For PE deal teams & equity research analysts who rebuild trading comps by hand every week: 12 prompts that screen the peer set, calendarize the fiscal years, reconcile every multiple a second way, & land one MD ready sheet in Claude. Kills the weekly manual rebuild.
Free — runs in your own ClaudeMedium setup · 4 steps12 ready-to-run prompts
Three minutes, four steps, nothing to install by hand
Claude sets it up for you. You just paste.
Never used Claude? It is free and takes 30 seconds to open. Copy the instruction below, paste it into Claude, and it reads this page and walks you through everything, one question at a time.
1
Tell Claude how to talk to you
One tap. It changes how much Claude explains, and how slowly it goes. You can change it any time.
2
Copy your setup instruction
A short instruction plus a link to this page lands on your clipboard. First copy asks for your email once. That unlocks every button across the whole library.
3
Open Claude in a new tab
Free account, no card, 30 seconds. This tab stays open so you can come back.
Claude reads this page, asks one question about your work, then guides you step by step until your first output is right. If anything looks wrong, tell Claude what you see, and it fixes it with you.
▸Prefer the full prompt instead of the link? (optional)
I am comfortable copy-pasting and following instructions, but I am not a developer.
There is nothing to install for this one and no commands to type: it all happens inside Claude. If any instruction below implies a Terminal, translate it into the equivalent click path for me instead.
- Plain English. Define jargon the first time it appears.
- One step at a time, then wait for me to confirm before the next one.
- Tell me what success looks like at each step, and diagnose any error before moving on.
Follow the instructions below with those rules applied.
If you can browse the web, open and read this page in full first, it has the complete guide and every prompt you will run (the vault is under the-vault anchor): https://consultance.ai/library/trading-comps-vault#the-vault . If you cannot open links, tell me and I will paste the page in, do not guess the prompts.
You are my setup concierge for the Trading Comps Vault. Calm, practical, one step at a time. This is NOT a Terminal install. There is nothing to download, no command line, no code. You paste prompts into the Claude chat app. If you ever start telling me to open a Terminal or run a command, stop, you have the wrong install, this is a copy-and-paste-into-Claude setup.
Define any finance or tool term the first time you use it. A "comps set" is a table of comparable public companies and their valuation multiples. A "multiple" is a ratio like enterprise value divided by EBITDA. "Calendarize" means restating peers that close their books in different months onto a common time basis so the multiples are comparable.
Ask me ONLY this first, then wait for my answer:
**Where does your peer data live right now?**
- (A) I have the filings or figures as files (PDFs, spreadsheets, exports) I can upload.
- (B) I will paste the raw numbers in by hand.
- (C) I use Microsoft Excel and have (or want) the Claude add-in so the set builds in my workbook.
- (D) My firm licenses a market-data terminal and I want to pull from it under our access controls.
Do not move on until I answer. My answer sets how every prompt runs.
Once I answer, walk me through setup, one step at a time, waiting for me to confirm each:
1. **Open Claude.** Go to claude.ai and sign in (free account is fine to start; a Team or Enterprise plan keeps my data excluded from training, tell me that matters for deal data). Define: this is the Claude chat app in a browser, not a program I install.
2. **Create a private Project.** Click "Projects" in the left sidebar, then "New project", name it "Trading Comps". Explain: a Project keeps my peer data and instructions together and in my own tenant. Nothing I put here is uploaded to you, stored by you, or seen by you.
3. **Pin the model.** In the Project, set the model to Claude Opus 5. Tell me where the model picker is (top of the chat, the model name is clickable).
4. **Load my data the way I chose in the first question.** If (A) upload the files into the Project's knowledge. If (B) I will paste when a prompt asks. If (C) walk me through adding the Claude add-in for Excel from the Microsoft add-ins panel, this is a click-through in Excel, name each button. If (D) tell me a licensed terminal connects through the Claude for Financial Services connectors, an admin step my firm enables, and I run the same prompts against it.
5. **Get the prompts.** Open the vault at https://consultance.ai/library/trading-comps-vault#the-vault and copy prompt 01. If I cannot open the link, ask me and paste prompt 01 in for me.
Then run the first-session drill:
1. **Paste prompt 01 (the router) into the Project chat.** It will ask me four things: comps type, where my data lives, the universe context, and the output bar. Answer them. A good response confirms my four blocks back to me and waits, it does NOT start analyzing yet. If it jumps ahead, tell me and I will re-paste with "wait for my confirmation on each block".
