2027 Financial Analyst (Class of 2027), Portfolio Valuation and Fund Advisory Services - Chicago

Business Unit:

Financial And Valuation Advisory

Industry:

Portfolio Valuation

Overview

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.

Financial and Valuation Advisory

Over the past 50+ years, Houlihan Lokey has established one of the largest worldwide financial and valuation advisory practices. Our transaction expertise and leadership in the field of valuation inspire confidence in the financial executives, boards of directors, special committees, investors, and business owners we serve. In 2025, LSEG ranked us the No. 1 global M&A fairness opinion advisor over the past 25 years. Our stability, integrity, technical leadership, and global capabilities make us a trusted advisor for clients worldwide, across a wide range of services, including the Transaction Opinions, Fund Opinions, Transaction Advisory Services, Corporate Valuation Advisory Services, Portfolio Valuation, Real Estate Valuation and Advisory Services, and Dispute Resolution Consulting practices.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Data Analytics, Financial Engineering, Mathematics, or similar majors with a graduation date between December 2026 and June 2027
• Must be able to start July 2027
• Strong analytical abilities.
• Excellent understanding of financial statements analysis with the ability to work through key assumptions, implicit caveats, and limitations.
• A fundamental understanding of financial valuation theory, methodologies, and applications.
• Strong knowledge of Excel modeling, including integrated cash flow modeling.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with team members.
• An exceptional work ethic.

Overview

Houlihan Lokey’s PV practice is well-recognized and regarded in the alternative asset valuation community. In 2022, the PV Practice received the HFM US Hedge Fund Services Awards in which Houlihan Lokey was named “Best Valuations Firm for Hard to Value Assets,” its sixth time receiving this award and fifth consecutive win.  We also received this same honor in Europe in 2023 for the fourth consecutive time.  Houlihan Lokey has also received the HFM Asia Hedge Fund Services Award for “Best Valuation Firm,” for the third consecutive time underscoring the outstanding valuation services the firm provides its hedge fund clients around the world.

Within our PV practice, our clients include many of the world’s largest hedge funds, private equity funds, direct lending funds, business development companies, among other asset managers, and we advise them on the valuations of illiquid debt, equity and complex securities in order to meet their investor and regulatory financial reporting requirements.  Our market-leading practice has a strong reputation with regulators, auditors, and investors and we rapidly mobilize the right team for the job, drawing on our expertise in a wide variety of asset classes and industries, along with our firm’s real-world transaction experience and market knowledge.

Financial Analysts within our PV practice are fully integrated members of our engagement teams. You will work with a dedicated, highly talented staff of professionals who will give you broad exposure to many issues and concerns affecting businesses today.

Responsibilities

We offer a unique opportunity to work on a wealth of projects that provide exposure to various financial and valuation advisory challenges, including the valuation of complex businesses, securities, and transaction structures. As a Financial Analyst, you will research and analyze financial markets data, financial statements, industry conditions and developments, acquisitions and divestitures, and various investment attributes of publicly traded and privately held securities. You will also have an opportunity to develop complex financial models, draft client deliverables, participate in presenting analyses and conclusions, interact with clients on active engagements, and participate in the firm’s marketing efforts.  Responsibilities of a Financial Analyst include the following:

• Supporting FVA portfolio valuation teams, which provide valuations of illiquid debt and equity securities held by hedge funds, private equity funds, and business development companies in connection with fair value reporting of the funds’ assets to investors;
• Performing financial statement analysis and other quantitative and qualitative assessments;
• Reviewing client investment memoranda, board of directors’ presentations, specific debt and equity agreements, and financial models to develop an understanding of the company or securities being analyzed;
• Compiling statistical summaries of companies’ financial information, developing and computing financial ratios, and presenting the analyses in an organized manner and/or using our standard formats and presentations;
• Reviewing and compiling published financial information, such as public company filings, press releases, reports from published research analysts, and Bloomberg data across a wide range of industries and sectors;
• Identifying relevant comparable public companies and M&A transactions within parameters established by FVA project teams, based upon information services such as S&P Capital IQ and Bloomberg, along with knowledge of the appropriate Standard Industrial Classification and other methods, as appropriate;
• Constructing and reviewing valuation and other financial analyses, including the guideline public companies, guideline precedent transactions, and discounted cash flow analyses, using Houlihan Lokey proprietary models;
• Researching and providing information on (a) general economic conditions, (b) industry-specific conditions and trends, (c) acquisitions and divestitures within specific industries, and (d) various investment attributes of publicly traded and privately held securities;
• Participating in telephonic and in-person due diligence meetings/discussions, communicating with clients and responding to auditor questions regarding valuation analyses prepared by Houlihan Lokey;
• Designing and drafting client deliverables;
• Assisting in the preparation of fee proposals to clients, including scoping discussions, pitch materials, and internal engagement pricing committee memoranda;
• Performing other ad-hoc research, analytics, and support for the FVA project teams as required;
• Coordinating with internal administrative support teams to prepare engagement invoices, working paper files, and other compliance/end-of-engagement close out procedures;
• Participating in discussions with in-house and outside legal counsel as required; and
• Assisting with marketing initiatives for prospective and existing clients.

Compensation and Benefits

Houlihan Lokey is committed to providing its employees with an exciting career opportunity and competitive total compensation package, which may include other components such as discretionary incentive compensation. The firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the possible salary range for this role at the time of posting is:

$80,000 - $95,000

Actual salary at the time of hire may vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant qualifications, skills, and experience, as well as the service line and location where this position may be filled.

Houlihan Lokey provides a competitive benefits package. Our current benefits offerings can be found here:

2026 Benefits

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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