Equity Research Careers

List of Top 5 Careers in Equity Research

Below are some of the top Equity Research jobs that you can look for in your career.

1. Market Research Analyst
2. Sector Research Specialist
3. Senior Equity Research Analyst
4. Fund Manager
5. Chief Investment Officer

Equity Research Career Overview

Equity research refers to the in-depth analysis of the companies in order 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 so that the investors can be serviced by providing them with the 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, there are various companies that provide Research Services for their HNI or institutional investors to make an informed decision.
• The equity research process is been divided into the below-mentioned stages in order to analyze a company and provide a recommendation on the same.
  1. Company Profile: Understanding the business model of the company and the quality of the top management in taking 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 future prospects.
  3. Sector Research: It refers to the sector level analysis in which the companies operate in order to have an understanding of the positioning of the company as compared to their peers.
  4. Economic Analysis: It refers to the economic analysis with regards to the macro-level research on infrastructure and other relevant criteria for the company to progress.
• Equity research professionals are employed by stock broking houses, investment banks, credit rating agencies, banks, KPOS, venture capitalist firms.

Career #1 – Market Research Analyst

Market Research Analyst - Job Description
Responsibilities	Leading the buy-side and sell-side research for the company and preparing various research reports on the current & future market outlook & trends in the sector for the fund manager to make an informed decision.
Designation	Market Research Analyst.
Actual Role	He will study the market as a whole and come out with a report on the opportunities and challenges in the current market and the road map for the days to come.
Top Companies	JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Evercore, Citi, Barclays, UBS & RBC.
Salary	The median annual salary for a research analyst as of May 2018 was $ 63,120 as per bureau of labor statistics of us (https://www.bls.gov)
Demand & Supply	Demand for research analysts will continue to grow at a faster pace with the advancement in technology & market turmoils. It is a highly-skilled job that requires extensive exposure to the financial markets and ability to communicate both in reports and in person.
Education Requirement	A bachelors degree or CFA an MBA from a reputed college.
Recommended Courses	CFA/MBA/CPA.
Positives	High growth potential in the future with heavy compensation and exciting job profile researching the market as a whole.
Negatives	Long working hours researching various industries/sectors can be a tiring job.

Career #2 – Sector Research Specialist

Sector Research Specialist - Job Description
Responsibilities	Responsible for researching the allotted sector by the fund manager and come up with fact-based research report on the same consolidating information from various sources.
Designation	Sector Research Specialist.
Actual Role	This is a sector expert and will exclusively work on that particular sector only.
Top Companies	JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Evercore, Citi, Barclays, UBS & RBC.
Salary	The median annual salary for a research analyst as of May 2018 was $ 63,120 as per bureau of labor statistics of the US (https://www.bls.gov).
Demand & Supply	A high demand profile since it requires extensive experience and knowledge of the allotted sector and the challenges in the same in the future.
Education Requirement	CPA/MBA from Tier -1 Universities with at least 5-10 yrs of exp.
Recommended Courses	CPA/ MBA/CFP/CFA.
Positives	Sector-focused profile enables the analyst to concentrate on one sector only and gain as much knowledge as possible which will surely help him in a professional career.
Negatives	Focusing on only one sector may leave opportunities in other growing sectors and the profile will be restricted to that sector only which can be a hindrance to the candidate in the long term.

Career #3 – Senior Equity Research Analyst

Senior Equity Research Analyst - Job Description
Responsibilities	Responsible for mentoring the junior analyst team and giving them the required skills and knowledge to perform their duties.
Designation	Senior Equity Research Analyst.
Actual Role	Manages the team of analysts and reports the findings along with his opinion and recommendation on the same to the fund manager.
Top Companies	JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Evercore, Citi, Barclays, UBS & RBC.
Salary	The median annual salary for a senior research analyst can be anywhere between $1,00,000 to $2,00,000.
Demand & Supply	High demand and low supply due to the technical and practical experience required
Education Requirement	CFA/CPA/MBA from Tier -1 Universities with at least 5-10 yrs of exp.
Recommended Courses	CFA/CPA/MBA.
Positives	Extensive knowledge-gathering because of constant research making the person expert in the field.
Negatives	Long working hours and has to report in office before market hours.

Career #4 – Fund Manager

Fund Manager - Job Description
Responsibilities	Responsible for buying/selling the stocks in the portfolio as per his understanding.
Designation	Fund Manager.
Actual Role	Manage the portfolio of the fund through buying and selling securities in the equity/debt markets.
Job Statistics	The bureau of labor statistics of us does not display data on this role.
Top Companies	JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Evercore, Citi, Barclays, UBS & RBC.
Salary	The median annual salary for a general manager can be anywhere between $ 2,00,000 - $5,00,000 excluding bonuses.
Demand & Supply	A high demand profile in the market and highly paid since these are specialized services which require extensive expertise in the field.
Education Requirement	CFA/MBA/IIM/CPA.
Recommended Courses	CFA/MBA/IIM/CPA.
Positives	Being a fund manager, he interacts directly with the CEO and top management of companies to know their strategy ahead in order to take a call whether to hold or sell the stock.
Negatives	High risk since public money is been invested.

Career #5 – Chief Investment Officer

Chief Investment Officer - Job Description
Responsibilities	To make sure the funds are showing good performances by keeping track on their decisions.
Designation	CIO
Actual Role	Spearhead the research and the fund management division of the company and be the face for the company in the market to the public and the shareholders.
Top Companies	JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Evercore, Citi, Barclays, UBS & RBC.
Salary	The median annual salary for the same can be anywhere between $ 5,00,000 to $10,00,000.
Demand & Supply	Highly demanded profile since the CIO is a strategic position in the company to drive the fund performance.
Education Requirement	CFP/CPA/MBA from Tier -1 Universities with at least 20-25 yrs of exp.
Recommended Courses	CPA/MBA/CFA.
Positives	He is the face of the company in the financial markets and also the official spokesperson on the companies strategies.
Negatives	One wrong investment decision may close down the entire fund and the company in no time.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to Equity Research Careers. Here we provide the list of top 5 job roles in equity research career which include Market Research Analyst, Sector Research Specialist, Senior Equity Research Analyst, Fund Manager, and Chief Investment Officer. You may also have a look at these finance career articles below –

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