Benjamin Bryer, CFA
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
West Chester, PA, United States
Toptal member since March 11, 2021
A CFA charterholder with an MBA from NYU, Ben has more than 10 years of buy-side experience. Having worked in both institutional asset management (fixed income) and middle-market private equity, Ben has been involved with a wide variety of transactions. As a freelancer, Ben offers M&A advisory services to buy-side and sell-side clients, specializing in due diligence, financial modeling, valuation, and deal structuring.
Certification Highlights
Case Studies
Expertise
Work Experience
Founder and Managing Partner
Highspire Holdings, LLC
- Constructed a bank buyout model to perform LBO analysis; determined that sponsor would need 38% multiple expansion to meet hurdle rate; concluded that the deal was not feasible since return projections did not justify the required multiple expansion.
- Led buy-side due diligence, including engagement of third-party advisors, for a potential $2.25 million acquisition; uncovered significant CAPEX requirements; the analysis was used in negotiations to support a proposed $450 million purchase price decrease (to $1.8 million).
- Built a dynamic LBO model with multiple pro forma operating and financing scenarios to evaluate a potential $4 million buyout; the model was used to produce insights that supported financing and transaction agreement negotiations.
Senior Associate
Main Line Equity Partners
- Responsible for deal sourcing, due diligence, valuation, financial modeling, financing, closing, and portfolio company management.
- Performed valuation analysis on potanital acquisition targets using public company comparables, precedent transactions, DCF, and LBO methodologies.
- Conceptualized and led the execution of operationally-focused value creation initiatives.
- Created investment memoranda, including teasers, internal investment committee memos, and lender presentations.
Credit Research Associate, Structured Finance
Vanguard Group, Inc.
- Directed the fundamental credit review of asset-backed security (ABS) transactions; collaborated with portfolio managers and traders to manage the $19 billion ABS position held across Vanguard’s active and index fixed income portfolios.
- Constructed detailed, transaction-specific financial models to perform cash flow analysis on ABS deals in the primary and secondary markets.
- Invested in transactions sponsored by companies in a wide variety of industries and collateralized by both traditional and highly-esoteric assets, such as coin-counting kiosks, tugboats, and franchised quick-service restaurant royalties.
Credit Research Associate, Investment Grade Corporate Credit
Vanguard
- Generated in-depth fundamental credit research on issuers within the insurance, banking, and asset management sectors; supported senior analysts, portfolio managers, and traders on the investment grade team.
- Built, maintained, and managed financial models used to facilitate new deal analysis, monitor current holdings, and generate company-specific and sector-level relative value recommendations.
- Conducted scenario analysis and ad-hoc research projects on topical issues.
Education
Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA)
NYU Stern School of Business - New York, NY
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration
University of Richmond - Richmond, VA
Certifications
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA institute
Skills
Finance
Credit Analysis, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Entrepreneurial Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Valuation, Capital Structuring, Private Equity, Due Diligence, M&A (Buy-side), Financial Modeling, Cash Flow Modeling, Market Research, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Trade Finance, Credit/Debt, Private Company Valuation, Accounting, M&A Modeling, Deal Advisory, Purchase Price Allocation
Industry Expertise
Asset Management
Geographic Expertise
United States
Other
Financial Analysis, Scenario Analysis, Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), Structured Products, Structured Finance, Cash Flow Analysis, Investment Research, Pro Forma Analysis, Industry Analysis, Financial Forecasting, Company Research, Due Diligence, Financing, Investment Analysis, Investments, US GAAP, Business Development, Deal Structuring, CAPEX
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