10 Best Investment Banking Courses & Executive Programs [2025 September][Columbia | Berkeley | Wharton]

Team DigitalDefynd

In the competitive and intricate world of finance, investment banking stands as a critical sector driving economic growth and corporate strategy. Recognizing the importance of this field, DigitalDefynd offers Investment Banking Courses designed to equip finance professionals with the essential skills and knowledge needed to excel in this demanding industry. After conducting in-depth research, our team of global experts compiled this list of Best Investment Banking Courses and Certification programs available. This list includes both paid and free courses to help you with the concepts of investment banking and advance in your career. Also, it is ideal for beginners, intermediates, as well as experts.

Our courses cover a broad range of topics essential to investment banking, including financial modeling, mergers and acquisitions, underwriting, and deal structuring. Participants will delve deep into the mechanics of capital markets, the strategies used for successful corporate finance, and the regulatory environment affecting financial transactions. Through a combination of expert-led lectures, case studies, and hands-on financial analysis exercises, learners will gain a robust understanding of how investment banks operate and contribute to major financial decisions.

Whether you are an aspiring investment banker, a finance student, or a professional looking to transition into investment banking, our courses are tailored to prepare you for success. Join us at DigitalDefynd to develop the analytical skills, technical knowledge, and strategic thinking required to navigate the complexities of investment banking and drive your career forward in this dynamic field. You may also want to have a look at some of the best courses for Bankers available online.

Best Investment Banking Courses & Certificates Online & Executive Programs [2025 September][UPDATED]

Private Equity Certificate Program (Wharton – University Of Pennsylvania)

The curriculum of this private equity training covers a wide range of equity investment topics, starting with an overview of the private equity asset class and the functioning of private equity firms, including the history and evolution of private equity, the structure and management of funds, the relationship between general partners and limited partners, and more. The next module focuses on the private equity investment framework, common investment strategies, leverage buyout (LBO) and analysis, returns, hurdle rates, and valuation methods like comparables, discounted cash flow (DCF), and multiples analysis. You will study the private equity deal process through practical exercises, real-world case studies, and examples, highlighting different stages of an investment, the role of third parties, deal documentation, and key negotiation terms. The next modules are dedicated to private company analysis, LBO modeling, valuation, different asset classes, and stock sales to help you know how to construct financial models, develop transaction assumptions, and include operating models with LBO models to make informed investment recommendations.

Highlights-

– A specialized private equity investment training program that offers both theoretical and practical investment knowledge.

– Learn from the top faculty of Wharton School, senior executives working at leading private equity firms, and top PE corporate training instructors.

– Upon completing this private equity program, you will earn a digital certificate recognizing your participation and successful completion.

– This short-duration program is perfect for investment professionals, investment bankers, private lenders, professionals, entrepreneurs, and companies planning to raise their initial funds.

– Access the same methods and lessons taught in prominent PE firms.

– You will learn directly from leading investment industry leaders through guest speaker series.

Duration: 8 weeks

Rating: 4.7 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Strategic Wealth Manager Program (Columbia Business School)

Whether you are an entrepreneur seeking new investment opportunities or a professional handling generational wealth, this comprehensive program can help you achieve your goals. In this 100% online certificate course, you will learn about capital markets, pitfalls of leverage and shorting, asset classes, and financial and economic databases. You will also gain knowledge of merging your understanding of risk and return measurement in useful analytics for portfolio formation. By completing three learning modules in the program, including Investment Strategies, Asset Allocation, Portfolio Management, and Trusted Client Advisory, you will get a certificate in the wealth manager program. Furthermore, you’ll get the opportunity to meet faculty and senior practitioners from the financial advisory and wealth management industries.

