Fresh buysider - how should I talk to you/be a good client?

I remember seeing a similar topic before but unfortunately I can't find it. It had a good dialogue between buy and sell side ER guys on how best to approach the relationship, etc. I know a lot of buyside guys are demanding assholes. I'm trying not to be one of those, so I want to rehash the topic to get some insight on what makes me a client you'd actually want to help and chat with.

  1. What behaviors do you hate/like from buyside ER?
  2. What's the procedure/etiquette on chatting with the junior associates instead of the big analysts? I know it varies from analyst/associate to analyst/associate, but I get the sense associates are often more in the weeds on the models and some of the day-to-day of the companies under coverage. How do I best determine if speaking to an analyst vs. an associate is the more productive convo? Is it kosher for me to just hit up the associate for some quick Qs, instead of going through sales + senior analyst?
  3. Do you guys prefer a quick phone convo or a quick email? Can I just pick up the phone and go or do you want a scheduled appointment?
  4. Anything I should keep in mind for the dynamic between sellside ER and sales?
  5. General advice?
4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Don't call the lead analyst and expect him to explain the whole sector for him. Have a few really great questions lined up - preferably something that challenges him to think critically and explain his though process, or something that he has talked about in notes and you think he can expand upon. Assume every analyst is basically Bill Belichick: hates stupid questions and having their time wasted, but loves getting intelligent questions and will go into extreme detail about the space. Obviously not all analysts are like that, though.

Anything technical/model requests/dumb questions, ask the Associate. Ask the Analyst big-picture thematic stuff. You can go through sales, but as an Associate I'm more than willing to help you out very quickly. Less stuff gets lost in translation. Only do this if you've developed a rapport with the team though.

Call>email. Someone will most likely answer but if they don't, they'll call you back. You're how they get paid, they'll get back to you.

 

Not sure if this is what you’re looking for, but it comes to mind.

https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/equity-research-sell-side-how-do…

I’m on the buy side, but I’ve noticed that sell side genuinely likes to get our view to see how the market is thinking about things and to see if we agree. I’ve Also had pretty good bigger picture discussions with them.

 

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