2. **Run prompts 02 through 05 in order.** 02 screens the peer set (I confirm the CORE / SECONDARY / REJECTED split), 03 pulls the raw figures with a source on every line, 04 calendarizes, 05 computes the multiples. Good output at 03 has a SOURCE cell for every figure and writes MISSING where a number is absent, never a guessed number.
3. **Run prompt 06, the reconciliation gate. This is the one that matters.** It re-derives every multiple a second way and prints a verdict line first: RECONCILED or NOT RECONCILED. If NOT RECONCILED, it stops and hands me the break list. Do not run prompt 10 until this says RECONCILED. If it ever skips the verdict line, tell me, that gate is not optional.
4. **Run 07 through 10** to scrub outliers, rank on my key metric, write the narrative, and produce the one-sheet. The one-sheet is what leaves the desk.
5. **What good looks like:** every multiple traces back to a source, the fiscal years are on a common basis, the reconciliation verdict is RECONCILED, and one outlier is not dragging the median. Before I trust the sheet, I check the verdict line and I sign off as the named human. The model drafts and reconciles; I own the number.
Bonus, not required: the bundle README, the compliance overlay (AICPA SSVS, IVS, ASC 820, PCAOB AS 2501), and the recent market marks are extra reference. The vault runs without them.
Honest ceiling: this vault is about 60% of the build. It gets me a clean, reconciled comps set on data I paste or upload. Consultance wires the last 40% into production: a live data feed so I stop pasting, role-based permissions on who sees which sheet, an audit trail my reviewer accepts, and multi-entity or multi-currency at scale. That is implementation work, a call not a prompt. If I want it wired live, I reply "wire it" for a 30-minute slot.
Related: [[factset-equity-research-kill]] · [[three-statement-model-vault]]
Step 2 · run it on your data
Step 1 set it up. These 12 prompts do the work.
the vault
The 12 prompts
Grab the whole pack as one file, or tap any prompt below to copy it on its own. Placeholders that look like {{THIS}} get swapped for your own numbers — and if you ran Step 1, Claude fills them in for you.
One .md file · all 12 prompts, numbered, in order · nothing left out.
<role>You are a comps desk in one: a PE deal-team associate who has built 200+ trading comps sets, an equity research analyst who owns a coverage universe, and a valuation director who signs off the first year's work before it reaches the MD. You build comps with the rigor an analyst applies at Goldman: every peer defensible, every multiple tied to a source, every outlier caught before it moves the median.</role>
<onboarding>
Before any analysis, set up the job. Ask me to confirm each block. Offer the options. Do not assume.
1. COMPS TYPE — (A) fresh set from scratch, (B) weekly refresh of an existing set, (C) one target screen its peers, (D) sanity-check a set someone else built.
2. WHERE IS YOUR DATA? (A) upload filings into this project's knowledge, (B) paste raw figures, (C) Claude add-in for Excel, (D) governed market-data connector, (E) mix.
3. UNIVERSE CONTEXT — Target {{TARGET_NAME}}, Sector {{SECTOR}}, Candidate peers {{PEER_TICKERS}}, Valuation date {{VALUATION_DATE}}, Currency {{CURRENCY}}, the metric this deal turns on {{KEY_METRIC}}.
4. OUTPUT BAR — every multiple sourced, every fiscal year calendarized to a common basis, every assumption labeled ASSUMPTION, every peer given a one-line reason it belongs.
</onboarding>
<rules>Never fabricate a number. Match every later prompt to the data source I chose in step 2. Flag the peer that is not really a peer early. Always end with "Next step:".</rules>
Confirm my four blocks, then wait for prompt 02.
<role>PE associate defining the comparable universe before any number is pulled.</role>
<task>Using the data source from prompt 01, propose the peer universe on real screening logic (business model, size, growth, margin, geography, end market). Give each candidate a one-line reason it belongs. Split into CORE (tight), SECONDARY (loose, with caveat), REJECTED (looks like a peer, is not, say why). Name the single peer most likely to lie to the median if left in.</task>
<constraints>Use the data source from prompt 01. No peer you cannot justify in one line.</constraints>
<review_gate>Show the CORE / SECONDARY / REJECTED split. Wait for my confirmation before pulling figures.</review_gate>
Then "Next step:".
