What Are the Best Practices for Designing Investment Banking PowerPoint Templates?

Investment banking pitches and presentations assume immense importance. They matter a lot because pitching for the deal is an art, determining the effectiveness in client advisory firms’ relationships and internal business decision-making. Solid PowerPoint templates allow investment banks (IBs) to increase the impact of their presentations.

Those templates present an opportunity to address doubts and reservations that audiences might want clarity about. Therefore, major investment banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan employ a standard philosophy for their initial presentation slide designs. This post will outline the core best practices for designing investment banking PowerPoint templates that ensure the progress of deal transactions.

Importance of Consistency and Brand Alignment
An excellent investment banking template must have consistency from slide to slide. The font styles and colors must follow the branding template set by their firm. Investment banking support teams can assist in projecting such a professional outlook and consistency in design. Most IBs can still make use of Microsoft PowerPoint software, where features like master slides and themes facilitate design consistency. Doing so avoids distracting clients with sudden changes in the design language. Their time and attention are precious. So, they want to focus on the content message.
At the same time, pitch deck templates must also incorporate the personality of the deal or transaction. For example, in a merger pitch, a more neutral color scheme and a set structure can be appropriate. However, an equity offering pitch can permit a bit more visually rich elements to increase interest. Lazard and Evercore already offer a variety of template designs according to the transaction.

What Are the Best Practices for Designing Investment Banking PowerPoint Templates?

1. Clear Slide Structure and Hierarchy Every slide in investment banking pitch decks and presentations must carry one key message, powered by data and necessary analysis. As a result, the top headlines must be explicit and descriptive, going beyond generic naming conventions. For illustration, do not use terms like “valuation overview.” Instead, the actual headline can be: The valuation insights support pricing. Additionally, content hierarchy plays an equal role. Headings, subheadings, and text need to funnel the reader’s eyes. That is why Investment banks must adopt the way that McKinsey-style deck headlines present conclusions, and body text presents evidence. Also, this form is quicker for decision-making during pressure-packed meetings.
2. Data Visualization and Financial Accuracy Slides containing investment banking information mostly utilize charts, tables, and models. Those graphics should be clear, precise, and easily understood. Related tools such as Microsoft Excel, FactSet, and Bloomberg software and systems have widespread application for data creation, which includes direct input into Microsoft PowerPoint. Moreover, charts should be simple with little data in addition to the facts important to the story.
3. Readability & Executive Highlights Templates should stress readability over design. Font sizes should be readable even in projection rooms that can project images in large boardrooms. Furthermore, white space must not be fully utilized to avoid cluttered presentations. Companies like Citi and Barclays would rather have a clean interface focusing on insights.
4. Scalability & Reuse A good investment banking template must be easily reusable and modifiable. Standardized templates for investment analysis, market research, and schedules for both transactions also increase the efficacy of investment banking. Collaboration tools such as Microsoft 365 allow teams to work on the template-based file without modifying its original template version.

Conclusion
Creating the best PowerPoint templates for investment banking involves the concepts of simplicity, consistency, and trust. Investment banks can engage in the creation of presentations that facilitate sound decision-making and the success of a deal through a proper combination of structure, information, and graphics as discussed above.