Weekly Wrap up Nov 15, 2025

November 15, 2025

Hey WSO Monkey,

This week’s threads cover all, from navigating the IB hamster wheel to figuring out VC valuation with barely any data. A PM with 20+ years in ER shared their insights. Folks are chatting about the GS superday delays. Some noise around UBS layoffs. Also, end-of-year deal flow woes. Scroll through when you need an excuse to look away from Excel.

-Patrick

Top Discussions

  1. Q&A - Portfolio Manager & 20+ Year Equity Research Analyst - "I am an experienced investment professional with over 20 years in global equity research and portfolio management. I spent more than a decade as a Portfolio Manager at a European quality-growth boutique, overseeing multi-billion-euro funds with a focus on Asian and Emerging Markets. My expertise spans portfolio construction, risk management, and sustainability integration in stock selection. I also served on the Investment, Sustainability, and Risk Committees, contributing to long-term strategic and governance decisions..."

  2. Anyone Ever Left During IB 2-Year Stint? - "Some private equity firms can be a little picky with wanting the full two years, because they want you to get the full training from an analyst program, and in general, private equity can be just as mentally intense and competitive (especially at larger funds), so they want to see that you can survive in the IB environment. Corporate development, corporate finance, consulting, corporate strategy are all accessible after one year. No job is worth your health."

  3. How to Value Companies in a Venture Capital Portfolio - "Build out, to the best of your ability, an annual model for every company and do a 10yr DCF. Do the same thing as above and apply your holdings based on pref. I wouldn't recommend this since you probably don't have information rights or enough operating metrics to build detailed models but when I was at a late stage VC we maintained models on every portco above a series B. Not fun, but it's the most granular approach. Alternative here is to apply a multiple on revenue based on comps, but that's also a lot of false precision..."

DFIN’s Venue VDR: Built for Career-Making Deals

When navigating critical business transactions, speed, security, and control aren’t optional - they’re everything. That’s why DFIN rebuilt the Venue® virtual data room, to be the most modern VDR in the market, engineered to lead the industry in speed and simplicity for dealmakers who operate at the highest level.

From M&A to IPOs and all critical transactions in between, Venue was built for ease of use with an intuitive user interface and clean navigation, enabling users to self-launch new data rooms and manage multiple data rooms on demand.

Backed by DFIN’s 30+ years of financial industry expertise and 24/7 expert support, Venue isn’t just a platform - it’s your strategic advantage when the stakes are highest.

If you’re ready to accelerate deal execution, own the room with the reimagined Venue.

Top Discussions (contd.)

  1. GS Classic IB Summer Analyst Superday London - "The fact that nobody has heard is keeping me optimistic but I am sure they have given some offers out already. My guess is they are still waiting for those yes to come back and confirm those before giving out more. Their team has expressed delays in superdays so that might contribute to this. "

  2. End of Year Deal Flow - "Not the year I thought I was going to have on January 1, 2025. We had a few large projects that ultimately got sidetracked and then died (combination of stock market volatility and federal funding cuts for scientific research). Will end up closing on four acquisitions, but two are pretty small. Some volatility at the portfolio level keeps me sidetracked (tenant shutting down operations, subleases hitting the market, difficulties paying rent, bad debt on multi) that generates a certain level of ambient stress. As I said to my wife, being in a cyclical industry is not fun if you are in the not fun part of the cycle. Silver lining is we did almost nothing in 2021 and 2022, which is keeping the portfolio fires at a level we can manage."

  3. Large Layoffs at UBS Q4 2025 - "Heard there are ongoing layoffs at UBS this quarter. Anyone have details on groups and locations impacted?"

New Podcasts Coming in Hot 🔥

  • Boston College to Strategic Advisory | Chat with Rohan Ramesh

  • Colby to Associate in Consulting at BCG | Chat with Luis

Hot Jobs 💼

WSO Mentor - "Are you an experienced professional with a background in investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, S&T, venture capital, asset management, equity research, quant finance, corporate dev, real estate finance, or top-tier consulting? Passionate about mentoring the next generation of leaders? Wall Street Oasis (WSO) is expanding its Mentorship Program, and we're looking for outstanding professionals to join our mentor roster—an elite network supporting students and young professionals as they prepare for high-stakes careers. Whether you’re looking to give back, stay connected to rising talent, or sharpen your coaching skills, this role offers you the chance to make a meaningful impact, remotely and on your schedule..."

Research Associate (Equity Small Mid Cap) - New York, NY - "This position will support the Small/Mid-Cap Equity research team and initially be responsible for covering multiple sectors in support of current team members."

On Deck - Training 🎓

All in Eastern Standard Time

Stay Strong,
Patrick Curtis
CEO and Founder, WallStreetOasis.com

WSO Mobile App: iOS | Android

PS - We're also always looking to add resume reviewers and WSO Mentors to our team. Set your own pay (from $40/hr to up to $400/hr) to increase or decrease mentee flow. To submit an application, go here.

PPS - Think you have an interesting story? Want to share it with our podcast listeners? Hit reply and let me know!




* PE Interview Bootcamp includes lifetime access to the PE Interview Course
** FMV Bootcamp includes lifetime access to the Elite Modeling Package
*** IB Interview Bootcamp includes lifetime access to the IB Interview Course