The Wall Street Skinny

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Wall Street Skinny, we delve  into the world of angel investing. Joined by Matt Naylor and Max Valverde, co-founders of the Milkless podcast, the discussion explores the essentials of evaluating investment opportunities, the importance of liquidity preferences, and the risks and rewards associated with angel investing. Max, a seasoned investor and successful...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of "The Skinny on Wall Street", your hosts Kristen and Jen dive deep into the latest financial developments. They kick things off with a comprehensive analysis of the Federal Reserve's recent rate cut, discussing its immediate impact on the market, what quantitative tightening means in an easing cycle, and the surprising hawkish tone from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we dissect the various finance mechanics depicted in HBO Max's Industry Season 1, Episode 6 (Nutcracker). We explore the depiction of holiday parties on Wall Street and discuss why Eric's unconventional decision to give Harper her year-end bonus early not only doesn't make sense, but the numbers are crazy in light of the fact that it should be a stub. We also delv...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we are joined by Enis Taner, a seasoned professional in the field with nearly two decades of experience. He breaks down everything we want to know about being an equities derivatives trader, from the day-to-day responsibilities of an options trader to the differences in work culture between major financial hubs like New York City and Houston.  Enis provides a compr...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of 'The Wall Street Skinny' we delve into two failed acquisitions, starting first with the failed Mondelez-Hershey deal. We get into the structure of Hershey's voting shares, the history of Kraft and Cadbury's contentious acquisition, and the strategic implications of consolidating consumer goods giants. Learn about the rationale behind mergers, the hurdles they fa...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the unofficial companion podcast for HBO Max's hit show 'Industry,' we dive deep into the financial intricacies of Season 1, Episode 5. Join Jen and Kristen as they break down the implications of an Italian Brexit and explore how jargon like 'Brexit' has evolved within financial circles. We also delve into the challenges and nuances of bonus structures, discussi...

Send us Fan Mail This episode features Frank Van Buren, a former Blackhawk helicopter pilot and U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer, who shares his journey from the military to a 26-year career in investment banking at Wells Fargo. Frank offers valuable insights on leveraging military experience in finance and provides advice for veterans and older individuals transitioning to investment banking. He e...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Skinny On, we discuss MicroStrategy's recent issuance of $3nn of convertible debt as part of a plan to raise $42nn to buy Bitcoin, as well as the disastrous block trade Citi underwrote for Goodman Group. We start by talking about converts in general, diving into the difference between convertible debt, convertible preferred, and mandatory converts, including...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Kristen and Jen delve deep Season 1 episode 4 of HBO Max's Hit show, "Industry". They kick things off by breaking down the significance of the non-farm payrolls report and its sweeping impact on various market instruments like bonds, stocks, gold, and the dollar. They dissect Harper’s misbooked cable trade and explore the severe repercussions it has on both her ca...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Wall Street Skinny, we dive deeper into the world of private credit with our exceptional guest, Alona Gornick. Alona, a senior investment strategist and managing director at Churchill Asset Management, shares her invaluable insights on the evolving landscape of direct lending, the intricate structure of private credit deals, and why this asset class continue...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we delve into episode three of HBO Max's hit show, 'Industry,'. We walk through Harper's cross-asset trade idea involving puts on the homebuilders index, calls on gold, and credit default swaps (CDS), and her interactions with bosses Daria and Eric and use it to discuss mentorship on Wall Street. We further use the show as an excuse to explain sales credits, trade...

Send us Fan Mail Does what you wear to work on Wall Street matter? How much? Why? What exactly are you supposed to wear, anyway? Who makes those decisions? And how can you express your personal style in a way that elevates your career? In this inspiring conversation with former finance PR specialist-turned-fashion-founder Kerry O'Brien, the CEO of Commando, we learn how to navigate all of these qu...

Send us Fan Mail Nearly every thought leader we’ve spoken to in the finance industry has struggled with imposter syndrome at some point in their career. Not Michele Trogni.  We had the fabulous opportunity to sit down with Michele at the CAIS Summit, where she explains how she learned early not to be encumbered by the expectations of others, to be emboldened by preparing for the unexpected, and to...

Send us Fan Mail Steve Kurz vaulted from early days at a worm poop startup (yes, that's a real thing) to the fast track of traditional finance, only to find himself with a front row seat to the Global Financial Crisis.  Steve took the lessons he learned in traditional finance at legendary institutions like Lehman Brothers, Fortress, and River Birch and forged a new path along with his co-founder,...

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Send us Fan Mail You've probably heard of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) before.  You may even own shares in some.  But do you actually know what they are?  How are they created?  How do they work?  Who maintains liquid markets in them?  Why would you invest in one in the first place?  And why has this marketplace exploded to a size of $11-12 trillion across 10,000+ funds? We are joined by longtime...

Send us Fan Mail With less than two weeks to go until the US Election, we are bringing you this special edition crossover podcast episode with our trusted friend and news source, Mosheh Oinounou of Mo News. We are trying to achieve the impossible: a non-political podcast episode about politics.  We sat down with Mosheh to explain some basic mechanics behind the US presidential election process, fi...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode of TSO we are joined by Jade Huang, Chief Investment Officer of Calvert Research Management. She breaks down what is going on right now at the COP 16 Summit, talks about responsible investing, ESG, why it's so much more than just buzz words and how you can make money while also doing good for the planet. Jade HuangChief Investment Officer, Co-Head of Applied Sol...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Wall Street Skinny, we dive deep into the world of financial inclusion with Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking. Microfinance has long been hailed as a key tool for empowering women in emerging markets, but as Mary Ellen explains, true financial empowerment requires far more than just access to microloans. We explore how Women’...

Send us Fan Mail We've talked a lot about how Private Equity Megafunds approach valuation when they purchase companies through LBOs. And we've spoken about their exits, either through IPOs or PE Secondaries.  But we've never really talked about what happens during the YEARS in between!  How do Private Equity companies actually grow their portfolio companies over the life of their investment? Enter...

Send us Fan Mail Our thoughts are with everyone who has recently been impacted by or is in the path of the devastating hurricanes this fall.  In today's episode, we touch on the perplexing price action in the oil markets.  The price of oil remains curiously low relative to what seem to be fundamental upward pressures, and we discuss a recent Bloomberg interview with Jeff Currie, Chief Strategy Off...

Send us Fan Mail Today we are bringing back Carissa Jordan, who was in our incredible episode about problematic female managers (episode 55). She was a credit trader at Goldman Sachs, and she’s here to give us our long awaited Credit Trading 101 episode.  We discuss everything about credit from its conception and origination in IBD — the investment banking division — Debt Capital Markets, and the...

Send us Fan Mail We are BACK, baby! We've missed you guys, and we're so sorry we've been MIA while we've been getting ready to launch our flagship self-paced course. Join the waitlist to make sure you have early access here:  https://the-wall-street-skinny.mykajabi.com/waitlist-opt-in-IBDToday we talk about Apollo's quest to become a megalith in the private credit space, looking to double their As...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of 'Industry S1E2,' Jen and Kristen continue their analysis of HBO Max's hit show 'Industry.' The duo breaks down technical aspects of foreign exchange trading, client relationship management, and the distinct cultures between different divisions within an investment bank. They explain key financial concepts such as FX trading pairs, the importance of client commun...

Send us Fan Mail From your besties at The Wall Street Skinny comes a no-holds barred deep dive into every episode of HBO Max’s hit TV show “Industry”. We give you the skinny on what they get RIGHT, what they get WRONG, how it all works, and where the fictional drama intersects with stories from our own lives.  Follow the show HERE Shop our Self Paced Courses: Investment Banking & Private Equity Fu...