Investment Banking: M&A Advisory

What you'll do

The brief reads like a week on a sell-side mandate, minus the client. You research companies and industries, run buyer or target screens and comparable company analysis, and build, update and debug Excel valuation and transaction models until the logic holds together. You prepare and edit material in the style of a pitchbook or client presentation, reflecting how a transaction is executed and why it makes strategic sense.

Then you switch sides and mark the work. You go through sample materials looking for numerical errors, weak strategic arguments and muddled logic, and write feedback that would actually fix them. You also explain accounting treatments, valuation adjustments and deal sensitivities, tracing how a single assumption moves the answer, in writing and verbally, for audiences that range from specialists to generalists.

The work is remote contractor work. Weekly hours and project length are not stated.

Who fits

• A former Senior Associate (third-year preferred) or Vice President from an M&A or industry coverage team at a leading bank, an established M&A boutique, or a sector-focused advisory firm
• Substantial hands-on time on live acquisition or sale processes
• Experience both producing and reviewing analysis and decks to senior banker or client standard
• Excel modelling at a level where troubleshooting someone else's model is routine
• Direct experience with research, target screening, comps and pitchbook preparation
• The ability to spot and explain quantitative mistakes and strategic weaknesses clearly

These are listed as preferred qualifications. No prior AI experience is needed.

What it pays

$175–300/hour, micro1's published band. A $125 spread is wide, and the ad does not say what places you in it, whether pay is hourly or per task, or how many hours are on offer.

How it relates to the Investment Banking Expert listing

micro1's Investment Banking Expert listing, read in September, carries the same $175–300 band, the same 25 openings and a near-identical scope. This is a separate post with its own link, posted on 13 October, so it may be a reopening or a second cohort of the same project. If you already applied through the earlier listing, check your micro1 dashboard before applying again. Bankers below senior associate level should look at Investment Banking Associate ($120–150/hr) instead.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Among the highest hourly bands on micro1 for finance work
• 25 openings, flagged high demand
• Boutiques and sector advisory firms count, not only bulge-bracket banks
• The tasks are what a senior associate already does, so there is little to learn

Less good:

• The bar is senior associate or VP, which rules out most analysts
• Wide band with no stated basis for placement
• Part of the work is verbal, so expect calls or recorded explanations
• If you are still in banking, check your employer's outside-work policy
• Contractor engagement: no benefits, no notice period, your own tax to manage

About this listing

Posted by micro1 on its own jobs portal on 13 October 2026 and read on 18 October 2026. The $175–300/hour band, the 25 openings and the qualifications above are its published text; micro1's own title ends in a stray full stop and uses a dash, which we have tidied. Location is given only as remote, so eligibility is left open. Payment schedule and method are not published on the listing. See micro1.