Case studies
- Canyon Star Network Investor Deck
- Pitch Decks
- Valuation
- Financial Modeling
- Private Company Valuation
- Equity Valuation
- FIS Short Recommendation
- Equity Investment
- Equity Research
- Investment Thesis
- Pitch Decks
Sean Heberling, CFA
Bryn Mawr, PA, United States
Member since October 12, 2017
With Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon, Sailfish Capital, and Marion Street Capital, Sean has analyzed 10,000+ companies, built complex models, and helped facilitate $1+ billion in investment transactions. He freelances to leverage his expertise in financial modeling, investor presentations, investment analysis, and M&A. He is on the boards of several early-stage companies, advising on operations, growth strategy, and fundraising.
Sean is now available for hire
Career Highlights
- Canyon Star Network
- Villanova University
- Marion Street Capital
Education
- CFA Institute
- Villanova University
Select Certifications
- CFA Institute
Industry Expertise
- Automotive
- Restaurants & Dining
Other Expertise
- Business Planning
- Capital Raising
- Equity Research
- Financial Modeling
- Metals & Mining
- Valuation
Employment
- Director2018 - PRESENTCanyon Star Network
- Created investor materials, including the private placement memorandum, teaser, and investor deck for an early-stage streaming television service focused on country music and Americana lifestyle programming.
- Used comparable company and discounted cash flow analyses to create a private company valuation that shaped the seed and series A equity financing.
- Directed fundraising strategy for soliciting early equity investors and delivered in-person and phone presentations as part of the equity fundraising.
- Developed a five-year financial model for the company.
Focus areas: Equity Financing, Equity Raises, Private Company Valuation, Investor Decks - Adjunct Professor2017 - PRESENTVillanova University
- Structured and taught a required equity markets and valuation course for college juniors and seniors majoring in finance.
- Designed eight applied finance lab projects for students to complete over the course of the semester. These projects included simple concepts like calculating market capitalization as well as more advanced topics like evaluating multiple companies within an industry sector to form concise, actionable investment recommendations.
- Received several evaluation scores from the students that were in the top quartile of scores in the finance department.
Focus areas: Equity Research, Equity Valuation, Capital Markets - Director2016 - PRESENTCFA Society of Philadelphia
- Selected as a judge for the global finals of the 2018 CFA Institute Research Challenge, which included 1,000+ universities and was held in Malaysia. Chosen as one of four judges for the regional finals of the same event in 2016 and 2017.
- Assisted in the draft of a committee charter and the re-draft of an investment policy statement that set parameters for the investment of the organization's long-term strategic reserves.
- Received a 9.5/10 rating from students while teaching courses in financial reporting and analysis, corporate finance, quantitative methods, alternative investments, portfolio management, fixed income, private wealth management, and performance evaluation.
- Selected as CFAP's representative to the board of directors for the Global Interdependence Center, an international think tank headquartered inside the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank.
- Launched a new CFA exam preparatory course that increased the education revenue by 50%.
- Designed, promoted, and managed six-member programs.
Focus areas: Equity Research, Investment Portfolio Management - CEO2016 - PRESENTMarion Street Capital
- Designed a menu of alternative investment offerings with IRRs of 15%+ and 3x more reward than risk for accredited investors.
- Purchased, turned around, and sold a restaurant for 4x the purchase price. Negotiated entry and exit terms, as well as the financing for the purchase, increased sales 300% through creative marketing strategy, and maximized cash flow by implementing inventory control systems and improving working capital management.
- Purchased, turned around, and sold an auto repair franchise for 2x the purchase price. Increased sales by 75% through operational efficiency improvements designed to maximize throughput, grew cash flow by improving vendor financing terms, and negotiated entry and exit terms.
- Consulted for a startup hedge fund, providing guidance on capital raising, investments, risk management, strategy, and vendor selection.
- Managed five analysts and evaluated thousands of investment opportunities.
