Analyst Destroyed My Report

I created an equity research report to network and to improve my technical skills. I had a call with a senior analyst couple days ago, who covers the sector, and he ripped it to shreds. The feedback he gave was insightful, but the way he delivered it made my confidence drop to a new low. I've taken feedback from other associates and analysts as well but I never felt like a complete idiot speaking to them.


I thought I would get over it by now, but when I'm editing the report I'm second guessing every sentence I type and thinking back to the call. I do well in taking criticism so I don't know why its playing such a big part in my head.  How was your experience in dealing with analysts absolutely destroying your report(s) and how did you deal with it?

 
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Thank you for sharing. Considering this was my first experience where the analyst was passive-aggressive, I might be thinking about it too much. It's definitely a learning experience, and I am grateful he did give solid advice towards my report.

 

You created a random equity research report? That makes me believe your still just a kid. And I am assuming the analyst is a grown man.

Sounds like he was just flexing his muscles to make you feel bad. Some people feel good about themselves when they put others down. It’s a coping mechanism for short comings in their own lives.

Take his advice, make the report better and move on. Chances are he is fat or ugly or his wife is trash. Remember that when you start to feel bad about what he said to you.

 

This won't be the last time you pitch someone and idea and are torn apart in a nasty way, it will happen in the professional world. The fact is that students, and I'm speaking as someone who did this as a student and now review student pitches sent to me, are held to an incredibly high standard if they are sending pitches for networking purposes. Further, pitches are supposed to make money, and to make money you need to be right and present a compelling argument. So for better or worse a lot of folks are going to critique your work as if its a live situation so you should be prepared for criticism that might hurt. 

The problem I've ran into with students / jr. analysts, and I've been guilty of this myself, is that they grow too emotionally attached to their pitches because it is a huge project that a lot of work went into. To have someone rip it apart is a bummer, but you can't take it personally. Be flexible enough to pivot when someone tells you something is wrong or not good. As someone else said, the fact is that something likely is wrong or not good. The way you present the idea can also influence the way you are critiqued. If you present your idea in a balanced, dispassionate way things are likely to go better for you. Some students, in my experience, come off with big egos because they put a pitch together and when there are clearly things wrong or just messed up get defensive etc. Remember that as a student you are just interested in learning and absorbing as much as possible, so being humble is key. 

Like I mentioned above students who prepare sample pitches are held to a high standard because it is just uncommon and takes a large amount of effort to do. I can count on one hand how many students have reached out to me with actual sample pitches over the last five years. Because it is so infrequent and leads to a more comprehensive conversation, people you speak to are likely to remember you versus a networking call with no pitch. Even if your idea stunk and they gave harsh feedback they will remember you. This works incredibly well to your advantage because you can take their feedback, either fix your pitch incorporate their comments into a new pitch, and follow up with them again for another try. As an analyst you are going to be knocked down frequently and the only thing you can do is keep getting back up and trying again. I promise you that if you do this, and you truly incorporate their comments and the quality of your work increases, you will be on a short list for opportunities. 

 
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There are two types of people in coaching situations, those who need a kick in the ass and those who need a hug/motivated. A good coach can figure out what their student needs and gives it to them.

Did you watch that documentary last year The Last Dance about Michael Jordan and the Bulls. It was 10 parts, in one of the episodes they asked Michael if he was an asshole to other players on his team, because MJ had a reputation for that. Basically it came down to MJ saying, look, I had to be an asshole, because the teams we play against will be, if I go soft on you we'll lose. So, maybe this analyst was rough, but if you make a bad report the buy side will be worse. Also, in some ways, as it doesn't seem like you have a ton of experience, you in a way want to feel like a complete idiot. That means youre learning, but also, the person teaching you knows what they are doing. 

In terms of the report, if its your first time, stuff that might seem logical to you might make no sense to someone else. Meaning, say you're pitching Peloton, a critical factor can't be "they have good social media", or Kellogg's "their stuff taste good", those aren't really data points. Or, "this P/E is lower than peers, so its a buy", better than someone off the street picking a stock, but doesn't give an exact reason, that would be traded await by AI before you got the report out.  

 

You need to develop a thick skin in this profession. If it’s bothering you this much then this may not be the career for you 

cannot tell you how often I’ve had my work torn apart, but I just shrug it off, absorb what’s helpful and move on. The market will absolutely crush you if you can’t handle harsh criticism as this comes on top of the stresses of the market (which gets intense when your stock is down -25% and the PM is putting pressure on you to figure shit out quickly)

 

I'm assuming by your title you're not even in the industry yet. If that's true, use this as an incredible learning opportunity. The criticism you received is about your work and not you personally. Use it to make your work superior and make sure that you incorporate all the feedback you were given. This kind of learning opportunity is most often given to those in actual summer internships who are fighting for a full-time slot. If that's not you, be thankful you got this feedback now and improve instead of wallowing. Good luck man.

 

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