Highlights –

– An ideal program to sharpen your client management skills and offer you strategies to expand your client base

– Understand global financial markets, core areas of wealth management, diverse asset classes, and investment strategies

– Get strong theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience that will allow you to invent solutions to real-world problems with a solid emphasis on implementation

– Experience an adaptive journey that enables flexible learning, personal interactions, and deeper immersion into key topics

Duration: 12 months

Rating: 4.6 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Chief Investment Officer Program (Columbia Business School Executive Education)

This course is customized for senior investment leaders to improve their expertise in investment strategy, portfolio management, and leadership through 18 weeks of online sessions, expert-led lectures, case studies, and a capstone project, ending in an optional two-day networking event with faculty and peers. It will build your strong foundation in capital markets and active investing as you will learn more about risk and return dynamics, market efficiency, and the role of AI and predictive analytics in asset management with a focus on evaluating investment risks and strategies to equip you with tools to align investment goals with changing market dynamics. Learn more about asset allocation and portfolio management to develop diversified portfolios across various asset classes while integrating accounting principles, value investing frameworks, and real estate strategies, gaining practical skills to handle alternative asset classes and optimize portfolio considerations for successful investment performance. Refine your leadership abilities to drive organizational impact by making ethical decisions, influence with authority, and create a culture of belonging across the organization and teams; additionally learn about disruption management and strategic vision implementation so you can lead high-performing teams.

Highlights:

You will spend only 3-5 hours weekly with the program’s flexible online learning options.

18 weeks of comprehensive core learning sessions combined with live online workshops and an in-person elective.

Industry leaders and faculty offer live online sessions on adapting to evolving industry trends.

Learning from the world-renowned faculty of Columbia Business School.

You get the opportunity to engage with global peers and network with them.

A capstone project where you will apply what you have learned under this program to solve a business challenge.

Duration: 9 months

Rating: 4.7 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Applied Value Investing Certificate Program (Wharton University of Pennsylvania Online)

This Value Investing course offers a comprehensive learning journey into the real-world applications of value investing, providing information on various methodologies and principles related to value investment concepts, as the curriculum covers essential investment theories and actionable frameworks. You will study complex topics on value investment and gain the practical skill set essential for those working or planning a career in the investment profession, as well as individual investors who want to learn more about value investment to make good investment decisions that lead to maximum returns on investments. Learn to identify undervalued assets and study the market efficiency to know how stock prices respond to different factors, helping you identify mispricing opportunities as this course offers academic insights with practical investment strategies to equip learners with the tools to evaluate the relationship between price and intrinsic value. The key modules of this program go into complex valuation methods focusing on topics like cost of capital and ROIC, with practical exercises including revenue forecasting, discounted cash flow techniques, and comparable company analysis so you can analyze the investment options to get the best returns.

Highlights-

– Practical information on equity analysis to generate ideas, develop financial models, and make stock pitches.

– All participants receive support from staff and faculty throughout the course with dedicated support and weekly office hours.

– You will receive your Wharton online and Wall Street Prep digital certificate that you can show on your resume and LinkedIn profile.

– Eight weeks of self-paced online education that lets you study at your pace without affecting your daily work schedule.

– The course suits individual investors, investment professionals, investment advisors, and wealth managers.

– Gain access to a network of global peers ready to support each other.

Duration: 8 weeks

Rating: 4.7 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Chartered Investment Banking Analyst (New York Institute of Finance)

This course will give you an excellent understanding of various financial concepts that today’s corporate companies and organizations are using. The course helps you analyze how transactions impact balance sheets. It will improve your understanding of financial accounting. The course then moves to different business formation options like sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation. It goes into the details of expense matching and revenue recognition so you understand the relationship between balance sheets and income statements. You will gain skills in cash dividend accounting and retained earnings statement preparation. Your understanding of trial balances, double-entry accounting, and making adjustments in accrual accounting will improve. Use ratios for profit assessment. The course covers the topics of mergers and acquisitions and other accounting practices from the point of view of a financial and accounting professional.

Highlights:

– A program that improves your financial decision-making skills by preparing you for financial report assessments.

– You can use a loan from Affirm to pay for this program in easy monthly installments. This loan is available in the US and Canada.

– The professional certificates will develop your desk-ready skills in corporate finance and investment banking.

– You will become familiar with the US IFRS and GAAP accounting standards.

Duration: 5 weeks

Rating: 4.6 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Real Estate Investing & Analysis Certificate Program (Wharton – University Of Pennsylvania)

This course is designed to help participants learn to analyze real estate investments with financial modeling and various analytical tools and techniques that have made it easier to analyze real estate investment projects more accurately, reducing the risks inherent in such transactions. While anyone can enter real estate due to the low barrier to entry here, the barriers to success are high, so you can succeed only when you take a systematic approach to learning with the help of a course that combines theoretical knowledge with real-world case studies to help you prepare for the complex analysis of real estate investment decisions. The course starts with an introduction to the real state as an asset class, introducing you to the history of this asset, various investment strategies, property types, real estate stakeholders, and other roles in investments that also help understand various terms used in real estate finance sector, such as NOI, value, returns, and rates. Learn to analyze different market risk factors, supply and demand dynamics, economic data, market trends forecasting growth, identify and reduce risk factors, and balance the risks to improve the scope for better returns.

