Equities Analyst

An equity analyst analyses financial performance of publicly listed companies or current market trends. These analyses assist others to make informed investment decisions.  

Analysts are an important aspect of fund management and broking houses as they act as a conduit to help supply information for to these investors to invest in.  

If you are a sell-side analyst, you are responsible to brokers or firms that make recommendations to investing clients. The recommendations you make, whether a ‘buy’, ‘sell’ or ‘hold’ will help investing clients make decisions to trade and in turn earn the brokerage a commission on these transactions.

If you are a buy-side analyst, you are responsible for large pension funds, fund management firms or institutional funds. Your role is to recommend investments that are suited to the appetite and investment strategy of your firm. Your success is determined by the number of profitable recommendations you make for the fund.

Research analysts require highly developed analytical skills, an inquisitive nature and an ability to synthesise large amounts of data and present this coherently. Analysts not only have to have an eye for detail but also understand market and economic implications on the stocks in their coverage. Many equities analysts specialise in specific regions and industries such as real estate or construction. Work in research is cyclical and will depend on the results season of companies under their coverage universe. Many analysts eventually continue on to become fund managers, applying their expertise into managing their own investment portfolio.