What We Do
We want to turn you into the next generation of finance professionals
We want to turn you into the next generation of finance professionals
Prime was conceived in the spring semester of 2013, when our founders realized that there was a significant educational gap between the academic curricula in the Gies College of Business and the skills and experiences that employers in the investment banking industry looked for in candidates. While programs like the Golder Academies, the Market Information Lab, and student organizations addressed this issue, there was still a paucity of opportunities for younger students (freshmen and sophomores). Prime was created to bridge that gap and provide these younger students a springboard for their careers. Our mission is to help underclassmen determine what career is right for them.
The Prime Analyst program provides a comprehensive introduction to mergers and acquisitions by simulating a deal throughout the course of a semester, augmented by strong curriculum and guest speakers from the industry. In weekly meetings / classroom sessions, we cover topics ranging from corporate finance, valuation and deal structuring, to market evaluation, firm strategy, and post-merger integration. Guest speakers connect these lessons to real-life scenarios and provide additional insight - we've had professionals from J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Robert W. Baird, William Blair, PwC, Houlihan Lokey, Lincoln International, Maranon Capital, BMO Capital Markets, and Moelis speak thus far.
The semester-long simulation serves as the core of the Prime experience. Students form teams of 3-4 and play the role of investment bankers advising clients in M&A situations (both on the buy-side and sell-side). We use real companies to help bring the world of finance into the classroom with Prime. Throughout the course of the semester, the deal unfolds under the guidance of the student advisor teams, in tandem with topics and situations covered in the curriculum portion of the program. This allows students to build teamworking, negotiation, and communication skills in addition to learning the valuable content that prepares students for interviews, the workforce, and other classes.
The Prime Associate program was created in the Spring of 2020 as a greater bridge between the Gies finance program and the Investment Banking Academy. Those that have successfully completed the analyst program are eligible for this discussion-based class focused on more conceptually challenging topics. Each week we discuss current events as well as 3-statement modeling, supporting schedules, WACC, buyer lists, leveraged buyout analyses (LBOs), merger models, and more. If you plan to recruit for the Investment Banking Academy, we highly recommend applying as this will greatly improve your understanding of technical questions, the IBA recruitment process, and the investment banking / finance industry more broadly.