I’ve migrated from HF to SS ER and tbh…I love it
I covered global TMT (US, China, etc.) alone for my PM in a PM-Analyst duo, in a L/S Fundamental portfolio. It was my first job out of university. I loved it, but I felt the environment was counterproductive for me - I learnt most of my stuff on the fly and on my own. Coworkers were much older, and the pandemic yielded a hybrid model of only 1 week in the office per month. Coworkers were also very reserved and quiet.
Now? I am doing what I love (ER, but in a different capacity and philosophy), and I am learning tons from great people who are references in the industry. Also just as important, they are more extroverted and I feel at home socially.
“Oh but ER is shrinking; AI will take our jobs” Let me tell you that I do not care. I am doing what I love - I love reading, thinking, discussing about markets, especially equities. Even if the field is competitive and shrinking, I will do everything in my power to establish myself here, come hell or high water.
So if you truly love ER, do not think that buy-side is the only way to go. At the same time, the stereotype about SS ER can be real for some people. It depends on how you gel with it. And even if you end up at SS ER, it will always be beneficial to think like an investor (a buy-side) - in the end, I would not recommend something I don’t believe in enough to put my money where my mouth is.
So yeah, just wanted to say all this because I have read some negative feedback on SS ER, and I just wanted to share my personal experience.
It sounds like you've found your groove in Sell Side Equity Research (SS ER) and that's fantastic! It's clear that you're passionate about what you do and you're not afraid of the challenges that the industry might face in the future.
You're absolutely right, the love for reading, thinking, and discussing about markets, especially equities, is at the heart of ER. And while the field might be competitive and shrinking, your determination to establish yourself in it is commendable.
Your point about the importance of thinking like an investor, even in SS ER, is spot on. After all, the best recommendations come from a place of belief and confidence in the investment.
Your positive experience in SS ER is a refreshing perspective and it's great to hear that you're not only learning a lot, but also enjoying the social aspect of your work.
Keep up the good work and continue to embrace the challenges and opportunities that come your way in SS ER. Your passion and dedication are sure to take you far in this field.
Sources: Where does ER go from here?, A hodgepodge of ER Questions sent to me via PM, Unironically - ER is a paradise, A warning to those aiming for Sell Side Equity Research, Starting Career in ER??
Cool story bro
thx
You had to have pulled out your trading account and shown 5000%+ returns lmao. A PM who hired 1 kid out of college to run a L/S portfolio with doesn’t sound like a situation you want to be in long term. If this wasn’t written by a director of research trying to convince juniors to stay I salute you my friend.
definitely, it is not an experience I recommend despite thoroughly enjoying it. I had tons of responsibilities that demanded vast experience which I did not have. I had to learn stuff on my own. But hey, it worked out. Even in 2022, I had decided to stay defensive and rotate out of tech prior to the losses in the sector. I had successful plays like AMD/INTC, PANW/FTNT, UBI/ATVI, long BABA, long NVDA (the longs were mostly a long with a basket of correlated shorts to finance the position and be somewhat of a hedge). Hell, I even successfully called the Ukraine-Russia conflict by betting on it happening in Q1 and positioning myself OW cybersecurity. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, and bigger PMs lost tremendous amounts of money, so the fund downsized considerably. Still, I am grateful for the experience - made me more resilient, curious, higher drive to be successful since it was wholly dependent on me. And it was really fucking fun, the highs and lows (thankfully extremely low rates made for fun times).
EDIT: In fact, the way I got the internship was because I presented a L/S play I had made at uni (was an exercise for an IB class) that was long AMD, short INTC. Needless to say, the call worked perfectly with the thesis hitting the bullseye
This gotta be some associate DOR at a MM bank
Nah, if you check one of my recent posts, I became an Equity Strategist at a BB (no, I will not name which one bc I prefer to be as anon. as possible, I am somewhat paranoid in this regard).
I can assure you I am not an expert in any subject, whether a company or an idea. But I saw my job as being a bridge between a financial-oriented investor and a tech expert in terms of viability of an idea and its financial potential. So I knew enough about semis, cybersecurity, and other stuff, in order to say “yeah, this is gonna pop off soon (like 6-12 months) and, after revisiting the thesis after every quarterly result, this could take off even more in the long-run because of the viability of the supporting trends”.
I think it worked because, in the end, you just have to be right. Being an expert can help you with that, but an overall thesis doesn’t necessarily require a deep-dive - you have diminishing returns, and you need a return on your time. So if I can figure out a variant view on a company that has taken me 1 month vs. someone’s 6 months, that is potentially 5 more companies (if we assume a company a month) that I will have covered. I need to make bank, not become an undisputed expert on it - all everyone wants to know is “Can I make money off this, and how?”, so cut the unimportant BS and give it to them straight in 5min or less.
Another guy posted on here that he saw the sell- side as a waiting room for the buyside. I was curious to hear your thoughts on that. Do you plan on ever switching back to the buyside?
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