Highlights-

– A highly recognized real estate investment certificate program that combines theory with real-world case studies related to real estate investments.

– Wharton Online Education will issue your certificate, acknowledging you completed this course.

– You will learn from experienced faculty, senior executives, and industry practitioners leading major real estate firms.

– Wharton Online offers this course in collaboration with Wall Street Prep, a leading financial modeling training company.

– Join this course if you are a commercial real estate professional, investment banker, broker, professional, or institution looking to update your real estate investment skills.

– The program curriculum covers major concepts and technical methods that real estate investment professionals must know to analyze and execute real estate transactions.

Duration: 8 weeks

Rating: 4.6 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Intelligent Investing for Everyone – Executive Education (Berkeley Exec Edu)

New Course Dates Are Yet to be Announced.

If you want to achieve better investment outcomes for your portfolio or company’s growth, this program is an excellent option. Created by UC Berkeley Executive Education, this program addresses information asymmetry that separates professionals from everyone else. In this program, you’ll learn how to evaluate the key metrics used in the valuation of a company, upcoming trends in investment strategies, and more. The curriculum consists of multiple learning modules covering advanced topics like fundamentals of corporate value creation, financial data forecasting, blockchain revolution, etc. You’ll get to practice your skills with graded quizzes, real-world applications, and assignments during the sessions.

Highlights –

– Gain knowledge about the fundamental concepts of how financial engineering can expose overpriced stocks and attempts by companies for manipulating investor beliefs

– Understand how institutional investors can use the power of data and technology for successful investing

– Equip yourself with an understanding of critical financial concepts, techniques, and data-driven frameworks for making informed investing decisions

– Learn about the fundamental concepts of financial data analysis while analyzing how growth strategies can impact corporate valuation

Duration: 8 weeks, 3-5 hours/week

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Private Equity Executive Education Program (Imperial College Business School)

Organized in collaboration with Executive Education at Imperial College Business School, this comprehensive program will help you learn everything about private equity in the finance sector. You’ll learn about the types and economics of private equity while gaining insights into recent private equity developments in emerging markets. The curriculum is designed with a combination of live online teaching sessions, video lectures, interactive activities, and assignments. Moreover, you’ll receive personal support from a dedicated learning team from Imperial College, who will assist you throughout the classes. After finishing the syllabus, you’ll be able to perform the valuation of LBOs and calculations for performance distribution while appreciating the roles and careers in the private equity industry.

Highlights –

– Learn from a solid theoretical framework and practical applications to understand private equity in detail

– Verify private equity financing opportunities while determining the value creation drivers in growth capital, development capital, and distressed situations

– Know about the different stages for setting up and managing a fund, describe the investment process, and examining the potential issues

– Learn to examine the impact of recent trends on fundraising, investments, and performance while identifying the structural differences between investments

Duration: 11 weeks, 5-7 hours/week

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Financial Modeling Certification (Wall Street Prep)

Established in 2003, the Financial Modeling Certification is one of the most well-recognized certificates. To earn the certificate, students must demonstrate financial modeling and valuation skills and hands-on experience. The content taught in the program is used to deliver in-person training to well-known private equity and investment banks. The curriculum is excellent and not based on guesswork. It will teach you core skills such as financial and valuation modeling methodologies. For example, you’ll learn the steps to building a core 3-statement model and DCF modeling. In addition, you’ll learn about spreading trading/transaction comps and complex models such as accretion/dilution analysis and leveraged buyout (LBO) modeling.

Highlights-

– Wall Street Prep provides training to leading investment banks, PE firms, and corporations.

– Most organizations and employers recognize the certification.

– The teaching style is comprehensive, easy to understand, and straightforward.

– Wall Street Prep provides in-person training to new hires of global investment banks and institutional firms.

– Get the necessary financial modeling skills to get a job.

– This program is excellent for analysts and working professionals working in banks, investment firms, etc.

