Research & Prediction Failures - the new Wall Street

Well, this has been a trend with Investment Banks lately.

For ex Goldman has really failed more than it got it right making predictions on any subject ranging from Currencies, Macro, Statistical and even more recently Euro 2016 (They predicted Portugal’s defeat in Quarter Final).

The more interesting though, is how many Macro prediction failures have been recorded since last year, especially in the currency world. Goldman’s top 10 trades for the year are a complete disaster, the list includes Long USD/JPY (down massively on the year) Short EUR/USD (still up on the year). Predictions are so bad that they had to abandon their “10 commandments for 2016” as early as February.

I have also noticed that on social media, recently, the public would advise to take the other side of any Bank's public opinions or forecasts, and the funny thing is, it works.

Why are big banks sucking at research? Did the market become efficient and very hard to predict? Or maybe banks don’t know what they’re doing (that's what their 10ks say anyway)?

P.S: Some say they release public statements the opposite of what they’re doing to find liquidity and get out of their positions, what do you think?

0 Comments

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”