What to read and watch to understand finance and technology.
An opinionated library of 72 books and 31 films, documentaries and series, plus a handful of free courses, annotated with what each one teaches, who it is useful for and where to go next. No affiliate links.
Do not try to finish it. Take the path closest to the role you want, get through five things properly, and be able to say what each one changed your mind about. That is worth more in a room than a list of titles you have heard of.
If you only choose five
A hundred annotated entries is a refusal to choose, and you have a term rather than a decade. These ten are picked for coverage rather than fame, which is why two of the most famous films on this site are on neither list.
If you only watch five
Chosen for coverage rather than fame. Between them: what an instrument is, what a risk function is for, how an accounting fraud is built, how a deal is fought over, and where a process beats a hunch.
- 1
- 2
- 3Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room 2005
Revenue recognition and off-balance-sheet vehicles can book profit that never arrives.
- 4
- 5
If you only read five
One book each for capital allocation, forensic accounting, decision quality, valuation and idea generation. Finish these and you have something to say in any finance interview you are likely to sit.
- 1The Outsiders, William N. Thorndike
A chief executive is a capital allocator first and an operator second.
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5One Up on Wall Street, Peter Lynch
An edge usually starts as something you already understand better than the market.
Films and books, mapped
Twenty of each, placed by what they teach and what they take to get through.
Curated paths
Five to seven entries, in an order that is argued rather than alphabetical, for one kind of candidate and one outcome. Each one has its own address, so you can send a path to somebody rather than a library.
Investment banking starter pack
You can say what a bank is for, why a company would do a deal, and why a profitable business can still run out of money. Enough to hold a conversation rather than recite definitions.
6 items, in order
Private equity interview pack
You can talk about what a sponsor does after the close: where the returns come from, what the capital structure does under stress, and why a seller might take the second-highest bid.
6 items, in order
Hedge fund and equity research pack
A pitch with a thesis, a variant perception and a reason the market is wrong, plus a forensic habit that makes the numbers in it defensible.
7 items, in order
Markets and trading pack
You can explain what a desk is actually paid for, how a squeeze works from both ends, and what automation has already done to the seat you are applying for.
6 items, in order
Technology and product pack
You can run a discovery conversation, argue about a metric without reaching for engagement, and say what actually makes a technology business hard to catch.
7 items, in order
Finance fundamentals in one weekend
You know what a bank does, what a fund charges for, why a business fails, and you have one opinion you can defend. It will not make you technical. It will stop you sounding blank.
5 items, in order
The full library
Everything, cut two ways. By format if you know whether you have an evening or a fortnight, and by subject if you know which field you are aiming at. Each page carries the same entries and filters for role, level and how strongly it is recommended.
The book library
Finance books worth reading.
Films, documentaries and series
Finance films worth your time.
Finance and investing
What to read and watch to understand finance.
Technology and product
What to read to understand technology and product.
Free course material
The library teaches you how to think about this industry. These teach you to do the work, and they are free. Start here if you have a modelling test rather than an interview.
LBO modelling & private equity
If you are recruiting for private equity, you will be tested on LBO mechanics until they are automatic. Multiple Expansion has the cleanest free walkthroughs I have seen. Start with the paper LBO, then build the full model.
Paper LBO — Step-by-Step Example
Multiple Expansion
The paper LBO is the single most common PE interview test. Do this one by hand until you can finish it in under 10 minutes without a calculator.
Advanced LBO Modeling (Part 1)
Multiple Expansion
Once the paper LBO is automatic, build the full Excel model. Pay attention to the debt schedule and the returns bridge, which is where most candidates fumble in a modelling test.
Free Private Equity Modeling Course
Multiple Expansion
The most complete free PE modelling curriculum online. Work through it end to end before any on-cycle process.
LBO Value Creation Analysis
Multiple Expansion
Builds the value-creation bridge that shows where sponsor returns actually come from. Investment committees think in these terms, so should you.
Accounting analysis & valuation
The Footnotes Analyst (Steve Cooper, ex-IASB; Dennis Jullens, ex-UBS) is the best free resource on where accounting and economic reality diverge. This is the level of thinking that separates a strong buyside candidate from someone who just memorised the three statements.
Debt-like customer advances and DCF valuation
The Footnotes Analyst
Teaches you to spot financing hidden inside operating lines. Exactly the kind of insight a PM wants to see in a stock pitch.
Missing intangible assets distorts return on capital
The Footnotes Analyst
ROCE and ROIC are core to any investment thesis. Understanding why reported returns can be misleading is a genuine edge in interviews and on the job.
Intangible asset accounting and the 'value' false negative
The Footnotes Analyst
Why expensed intangible investment distorts both earnings and book value, and how to adjust. Essential for any modern stock pitch on an asset-light business.
The diluted EPS calculation is 50 years out of date
The Footnotes Analyst
Dilution from stock-based comp is one of the most underappreciated drivers of per-share value. Essential for tech and growth-name pitches.
Real presentations and letters, read at the source
The fastest way to learn what a banker, an investor or a founder actually puts in front of a board or a shareholder is to read the documents themselves. These indexes link every one to its original filing or publisher; nothing is re-hosted.
Banker Board Books: adviser presentations from real deals
L3VLUP Intel
The fairness-opinion decks advisers presented to boards in going-private deals, filed with the SEC. Read them for how a pitch is paced: the positioning page, the comparables, the valuation football field.
Founder letters from IPO filings
L3VLUP Letters & Theses
What founders told public investors when they listed, from Google and Facebook to Airbnb, DoorDash and Reddit. For a venture or growth seat, this is how a company argues for its own long-term model.
Activist and investor letters
L3VLUP Letters & Theses
The letters activists send boards and shareholders, and the annual letters of investor-run holding companies: the clearest primary-source record of how an investment case is argued, with the 13F holdings beside each manager.
L3VLUP prep paths
The external resources above teach the mechanics. These pages connect them to your specific recruiting path, with the questions you will actually be asked and how we coach you through them.
Investment Banking Interview Prep
L3VLUP
Technicals, deal discussion, behaviourals and Superday prep for bulge brackets and elite boutiques.
Private Equity Interview Prep
L3VLUP
Paper LBOs, full modelling tests, case studies and on-cycle vs off-cycle strategy.
Hedge Fund Interview Prep
L3VLUP
Stock pitches, investment theses, variant perception and how PMs actually evaluate you.
Equity Research Interview Prep
L3VLUP
Modelling, sector coverage, the written stock note and defending your calls under pressure.
Want these applied to your actual recruiting?
Reading is the easy part. If you want practitioner feedback on a model, a pitch or a case study, that is what 1:1 sessions are for.