starting out
(Chimp, 3
Points)
on 9/16/10 at 1:26pm
what is the best way to pick up coverage of an industry? do you start reading the 10Ks? build industry models? company models?
some background: i started an internship this week at a L/S hedge fund. they assigned me to a pm who does energy, which is a new area for me. while he has given me specific tasks already (data driven assignments), the goal is for me to learn the space over the next semester. he has little time to teach me what he knows, so i'm going to have to do this on my own. i plan on reading some primers from the sell side.






Your school library should
Your school library should have access to Morningstar, Reuters, MarketWatch, or other data sources that would have detailed research on competitiors, risks, and future growth of the industry as well as specific companies.
Read some of the analyst reports on specific companies. I would get some primers on the industry and then read/learn about 6 companies within that sector. Monitor the stocks, keep up with the fundamentals and technicals.
Keep asking the PM questions and try to show the knowledge that you have gained. Ask questions about why he chose different companies, why he made XYZ investment decision, what was the reason for the decision, what factors have to change for him to change his positon.
"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
thanks for that. it sounds
thanks for that. it sounds like you are an analyst/PM. how do you spend your average day? mostly modeling? reading? talking to companies?
Energy companies have a
Energy companies have a number of metrics that are unique to the space. For example:
Power generation companies:
Heat Cost, Spark Spread, Debt/kWh, etc
Drilling/Extraction companies:
Proved reserves
Refining:
Crack spread
There are a lot more. Knowing what these are (at least in theory) would be a big head start.
There have been many great comebacks throughout history. Jesus was dead but then came back as an all-powerful God-Zombie.
sounds like a pretty sick
sounds like a pretty sick internship assignment: "spend the semester learning about a fascinating and extremely critical industry, bill me for it, put my name on your resume, and potentially get an extremely high paying job here post graduation"... alas, how I miss internships...
For something like energy, it
For something like energy, it is important to stay up on the latest technological innovations. A couple months ago, I remember an energy trader mentioning a new natural gas drilling technology that allows you to essentially drill at different angles to access different "pockets" of gas. I was surprised that he was so conversant in the technical jargon. I get this newsletter in my inbox; I usually delete it but only because my day-to-day has nothing to do w/ the space:
http://www.commodities-now.com/reports/power-and-e...
Also, regarding your questions about the day to day on an equity analyst, here is a good piece:
http://www.wallstinsiders.com/news/article/a_day_i...