Investment Banking Associate

About the Role

Hilliard Advisors is a boutique investment banking and advisory firm seeking an experienced Associate to join our investment banking team. As an Associate you’ll be central to client relationships and to the structuring and execution of a full range of financial transactions including mergers and acquisitions capital raising divestitures and strategic advisory. You will build and own financial models lead the preparation of client materials help drive deal processes from pitch through close and serve as a key point of contact for clients and internal deal teams alike.

This is a high-ownership seat on a lean deal team. You will work directly with senior leadership and clients be expected to go beyond the numbers to think commercially.  You’ll be working with exceptional Founders who have built great companies and who need your help to navigate the capital markets.  We are looking for someone with elite execution instincts exceptional attention to detail and the analytical and quantitative firepower to produce client-ready work with minimal rework.

What You'll Do

•      Develop forecasting budgeting and corporate financial planning analyses including operating metrics and KPI frameworks that frame strategic and financing decisions.

•      Build and own complex financial models - three-statement models DCF LBO M&A accretion/dilution and comparable company and precedent transaction analyses - and perform customized company valuation work.

•      Gather and synthesize financial and operating information on companies industries and markets applying sound analytical and statistical reasoning to financial data sets.

•      Prepare and own client presentations pitch materials and transaction memoranda producing output that is client-ready and tells a clear well-supported story.

•      Help manage transaction processes end to end: coordinate diligence work alongside tax advisors attorneys and other bankers and support the negotiation of legal documentation.

•      Interact directly with client senior executives maintain client communication and present sections of materials in client and team meetings.

Required Experience

•      Wall Street experience (hard requirement): a minimum of 12 months to 2 years at a leading Wall Street firm e.g. Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanley J.P. Morgan BofA Citi Evercore Lazard Moelis or a comparable institution.  Boutique firms are also acceptable.  Please reference the specific firm(s) and group(s) in your application.

•      Financial modeling (hands-on): demonstrated experience building top down and bottoms up models.

•      Forecasting & planning: experience with forecasting; budgeting and corporate financial planning (a plus).

•      Operating metrics & KPIs: demonstrated experience determining financial operating metrics and KPIs.

•      Statistics (a plus): comfort with regression correlation and distributions and the ability to apply statistical reasoning to financial data sets.

•      Education: Bachelor's degree required ideally in Finance Economics Accounting Mathematics Statistics Business or a related field. An MBA CFA or relevant graduate degree is an asset. FINRA licensing (e.g. Series 79/63) a plus or willingness to obtain.

Technical Skills

•      Excel — expert level (required): fluency with VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP INDEX/MATCH array formulas data imports Power Query pivot tables macros and Claude plugin. If you are not expert in these please do not apply — candidates should expect a modeling test.

•      AI (required): AI is now a critical tool to leverage experience and a willingness to embrace the latest technology balanced against never outsourcing critical thinking.

•      GAAP knowledge (required): comfortable reading and building models from audited financial statements.

•      PowerPoint & Word (proficient): able to produce client-ready output without rework.

•      Data visualization (a plus): skilled not just at gathering data but at presenting it — charts and exhibits should tell a story not just display numbers.

•      SEC reporting (a plus): familiarity with 10-K 10-Q S-1 8-K Form 4 Rule 144 and proxy filings.

What We're Looking For

•      Exceptional work ethic motivation and attention to detail with the commercial instinct to perform under pressure and against tight deadlines.

•      Strong analytical and numerical skills that put you at ease with financial data paired with the ability to articulate complex ideas simply.

•      Excellent written and verbal communication and strong interpersonal and client skills.

•      A team orientation high professional and ethical standards and a track record of outstanding academic and professional achievement.

How to Apply

Please submit your resume along with a brief note referencing the specific Wall Street firm(s) where you gained your experience to [email protected]   Qualified candidates should expect a modeling test as part of the process.

What We Do

Hilliard Advisors is a strategic advisory firm serving founder-led high-growth companies. We are led by former operators bulge-bracket investment bankers and investors who have spent decades on both sides of the table building financing and scaling founder-led companies.We advise founder-led companies on the people processes systems and strategic infrastructure required to scale through critical inflection points; the structuring and navigation of mergers acquisitions divestitures and other strategic transactions; and capital structure financing strategy and investor engagement across lenders sponsors and strategic capital providersWe believe it’s about relationships not transactions. Years ago over dinner Malcolm Gladwell (then writing David and Goliath) shared with HA's founder that his research suggested many successful founders are partly insane. "However" he leaned in to say "they are sane enough to partner with the sane who can help the world interpret their vision." We believe interpreting a founder's vision begins with communication. All of our senior professionals are former operators from successful companies and 100% of our clients come through direct referrals. We prioritize long-term relationships and operational alignment over transactional engagements. While many HA clients have achieved successful exits and capital raises we often begin working alongside management teams years before a transaction.We Put Founders First. We believe Founders are the fountainhead of value creation. They see the world differently and build accordingly. Founders also possess a distinct language philosophy and work ethic. In short our core values begin with a simple principle We Speak Founder.Building meaningful companies and improving lives are not mutually exclusive. HA commits a portion of firm profits to charitable and humanitarian initiatives important to our clients and team

Why Work With Us

100% of our clients come through direct referrals. We prioritize long-term relationships and operational alignment over transactional engagements. Out team members become critical trusted and embedded resources to our clients having real impact.