Is foresight really that important to be an equity researcher?

Hi guys,

Recently, I have been talking to some of my brother's friends that are in BB ER, and they have been giving off the impression that ER is less of having foresight, and more of a writing style?

This is bothering me a little as it seem that this would undermine the purpose of an ER, which is essentially providing profitable ideas.

Also, there seem to be a focus on volume in equity research. But why is that the case? Doesnt quality always triump quantity in the investing world?

Opinions?

2 Comments
 
Best Response

At the associate levels, you will do a lot of writing. The published research is largely a commoditized product, the associates are responsible for writing most of it, with their analyst looking it over and making edits. So at the entry level, a lot of your interaction with your analyst will be the writing, as this is considered grunt work.

The higher up in ER you go, the more it becomes about coming up with good and unique ideas that could indicate a trend or change in the future - call this foresight if you wish. Equity research isn't really about the writing at all. It is about being an expert on a set of companies in an industry, and being able to sell your opinion on those companies.

You can do this through your writing, through face to face conversations, through connecting your clients with company management, or by coming up with ideas nobody else on the street has. Each person has different things they're good or bad at, and you'll see different analysts that have naturally aligned themselves around different functions at each bank.

 

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