Traditional finance
Banks, brokers, funds, advisors. Equities, fixed income, private markets, wealth management. The system that runs the bulk of the world's capital today.
The Five Workflows
Pick the workflow that matches the seat. Each draws on the same universal methods.
| Workflow | Who runs it | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage and advisory | Investment banking, M&A advisory | Pitch books, fairness opinions, deal materials |
| Research and modeling | Equity research, buy-side analysts | Earnings notes, initiations, models |
| Sourcing and diligence | Private equity, venture, credit | IC memos, diligence reports, portfolio plans |
| Fund admin and finance ops | Administrators, controllers, auditors | NAV, reconciliations, statements |
| Onboarding and compliance | Operations, compliance, KYC teams | Onboarding files, rules-grid output, source-of-funds attestations |
The Pattern
Every workflow follows the same five-step pattern. The names change. The pattern does not.
- Ingest — gather the raw inputs (filings, calls, data rooms, statements, onboarding docs)
- Structure — normalize into the firm's template
- Compute — run the model, the rule, the recon
- Stage — draft the output for review
- Sign off — qualified professional approves before it binds anything
Skip step five and you have output. You do not have a result.
What's Covered
The traditional leg covers the methods and workflows of regulated capital markets. It does not cover the firm's specific procedures, branded templates, or jurisdictional rules — those live in firm-specific knowledge bases, not here.
Where Methods Live
The arithmetic and the structure travel with the methodology hub. The workflow context lives here.
- Discounted cash flow
- Comparable company analysis
- Leveraged buyout model
- Three-statement model
- Earnings analysis
- Investment committee memo
- Know-your-customer framework
Adjacent Reading
- Capital allocation — the lens that selects what to fund
- Crypto finance leg — the same questions, on different rails
Questions
Which workflow seat am I in — coverage, research, sourcing, fund admin, or compliance?
- Have I completed sign-off (step five) before the output binds anything?
- Which method does this workflow draw on, and is the method current?