– The curriculum is in-depth and structured.

– It encourages the extensive application of theory and rigorous and in-depth training.

Duration: Variable

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

You can Sign Up Here

Investment Banking Certification (New York Institute of Finance)

Work in the IBC role of your choice after getting sufficient knowledge about the role of financial management in business. This is a foundational certification course by the New York Institute of Finance and is designed to help the finance buffs around the world to get trained and become certified professionals. It is curated to be equivalent to mini-MBA graduation at a low cost. Once you complete this course, you can work with financial firms to provide your expertise as an IBC holder.

Highlights –

– Finance management and statement analysis for managers

– Information about mutual funds, equity, and hedge funds

– Know company structure and M&A deal drafting

– Understand risk management in businesses

– Gain knowledge about Wealth management and Portfolio management

Duration: Self-paced

Rating: 4.3 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Review: Become an IBC holder by enrolling for this financial training and learn about business finances to work with the top finance firms of the world.

Investment Banking Training (CFI)

The e-learning training provided by CFI is meant to educate investment banking associates and analysts and those who want to pursue a career in this field. This training will enable those who sign up for it with the technical knowledge of financial modeling and also help with networking skills. This course has a lot of theoretical and practice material for everyone to learn and apply. Once you complete the training, you get a certification making you an Investment Banking Analyst.

Highlights –

– Know the basics and fundamental concepts of investment banking

– Learn about finance modeling, company valuations, and corporate finances

– Understand banking statement analysis and master your excel using aptitude

– Know about M&A modeling to understand company structures in detail and the financial management within

Duration: 6 weeks

Rating: 4.4 out of 5

You can Sign up Here

Review: Become an Investment Banker with the training provided by CFI in the financial management portfolio. You will be able to work with the prominent names in the Finance domain or have your practice.

Bonus: Investment Banking Courses

The Complete Investment Banking Course (Udemy)

Anyone interested in the Wall Street figures can enroll for this course on Investment Banking that has a comprehensive set of animation video tutorials and interactive real-life exercises. 365 Careers curate the course, and they are one of the leading and best-selling finance course providers on Udemy. Students will learn the fundamentals of investment banking along with advanced-level lectures to help them land a job in the finance sector. You will be able to explore real-life case studies of companies and learn valuations and investment tactics.

Highlights –

– Learn about bonds, equities, company valuations, IPOs

– Become a Udemy Certified Investment Banker

– Know how to draft IPOs and the ins and outs IPO pricing

– Learn company restructuring and asset management

– Understand the operations of the world’s topmost companies with their valuation and buyout calculations

Duration: Self-paced

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review: I did the Excel course about financial modeling and recently finished The Complete Financial Analyst Course. Now I enrolled in this course and it is bonkers. The guys from 365 careers are doing such an amazing job with all of their courses. I’m completely hooked! – Franz Kubbillum

Free Investment Banking Course (WallStreetMojo)

This course has been discontinued.

Get free training for investment banking from WallStreet Mojo with video tutorials and guides. This course will run you through the basics of financial learning, including accounting, excel skills, company valuations, financial modeling, and networking. Master the key aspects of Investment Banking and start practicing to expand your career horizons. Apart from the course, you also get a certificate of doing the course and you can add it to your portfolio.

Highlights –

– Get free access to video and course guide material to learn Investment Banking

– Master your accounting and excel sheet handling skills to make financial calculations

– Learn IPOs and equity investments to know how stocks work

Duration: Self-paced

Rating: 4.4 out of 5

Review: Strengthen your investment banking skills and add certification to your course by taking up this free course. It can help you with job applications to work in the finance field.

So these were the Best Investment Banking Courses and Certification programs available online for 2024. DigitalDefynd’s Investment Banking Courses offer a thorough and empowering pathway for individuals aiming to excel in the high-stakes environment of investment banking. By engaging with these courses, you gain the necessary skills, knowledge, and practical insights to perform complex financial analyses, structure large-scale deals, and navigate the dynamic landscape of global finance. Start your journey with DigitalDefynd today to unlock your potential as a proficient investment banker, prepared to make impactful financial decisions and thrive in the demanding world of corporate finance. Whether you are starting your career or seeking to enhance your expertise, these courses provide the foundation and advanced strategies needed to succeed in investment banking.

Wish you Happy Learning! 🙂