Compass Point Research and Trading Interview Questions

3 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (80%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

4.3
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (56%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

2.7
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (8%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

0%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Compass Point Research and Trading

Get Prepared
Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
2nd Year Associate
Year 2018
Job Title 2nd Year Associate
Group/Division Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
Location Washington DC
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Equity Capital Markets
Location Washington
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2012
Job Title Intern
Group/Division
Location Washington
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy

Interview Questions & Answers - Compass Point Research and Trading Examples

Research Associate Interview - Financial Institutions Group (FIG)

Anonymous employee in Washington DC
Interviewed: February 2018
Date Submitted: Jul 09, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Previously went in for an informational interview to talk with different analysts about their investment process, the job itself, etc. Got a call a few months later that a position had opened up and went in for a formal interview. The process took a few hours with back to back ~30 minute interviews with analysts, head of research, and the CEO of the firm. Most questions were behavioral with a few asking me to pitch an investment idea + rationale behind it. After that I was given a company and had to create a model and write an investment report on the company.
Interview Questions
Hardest question was related to the investment pitch idea. I pitched something outside of the FIG space (its a FIG focused firm) and my interviewers understood the company and rationale quickly and had difficult follow up questions regarding the timing, where i could be wrong, what expectations are for the company, and how i arrived at my assumptions for the model. Another difficult question was something like "where do you think the SPY will go from here and why" and i basically BS'ed my way through it (which was seen through almost immediately). I'd recommend making sure you can back up your ideas with concrete evidence rather than saying something vague "like the market is overvalued".
Sample Answer

Summer Associate Intern Interview - Equity Capital Markets

Anonymous employee in Washington
Interviewed: April 2014
Date Submitted: May 18, 2014
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Skills Test
Background Check
Interview
Referred to Human Resources by an employee who is an alumnus of my undergraduate university. I was first asked to a phone interview, which was conducted with the HR intern coordinator. The phone interview lasted about 20 minutes and basically went through my educational background and work experience. The coordinator had my resume and asked me to walk her through it, asking questions about specific details along the way. Completely behavioral. At the end of the phone interview, coordinator said that I seemed like a solid candidate and asked if I would come into the office for a second round of interviews. These were scheduled for a week later.

The in-person interviews were with 6 different people. There were 4 interviews: the first was with an analyst, the second with 2 first year associates, the 3rd with another analyst, and the 4th with the Managing Director and his associate. Overall, the interviews were much more technical than the phone interview. I was asked if I had done any valuations before and asked me to run them through a DCF model. Asked about my Excel skills and general computer skills. Asked behavioral questions about teamwork and prior team experiences, including team difficulties and team leadership abilities. All 4 interviews lasted a total of about 2.5 hrs, one after the other.

The last bit of the interview process occurred after the in-person interviews. I was called the next day and informed that I had progressed to the last round of the application process, an Excel test. The test involved use of various Excel functions, including vlookup, hlookup, pivot table use, and nested functions. It took me about 5 hours to complete.

I was offered one of the two internship positions about 4 days after I submitted the Excel test.
Interview Questions
"Please run me through a DCF model."

Upon answering, I was asked increasingly detailed questions such as "How did you calculate cost of debt & equity", "Why did you use the market debt instead of book debt", etc.
"Explain a situation in which you failed to act in the best manner"

Followed by:

"How did you overcome that situation and what have you done to improve"
"Why Equity Research instead of Investment Banking"
"Please explain to us your understanding of the differences between the two sectors"
Sample Answer

ER Intern Interview -

Anonymous interview candidate in Washington
Interviewed: 2012
Date Submitted: Apr 20, 2012
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Other
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Interviewed with Jr. Analyst, then two Analysts, then a Sr. Analyst.

First was mostly fit and learning about me. The next two had some technical questions but again, mostly fit/why you questions. Last guy was almost all technical questions.
Interview Questions
What are some stocks you have invested in? Why did you invest in them, what were the multiples of that stock at the time?
What does a high P/E or a high P/BV mean about the company and the investors?
How do you decide the "real value" of a company and if the stock price is reflecting that value?
What is something we have recently suggested on Bloomberg that you have seen? Why did we suggest it?
Why you? What sets you apart from the people from Yale/Harvard?
Sample Answer