Focus areas: Investment Thesis, Value Investing, Equity Raises, Private Equity, Private Company Valuation, Investor Decks, Credit Investing, Capital Raising - Director of Research2015 - 2016Valdes & Moreno
- Built an institutional research product for a minority-owned broker-dealer offering best execution for institutional equity, equity option, and fixed income investment firms.
- Developed relationships with public company management teams, which allowed the firm to offer its institutional clients access to corporate executives.
- Presented on various topics including negative interest rate policies, homebuilder versus apartment REITs, master limited partnerships (MLPs), the transportation industry, nonresidential construction, and the Puerto Rican debt crisis to well-established institutions.
- Recommended establishing a long position in Virgin Airlines and a short position in SunPower, which generated annualized returns of 345% and 55%, respectively.
Focus areas: Equity Research, Fixed Income Analysis - Middle Market Sales Representative2013 - 2015Morgan Stanley
- Presented the firm with $7.5+ million in potential new revenue.
- Built an institutional practice focused on banks, family offices, and investment firms.
- Designed an absolute return money management product that targeted 15% annual returns with single-digit volatility.
- Recommended establishing a long position in Citizens Financial and a short position in Enable Midstream Partners, which generated annualized returns of 40% and 70%, respectively.
Focus areas: Equity Research, Fixed Income Analysis - Senior Analyst2008 - 2009Very Independent Research
- Helped expand the distribution of mining and metal-focused equity and credit research to 300 well-known institutions.
- Proposed a new research vertical with the potential to increase sales by 100%.
- Investigated launching a hedge fund as a complement to our research offerings.
- Recommended establishing a long position in Century Aluminum's convertible bonds and a short position in Alumina, Ltd., which generated annualized returns of 35% and 89%, respectively.
Focus areas: Equity Research, Fixed Income Analysis - Senior Analyst2006 - 2007Sailfish Capital Partners
- Oversaw $100+ million in investment capital that was allocated to equity and credit securities for a $2.5 billion multi-strategy hedge fund.
- Launched a $100 million equity hedge fund. Responsibilities included establishing and implementing the strategy, authoring investor letters, fundraising, staffing, evaluating and selecting the prime broker and other vendors, and handling any outstanding legal issues.
- Recommended establishing a long position in Hasbro and a short position in National City, which each generated annualized returns of 80%+.
Focus areas: Equity Research, Fixed Income Analysis, Equity Derivatives, Fixed-income Derivatives - Analyst2000 - 2001BNY Mellon
- Co-developed a zero-beta product that helped the company division grow from $2 billion to $18 billion in assets.
- Evaluated private investment partnerships that employed a variety of sophisticated investment strategies including convertible debt arbitrage, credit arbitrage, distressed debt investing, risk arbitrage, and long/short equity.
- Utilized FBI investigative interviewing techniques to reveal investment manager fraud and deceit.
Focus areas: Risk Analysis - Senior Consultant1997 - 1999Navigant Consulting, Inc.
- Designed expert witness testimony for mass tort litigation involving billions of dollars.
- Managed the division’s largest engagement with oversight of a staff of ten.
- Prepared and presented proposals for new business development.
Focus areas: Risk Analysis, Risk Models
Other Experience
- The Undeniable Importance of a Business Plan (Publication)We often hear about business plans in the context of early-stage companies; however, constructing excellent business plans is difficult and time-consuming, so many entrepreneurs avoid them. But, is this a mistake? While most people may be aware of the “soft” arguments for and against writing a business plan, in this article, a Toptal Finance Expert takes a data-driven approach to addressing the debate. In it, he finds strong evidence to support the notion that writing an excellent business plan is time well spent.
Education
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in Investment Management1997 - 1999CFA Institute - Charlottesville, NJ
- Bachelor's degree in Finance1993 - 1997Villanova University - Villanova, PA
Certifications
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)AUGUST 2000 - PRESENTCFA Institute
