Best undergraduate degree for equity research?

I already read "Here are the target undergraduate schools in Canada," which seemed like it was more for people who wanted to go into IB. I'm more interested in ER, and thinking about possibly going into HF later on. Which (Canadian or US) undergraduate programs do you guys recommend? (Which undergrad programs are preferred, and most related to ER/HF?) Thanks in advance. :)

14 Comments
 

I would recommend studying something quantitative. Especially, HFs these days prefer quantitative backgrounds (Still business backgrounds do fine). I would consider Ivey or McGill for Canada and Ivy League for US. Good luck!

 
Best Response

Accounting, accounting, accounting! With the exception of something like biotechnology, of course. I could teach any associate the basics of finance and nuances of my sector (FIG), but it's teaching accounting to somebody new that is most frustrating. By developing an in depth understanding of accounting you will have a major advantage over 9/10 applicants. I am shocked this wasn't uniform through the replies.

 

I'd agree with this. I recently looked through the file on my group's shared drive for prospective associates and it stood out how many were dinged for not having any accounting background.

I think there's some stigma that if you study accounting you end up as an accountant. I'm going to sound like a high school professor here but accounting really is the language of finance.

 

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