Investment Banking
Prepalyst has 21 equity capital markets interview questions with model answers, covering ipo process and pricing, dilution, lock-ups, greenshoe and market windows. Every question is graded on technical accuracy, completeness and interview communication. Practice is free.
A common follow-up that separates valuation work from demand discovery.
How would an ECM bank set an indicative IPO price range for a company?
ECM analysts are expected to form a practical view on whether a client can launch.
A client asks whether it should launch an equity offering this week. What would you check before advising that the equity window is open?
A first-round ECM question on identifying who receives the offering proceeds.
What is the difference between a primary and a secondary equity offering, and why does that distinction matter to investors?
The opening technical in any equity capital markets interview.
Walk me through the IPO process from the decision to go public through to the first day of trading.
A first-round ECM question testing whether you can match a financing tool to a public company's needs.
What is an at-the-market, or ATM, equity offering? Why might a public company use one instead of a single marketed follow-on?
Tests basic IPO aftermarket knowledge in a first-round product interview.
What is an IPO lock-up, why is it used, and what can happen when it expires?
A foundational question that tests whether you understand the client's strategic objective.
Why might a company choose to go public rather than remain private? What are the costs?
A classic IPO follow-up that tests whether you understand aftermarket stabilisation rather than just the term.
Explain how a greenshoe works in an IPO and how underwriters use it to stabilise aftermarket trading.
Tests whether you can explain a capital raise designed to protect existing shareholders.
Explain a rights offering. Why might a company use one instead of a broadly marketed follow-on?
An ECM process simulation testing sequencing, dependencies and market-window judgement.
You are coordinating an IPO across the issuer, lawyers, auditors and syndicate. Put the work in executable order as diligence issues and a volatile market window threaten the launch.
An ECM analyst calculation testing whether you can translate an announced primary raise into shareholder dilution.
A company has 80 million shares outstanding. A founder owns 20 million shares and does not participate in a primary follow-on. The company raises $300m by issuing shares at $25. What is the founder's ownership before and…
Asked in ECM and technology coverage; tests whether you can evaluate a structure critically.
How does a SPAC merger differ from a traditional IPO as a route to the public markets? Who bears the cost?
ECM teams use this judgement question to test how banking and sales coordinate before execution.
What is investor education before an IPO, and how is it different from the formal roadshow?
An execution question on how a bank converts underwriting risk into price certainty for a client.
What is a bought deal, and why would a company accept a lower price to use one?
Tests whether you understand whose interests the pricing decision serves.
IPOs typically price below where they trade on day one, leaving money on the table for the issuer. Why does this persist, and whose interests does it serve?
The advisory conversation an ECM banker has with a client weekly.
A public company needs to raise $500m of equity. Compare a marketed follow-on, an overnight block trade, and a convertible bond. Which would you recommend and what determines it?
An ECM analyst simulation in which investor feedback and market volatility force a fresh launch recommendation.
You are staffing an IPO launch for a sponsor-backed industrial technology company. The syndicate desk needs a recommendation after early-look feedback, an earnings update and a sharp move in the sector. Decide at each…
An ECM process question on a confidential seller block after the stock has become volatile.
A major shareholder wants to sell a confidential block tonight. How would you manage wall-crossing, allocation and launch risk when demand may be thin?
An ECM analyst process case coordinating a marketed follow-on while disclosure and market conditions move.
You are the ECM analyst coordinating a marketed follow-on for a software issuer. The CFO wants to launch before an industry conference, but diligence and the market tape keep changing. Sequence each response and prepare…
Tests client judgement on a large shareholder exit without disrupting the public market.
A financial sponsor owns 35% of a listed company and wants to reduce its stake. How would you advise on the exit?
A harder ECM question on the investor base and execution consequences of an equity-linked deal.
Why do convertible-arbitrage investors short a company's stock after buying its convertible bond, and what does that mean for the issuer?
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Firm names indicate where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with the firms named.