning it. Pick one or two deals you can discuss in depth (5+ minutes of conversation each), not five you can mention shallowly.
Yes. Each firm Pack includes a current-cycle firm dossier: recent deals, strategic shifts, leadership changes, division-level intelligence, peer comparisons, cultural anchors, exit destinations. Updated each recruitment cycle so the content reflects what is actually relevant when you apply.
Surface-level research: citing the firm's number-one league table position, generic culture words ('teamwork', 'excellence'), or the most-quoted recent transaction without the strategic context. Recruiters have read this version of the answer hundreds of times. Specific, defensible, second-order detail is what scores.
WSO and Glassdoor are crowdsourced applicant accounts, often outdated and unstructured. Intervyo firm dossiers are compiled per cycle into a structured format: deal flow, leadership, divisional dynamics, comparison vs peers, current strategic priorities. The same depth you would build over 4 hours of independent research, in one place per firm.
Recent deals, strategic shifts, division-level intel, peer comparisons, cultural anchors. One dossier per firm, refreshed each cycle.
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