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Big Banks Surge in the New Year

Goldman Sachs $GS ( ▲ 0.33% ), Citibank $C ( ▼ 0.04% ), Bank of America $BAC ( ▲ 0.22% ), and other big banks are expected to report bigger fourth quarter profits next week as M&A activity, investment banking activity, and dealmaking accelerates. Next week, JPMorgan Chase $JPM ( ▼ 0.26% ) will open up earnings season with their reports on January 13th. Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo $WFC ( ▲ 0.04% ) will follow on January 14th and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley $MS ( ▼ 0.22% ) on January 15th. Taking a look back at 2025, M&A volume ascended to $5.1 trillion up a whopping 42% from 2024. Goldman Sachs remained on top as the global leader of mergers and acquisitions with $1.4 trillion in deals this past year.

Student Takeaway: If you’re a prospective investment banking analyst, it’s always important to keep up with how these big banks are performing within different quarters. For example, if you’re in round 3 of a JPMorgan Chases interview, you might get asked about their performance during the last quarter. Or, it might be something you want to bring up on your own. Even if you want nothing to do with M&A, keeping up with the performances of bulge bracket banks can aid you in other areas of business such as wealth management, personal finance, consulting, private equity, etc.

Special Segment: One Source Virtual Announces Majority Growth Investment From TA Associates

TA Associates has made a majority growth investment in One Source Virtual (OSV), a Dallas based provider of HR and payroll services built around the Workday $WDAY ( ▲ 2.49% ) platform. In this deal, OSV founders, management, and employees will retain a minority stake while Haylard Capital and TCV will full exit their stakes. Financial terms were not publicly disclosed. “OSV’s proprietary technology, paired with our team’s deep Workday expertise and customer-first mindset, has enabled us to become a trusted partner for organizations managing complex, mission-critical processes within the Workday ecosystem,” John Bax, CEO of OneSource Virtual, said in a statement. John Bax, my Father, emphasizes OSV’s strong foundation and goal of leveraging TA’s strategic resources to accelerate innovation and customer value.

Student Takeaway: To my Dad this is obviously a big deal, so lets break this down to see what can be learned for prospective private equity students. For starters, this is a great real-world case study that shows PE loves businesses embedded in ecosystems with high switching costs.

This deal reinforces that you should understand why a business wins, not just how its financed. Also, it can help you understand the difference between growth equity and traditional buyouts.

Definition: The use of borrowed money (debt) to increase the potential return on an investment. By financing part of an asset with debt instead of equity, investors can amplify gains—but also magnify losses.

Imagine a firm buys a company for $100 million

Leverage boosts the equity return because less equity was required upfront.

Student takeaway: Leverage sits at the core of how real-world investments are made. It affects equity value, cost of capital, and key metrics like IRR and ROE, making it critical for understanding models used in investment banking, private equity, and corporate finance. Just as importantly, leverage introduces downside risk, too much debt can strain cash flows, trigger covenant breaches, or lead to bankruptcy.

Mistake: Not asking thoughtful questions

Many candidates focus so much on answering questions that they forget interviews are a two-way conversation. Ending with no questions—or only generic ones like “What’s the culture like?”—signals a lack of preparation. Strong candidates use this time to demonstrate genuine interest and knowledge of the firm.

Always prepare 2–3 thoughtful questions in advance, tailored to the role and firm. For example: “How does the firm’s recent expansion into Asia affect opportunities for junior bankers?” or “What skills do top first-year analysts develop quickly that set them apart?” This shows initiative, curiosity, and professionalism.

This isn’t required for every student interested in high finance, MBB, or Big 4, but I’d personally recommend it. In the summer before my senior year of high school, one night, I laid out every possible career outlook in life that seemed desirable to me. Investment banking, S&T, corporate finance, accounting, wealth management, etc. I landed on investment banking, I said to myself “that’s what I want to do”. So, I created a year-by-year plan on what I need to do in order to secure the future that I want.

This consisted of when I need to network, apply for internships, join clubs, etc. All while reminding myself of what I needed to do in the meantime: work on my side projects (this newsletter), maintain a 3.75+, and keep my eyes on the prize.

This has helped me keep on track of what I want to do while also giving me motivation to keep on moving forward. I check this on my notes app probably once or twice a week, it’s not something that should completely consume your mind but it can definitely help you.

The Top 10 Schools Hired by Morgan Stanley in the IB Analyst Role

Morgan Stanley, like other top investment banks, recruits heavily from a select group of universities known as "target schools." These institutions have strong finance programs, extensive alumni networks, and established relationships with the firm. While Morgan Stanley does not publicly disclose a ranked list of schools, industry analyses and recruiting trends provide insight into the top institutions they hire from.

1. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

2. Columbia University

3. Harvard University

4. New York University (Stern)

5. University of Chicago (Booth)

6. Stanford University (GSB)

7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)

8. Princeton University

9. Northwestern University (Kellogg)

10. Dartmouth College (Tuck)

It's important to note that while attending a target school can provide advantages, Morgan Stanley also recruits from a broader range of institutions. Candidates from non-target schools can still break into investment banking by demonstrating exceptional skills, securing relevant internships, and leveraging networking opportunities. Being proactive in building connections through alumni, attending networking events, and applying early can help stand out in the competitive recruiting process.

For students aspiring to join Morgan Stanley's investment banking division, it's beneficial to focus on developing strong technical skills, gaining relevant experience through internships, and actively engaging with the firm's recruiting events and alumni network.

Earlier I said something about not letting this stuff consumer your mind. Especially as a young adult, it’s very easy to get sucked into the investment banking propaganda. Now it’s common for high schoolers to begin chasing this career at an earlier age. I mean who wouldn’t? High starting salaries and huge bonuses sound great right? Sit down and think for a second if that’s what you really want to do. Honestly I’m looking more into the MBB consulting route right rather than bulge bracket investment banking. Any field in high finance is cutthroat. If you learn that too late, you’re done for.

Find a career path that aligns with your own personal interest. Maybe you want more of a work-life balance, maybe you want to travel more. Do your research and explore your options.

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My name is Braunsen Bax, I’m a honors finance and accounting student-athlete at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois (45 mins outside of Chicago). I graduated from Walton High School in Marietta Georgia. Outside of the classroom I compete in the throws events for the Track & Field team, 35 time NCAA DIII national champions. I’ve had a love of finance and the business world since my sophomore year of high school and started Campus Capital to share that love with my community and like minded individuals in a similar position, with similar goals. My mission is to help people like me shape their futures to ensure they reach their goals while being up to date and educated in the Finance industry.