Career path from sell side equity research

Hi all. I'm finishing my junior year, about to start a summer internship at a MM bank doing equity research. I'm familiar with the typical path from IB analyst onward (Analyst to PE to MBA to whatever) but does anyone have a similar "path" for a person starting out in equity research as an associate? I'm personally interested in getting a PHD in Finance at some point and/or working at a hedge fund. Things I've picked up (feel free to correct me):

There's less "up or out" in ER at least for associates. I don't think there's any reason someone can't be an associate for 3-4 years at the same bank right out of UG.

PE exit options are a long shot but ER is ideal for L/S Hedge Funds as well as for megafund asset managers.

Plenty of people go from associate in ER to Analyst/Associate in IB.

Its hard to go from associate to analyst at the same bank because most banks have only a handful of analysts covering each sector.

The culture is flatter.

 

Accurate but would add that in my view associate to analyst is actually a pretty common transition at one place.

Would depend on the sector, but if you were in a a sector like staples or cap goods you would have several senior analysts because for example in cap goods one would do electricals, one would do mechanicals, etc... plenty of senior analysts where I work actually joined from university and have stayed for 10 years.

Though I imagine that would depend on the bank in question, in the same way that Fidelity and Capital are poles apart in that regard.

 

Second that rjroberts. I knew from the title that this would be a joke. Have you ever heard of a hedge fund PM nyc-matt? Sell side research is tremendously rewarding once you reach analyst. So 1st: many people that enter the field hope to be "stuck" doing it but with a repuation and following that they have developed. And, 2nd: equity research is probably one of the most versatile positions as far as exit opps. The skill set is applicable to many jobs across finance.

 

sorry for a stupid question, but sell-side vs. buy-side in ER, whats the difference? I mean I know buyside is for actual transactions but what are sell-siders doing? just giving reports/

-- "Those who say don't know, and those who know don't say."
 
nutsaboutWS:
sorry for a stupid question, but sell-side vs. buy-side in ER, whats the difference? I mean I know buyside is for actual transactions but what are sell-siders doing? just giving reports/
jesus the questions on here are depreciating in quality faster than a las vegas hooker.
 
Best Response
RedHill:
how difficult is it to make analyst? Do you need an MBA?

Yes and No - it really depends, in my opinion. Some shops hire post MBA's as associates, and after several years of assisting an analyst will be promoted to analyst. Some pre-mba associates pick up coverage on a few names of their own (maybe 3-5) after a few years, which is a good path towards becoming an analyst.

Other shops hire associates right out of undergrad for several years and will promote them after ~5 yrs to analyst.

Some analysts leave their firm for another firm or the buyside and his/her associate could be offered the analyst spot assuming he/she doesn't go w/the analyst to the new firm.

It really depends on a ton variables including your shop and analyst's style. If you got CFA then it takes the place of the MBA for sell side ER, in my opinion. There's so much to it including luck.

 

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