Equity Research - Questions to ask at an interview !
Hello guys,
I am about to have a final round with GS for Equity Research. I know how important is the part when you have to ask questions for the interviewer as they want to deduce your knowledge & motivation based on what questions u ask.
I had prepared some questions for the interview, however i don't know how intelligent they are and I am looking towards any suggestions which u guys can provide.
Some of the questions I prepared:
1. What's your opinion about Dell's buyback? I know u are one of the advisors in the transactions....do you think 13.65/share is fairly priced as some investors think it's undervalued.
2. ''ER is a dying business...'' - do you see any validity in this statement?
3. I've recently read that you have intentions to sell the reinsurance business. Looking at the past years, the unit has been quite profitable - reinsurance revenue climbed 23 % last year from 2011 and accounted for 13% of the firm's $8.21 billion of equities revenue. Given the figures, what are the main reasons driving the company towards selling the business and what losses of synergies do you expect if its sold?
4. Share buybacks! Is it influenced by the regulatory requirements or is it mainly profit based driven? Also, why GS ---> more equity than peers?
Any additional questions from you will be dearly appreciated...
Thanks!
I would be careful with #2. At the very least phrase it in a less hostile manner.
I'd only do this if your interviewer is in tech. And since Goldman did have some role advising Dell, they may be prohibited from commenting on the deal beyond pure facts.
Jesus no. Do not ask this. It's like asking a banker, "So I have heard a lot of people say banking doesn't create value...do you agree?". Maybe change it to "how has ER changed since the global settlement in 2003" if your interviewer is an industry veteran.
Kind of irrelevant unless your interviewer covers insurers or banks.
Not quite sure what you are asking here...
The Q&A session is not time to dazzle them with your industry knowledge. Show interest in ER, ask them about their own experiences, high level questions.
Thanks
Thanks for the reply...and I think u are right maybe ask them some questions just to show my motivation/passion/interest for ER.
Sorry, the last question I've written it too hasty.
To rephrase:
What are the main factors/reasons behind the company's share buybacks strategy? - and I will point out to 2 aspects I consider worthwhile to clarify:
1) Is it profit-based driven? - since 2010, the company has bought back on average 4-6 bln shares/yr (and kept the equity capital at around $63-64bln). Is the amount chosen just as a consequence of the profit the bank has made each quarter or are there any other reasons behind choosing to buy that certain amount of shares (maybe regulatory: adjust the common equity to regulatory requirements of Basel III) ?
2) What are the reasons behind holding such a high level of equity capital? - compared to it's peers, a tangible common equity of $63-64bln is quite high (ex: JPM & BofA ~ 40bln, others even less than that...).
well...i think the last question is also irrelevant for the interview...just realized that after reading it now :))
Awful questions.
Also, don't ask dumb shit. If you don't know why companies do share repurchases then you shouldn't be interviewing.
I would ding you if you asked me any of these dumb questions.
Getting hired in ER is somewhere between ~90% and 95% fit with the analyst (in my opinion, feel free to disagree, and I'll agree probably less when the associates are pooled.) Once you get short listed, most candidates are pretty similar in skillset and experience, subject to what the analyst wants, so then it's really about if they like you. As a result, trying to sound smart, like question two or three, will make you look like an ass, and unless the analyst likes that...
I always liked questions like 'how do you pick stocks you're interested in covering?', 'what's your goal for this coming year, adding new coverage, decreasing coverage etc..?'.
Maybe it was just to make me feel better, but for the times I got dropped from short lists in ER, I really do beleive it's about fit with your analyst.
Can I make an Equity Research Career without MBA finance, since I have MBA IT with Business Analyst experience in IT firms. I have enrolled for an Equity Research program from NSE. I need your advice, whether I am on right track to start an equity research career.
Good interview questions to ask a Research Analyst? (Originally Posted: 09/07/2013)
For a Research Associate role... Assuming the Analyst knows I don't have any of the knowledge of the space he covers, what questions would be good to ask at the end of the interview? I am guessing this is especially important as for ER curiosity and analytics are key? Any suggestions...
What kind of research?
Have you done the necessary LinkedIn stalking to find the coverage space?
Yes, I know the space, but any question i ask wrt his coverage is going to sound pretty lame, no? I don't want to remind him how little I know of his universe compared to him.
Ask him things about research. Like what are the key things outside of the obvious, his favourite way to search for value. For example, I was once having a coffee with a buyside guy and he mentioned that one of his favourite ways was to have a call with the company's competition, who they see as their competition (and if your focus company really features) and then try to get the view on the company you're really looking at.
Or boost his ego and ask for his best call and why he made it etc.
Both these sort of questions will teach you something and show genuine interest.
I suppose they are sort of linked to the sort of research. If it's investment grade credit, you may as well ask him how he stays awake at work....
thanks - good examples. It's equity research.
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