Credit’s “Golden Era” - An Introduction to Corporate Credit Investing
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the financial and legal foundations of corporate credit investing by diving into detailed case studies based on real-world companies.
Yifei Xu
DREAM Venture Labs
Thursdays at 7:00 P.M. ET / 4:00 P.M. PT
8 weeks, 2-3 hours per weekDescription
A deep understanding of business fundamentals, financial analysis, and legal concepts is essential to becoming a successful corporate credit investing professional. While investing in equities is widely discussed, credit markets often remain mysterious and inaccessible to non-practitioners. In this Build Project, you will wear the hat of a credit analyst and develop an investment recommendation on the debt of a real-world company. Under the supervision of an experienced industry expert, you will dive deep into the company’s business model, financial performance, and capital structure with a focus on downside recovery. You will become familiar with industry tools like Excel to conduct financial modeling and valuation analysis and PowerPoint to craft investment memorandums. The understanding of credit markets and technical credit analysis skills gained from this project will help you become a more competitive candidate in the recruiting process for various roles in leveraged finance ranging from investment banking to buyside analyst
Application timeline
What you will learn
- Read and interpret company financial reporting through the lens of a corporate credit investor.
- Construct financial models in Microsoft Excel with a focus on downside analysis.
- Understand key financial and legal concepts in corporate credit, including leverage, loan-to-value, covenants, and bankruptcy.
- Craft investment memorandums in PowerPoint with detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis to support investment recommendations.
- Deliver clear and structured investment pitches.
Project workshops
Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of financial statements and core accounting concepts.
- Familiarity with Excel and PowerPoint.
- Basic understanding of business fundamentals such as revenue models and cost structures.
- Interest in leveraged finance, credit markets, and investment analysis.
- Willingness to learn technical concepts.
Apply Now!
Ready to start this exciting project? Submit your application today and begin your journey with Build!
About the Fellow
Yifei Xu
DREAM Venture Labs
Visit Yifei's LinkedInYifei Xu is a Finance Build Fellow at DREAM Venture Labs, where he works with students leading projects in credit analysis. Yifei is a senior associate at Eldridge Capital Management, where he focuses on the underwriting and management of opportunistic credit and equity investments. Yifei has over two years of experience in the credit investing field. He has covered companies in media and entertainment, business services, and financial services industries. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from Bowdoin College. A fun fact about Yifei is that he loves skiing and playing tennis.