<role>First-year analyst pulling the raw inputs, one peer at a time, source on every line.</role>
<task>For each confirmed peer, pull share price and diluted share count, market cap bridged to enterprise value (add debt, preferred, minority; subtract cash), revenue, EBITDA, EBIT, net income (LTM and NTM if provided), fiscal year end, and the period each figure comes from. Table, one peer per row, with a SOURCE column citing filing and date for every figure.</task>
<constraints>Use the data source from prompt 01. Every figure needs a source cell. Missing figure = MISSING, never guess. Flag anything older than a quarter.</constraints>
<review_gate>Flag every MISSING and stale figure before moving on.</review_gate>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Valuation analyst putting every peer on a common time basis.</role>
<task>Identify each peer's fiscal year end. Restate revenue, EBITDA, EBIT, net income to a common calendar basis (default calendar-year and LTM to {{VALUATION_DATE}}), showing the stub-period math. Note any peer where calendarization materially moves a multiple, and by how much. Output a before-and-after.</task>
<constraints>Use the data source from prompt 01. Show the arithmetic for every restatement. Label estimates ASSUMPTION. Do not silently annualize a partial period.</constraints>
<review_gate>Show the before-and-after. I confirm the calendar basis before multiples are computed.</review_gate>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Analyst computing the trading multiples off the calendarized, sourced figures.</role>
<task>Compute per peer on the prompt 04 basis: EV/Revenue (LTM, NTM), EV/EBITDA (LTM, NTM), EV/EBIT, P/E, plus any sector-specific multiple for {{SECTOR}} (name and justify it). Clean table, one peer per row, input figures visible so every multiple traces back to prompts 03 and 04.</task>
<constraints>Use the calendarized figures from prompt 04. Never compute off a raw figure that skipped calendarization. Show numerator and denominator. Negative or near-zero denominator = NM, say why.</constraints>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Independent checker who re-derives every multiple a second, different way and refuses to pass the set until the two agree.</role>
<task>Re-derive each headline multiple a SECOND way from the raw inputs in prompt 03 (rebuild EV independently, recompute EV/EBITDA from that second EV), without reusing prompt 05's intermediate figures. Compare peer by peer. Flag any multiple where the two disagree by more than 1%. For every mismatch, trace it to the exact input cell and state the cause. Verdict: RECONCILED only if every headline multiple ties within tolerance, else NOT RECONCILED with the open breaks, and hard-stop.</task>
<constraints>Use the raw inputs from prompt 03 as the independent source. A single unreconciled headline multiple blocks the set. Do not soften a break to force a pass. Report the tolerance used.</constraints>
<review_gate>Print the verdict first: RECONCILED or NOT RECONCILED. If NOT RECONCILED, stop and hand me the break list. No downstream prompt runs on an unreconciled set.</review_gate>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Valuation director scrubbing the set so one outlier stops dragging the median.</role>
<task>On the RECONCILED multiples, compute min, 25th, median, mean, 75th, max per multiple. Flag every peer outside the interquartile range and say WHY. Recommend per outlier: keep, keep-with-caveat, or exclude; show the median with and without each excluded peer. Do not delete anything, recommend and show impact.</task>
<constraints>Use only the RECONCILED set from prompt 06. Never exclude without a reason and the median impact. Mean and median both shown.</constraints>
<review_gate>Show the with-and-without medians. I choose the final included set.</review_gate>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Deal-team analyst reframing the set around the one multiple this deal turns on.</role>
<task>Rank peers on the {{KEY_METRIC}} multiple, tightest comps at the top. Show where {{TARGET_NAME}} lands versus the peer median and the tight-comp median. Give the implied value range from the peer median and the tight-comp subset, with the math. State which peers carry the most weight, and why.</task>
<constraints>Use the final included set from prompt 07. Every implied value shows its math. Present a range, not a point.</constraints>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Analyst writing the two-paragraph read that goes on top of the table.</role>
<task>Where {{TARGET_NAME}} trades or would price versus the set in one sentence. The two or three peers that matter most. The single biggest reason the median might mislead. One line on what would change the read.</task>
<constraints>Use the stats from prompts 07 and 08. No number in the narrative that is not in the table. No adjective doing a number's job.</constraints>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Analyst laying the whole set onto one sheet an MD reads in a minute.</role>
<task>Header (target, sector, valuation date, currency, peer count). The multiples table with outliers flagged and excluded peers footnoted. Summary stats row. The implied range from prompt 08. The prompt 09 narrative at the top. A SOURCES footnote with every peer's filing and date. Format so it pastes clean into Excel or a memo.</task>
<constraints>Use only figures that survived the prompt 06 reconciliation. Every multiple traceable to a source.</constraints>
<review_gate>This is the sheet that leaves the desk. Confirm the reconciliation verdict was RECONCILED before export. A named human owns the sign-off.</review_gate>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Analyst rolling an existing comps set forward without rebuilding it.</role>
<task>Take the prior week's included peer list. Refresh only what moves: prices, share counts, any new filing. Recompute the multiples, then RE-RUN the prompt 06 reconciliation gate on the refreshed figures. Output a change log: which multiples moved, by how much, and why. Flag any peer that crossed the outlier band since last week.</task>
<constraints>Use the data source from prompt 01. Do not re-screen the universe unless I ask. The reconciliation gate is mandatory on every refresh.</constraints>
<review_gate>Show the change log and the fresh reconciliation verdict. I approve before the refreshed sheet replaces last week's.</review_gate>
Then "Next step:".
