Equity Research Careers

The concept of an equity research career explains the methodology or steps that help in making a career in the field of complete company analysis, which facilitates the management, along with investors and other stakeholders, to make critical financial decisions.

Individuals who wish to become experts in this field, may conduct this research based on some limited resources like company financial statements and annual reports. But the company has access to other important resources like financial databases, skilled analysts, and other details that are not available to outsiders.  The final aim of this job is to gain clarity about the business and also decide on its fair stock prices.

Equity research refers to the in-depth analysis of the companies to provide relevant data and valuation information to the investors, traders, fund managers to plan their strategies for the investments. Equity research job helps in studying the company and its financials in detail. The investors can be serviced by providing them with relevant information about the buy/sell/hold call.

• It is divided into buy-side and sell-side equity research firms.
  1. Buy-Side: In buy-side, there is an in-house equity research team that advises the investment team on the buy-sell strategies on the selected stocks in the portfolio.
  2. Sell-Side: In sell-side, various companies provide Research Services for their HNI or institutional investors to make an informed decision.
• The equity research analyst careers process is divided into the below-mentioned stages to analyze a company and provide a recommendation.
  1. Company Profile: Understanding the business model of the company and the quality of the top management in making strategic decisions.
  2. Financial Analysis: It refers to the analysis of the financial information of the company and studying the impact of the ratios on prospects.
  3. Sector Research: It refers to the sector level analysis in which the companies operate to have an understanding of the positioning of the company as compared to their peers.
  4. Economic Analysis: It refers to the economic analysis regarding the macro-level research on infrastructure and other relevant criteria for the company to progress.
• The path for this equity research analyst careers opportunity involves a proper understanding of the business, preparing a checklist that will mention every detail, experience and knowledge that the analyst gains form the investments and finally estimating the fair value of the shares. Below are some of the top Equity Research jobs that you can look for in your career.

• Equity research professionals are employed by stock broking houses, investment banks, credit rating agencies, banks, KPOS, and venture capitalist firms.

Let us understand the concept of equity research career path with the help of a suitable example.

Let us take the example of Max, who has a bachelor’s degree in economics and is also a CFA charterholder. He has strong analytical skill and is proficient in handling data analysis and financial modelling, along with good communication skill which is an important requirement in conveying analysis reports.

He has the practice remining updated about industry practices and any changes in market trends. Thus, his education and background helped him in landing into a career as equity research analysts, where he has to create financial models, through various valuation approaches, benchmark business using different operational and financial statistics, create presentation on the same. He also has to make presentation and conference calls related to investments in his equity research career path.

Thus, the career in equity research is not only complex but also lucrative and interesting, offering many avenues to learn and grow.

Career #1 - Market Research Analyst

Market Research Analyst is employed by the financial services firm to do the required research of the market or any specific industry to help the fund managers in their decision making.

Career #2 - Sector Research Specialist

Sector Research Specialists focus only on specific sectors in the industry and generate quality reports on their developments.

Career #3 - Senior Equity Research Analyst

Financial Planning & Analysis takes care of the budgets of the company in the FP&A department. Every company has its FP&A department to take care of the financial projections and prepare a business plan on a periodic basis to showcase the roadmap for the future.

Career #4 - Fund Manager

Fund Manager manages the fund in the company on behalf of the investors.

Career #5 - Chief Investment Officer

Chief Investment Officer leads the equity team in the financial services company and manages the fund managers.

It is to be noted that there is no available short-cut to this concept of equity research career progression, and it needs a very thorough analysis from start to end. Therefore, the candidates who become successful in this kind of career opportunity have a very curious and motivated intellect along with the ability to collect valuable and updated information about any sector or industry. They are able to classify and review them along with interpreting business models.

These professionals in the field of equity research career progression are able to identify the market in which the companies are operating along with their risk taking and management ability. They have a keen desire to study company and industry reports, new articles, blogs, etc to develop expertise.

Such professionals usually work within a team who conduct a very high-quality analysis about company and market trends, changes in company policy to keep customers and investors informed. They can also create content that for reports, blogs, videos, which are engaging and effective in communicating research insights to clients to address their needs. However, everything should be done based on rules and regulatory guidelines.

This has been a guide to what are Equity Research Careers. We explain them with example and a list of top 5 career options in this field. You may also have a look at these finance career articles below -

• Careers in Equity Research Analyst
• Role of an Investment Banking Analyst
• Top 9 Corporate Finance Jobs