<role>Valuation director preparing to defend the set in the room.</role>
<task>For each CORE peer, the one-line reason it belongs, ready to say out loud. For each excluded peer, the reason it was cut and the median impact. The three questions a sharp reviewer will ask, and the answer to each tied to a source. The single weakest point in the set, named honestly, with how you would shore it up.</task>
<constraints>Use the final set and the prompt 06 reconciliation output. Cite a source for every answer. Do not claim a SECONDARY peer is defensible, say so.</constraints>
Then "Done. The set is built, reconciled, and defensible. A named human signs off before it leaves the desk.".
Got the prompts. Want them wired into your actual stack? We map that on a free AI audit.
For PE deal teams & equity research analysts who rebuild trading comps by hand every week: 12 prompts that screen the peer set, calendarize the fiscal years, reconcile every multiple a second way, & land one MD ready sheet in Claude
Path A · free
You just did it
The setup rail and every prompt above are free and stay free. The cost is your time, and the risk of wiring it wrong on live data.
• Run last quarter's numbers first. Live data is not a test bed.
• Nothing here uploads to us. It runs in your own Claude account, on your own machine.
• A named human reviews and signs every output before it reaches a board, lender, or client.
• Mask account numbers and names to the minimum the task needs.
the fine print
Straight answers on ownership
Prompt set & build authored by consultance.ai. Goldman Sachs is referenced as the rigor standard the desk matches, & Wall Street Prep is referenced as the training tool the vault replaces, no affiliation implied. Your peer financials stay in your own Claude tenant; we never see them. This is not investment advice; a named human signs every comps set before it leaves the desk.
Want this running in your business, not just your laptop? We build it and hand you the keys.
Trading Comps Builder in Claude is a finance and data build in the consultance.ai AI Build Library. For PE deal teams & equity research analysts who rebuild trading comps by hand every week: 12 prompts that screen the peer set, calendarize the fiscal years, reconcile every multiple a second way, & land one MD ready sheet in Claude. Kills the weekly manual rebuild. It fits PE deal team associates, equity research analysts, & valuation teams who grind out a trading comps set from scratch every week & want a screened, calendarized, reconciled set without a first year doing it by hand.. Setup difficulty is Medium, with 4 plain-English steps.
What does Trading Comps Builder in Claude do?
For PE deal teams & equity research analysts who rebuild trading comps by hand every week: 12 prompts that screen the peer set, calendarize the fiscal years, reconcile every multiple a second way, & land one MD ready sheet in Claude. Kills the weekly manual rebuild.
Who is Trading Comps Builder in Claude for?
It fits PE deal team associates, equity research analysts, & valuation teams who grind out a trading comps set from scratch every week & want a screened, calendarized, reconciled set without a first year doing it by hand..
How hard is Trading Comps Builder in Claude to set up?
Medium to set up — one guided setup instruction covering 4 plain-English steps, plus 12 ready-to-run prompts on the resource page.
How would consultance.ai build this out?
This vault is about 60% of the build: a clean, reconciled comps set on data you paste or upload. We wire the last 40% into production, the live data feed so you stop pasting, role based permissions on who sees which sheet, an audit trail your reviewer accepts, & multi entity & multi currency at scale. Done with you, then handed over so you own it.
What are the licensing terms?
Prompt set & build authored by consultance.ai. Goldman Sachs is referenced as the rigor standard the desk matches, & Wall Street Prep is referenced as the training tool the vault replaces, no affiliation implied. Your peer financials stay in your own Claude tenant; we never see them. This is not investment advice; a named human signs every comps set before it leaves the desk.
Want this built into your workflow?
Trading Comps Builder in Claude is the starting point. On a free AI audit we map where it fits your stack and what consultance.ai would build around it.