Buy-side analysts research stocks to identify investments for their own firm to invest in. Equity research analysts work for both buy-side and sell-side firms in the securities industry. They produce research reports, projections, and recommendations concerning companies and stocks. Typically, an equity analyst specializes in a small group of companies in a particular industry or country to develop the high-level expertise necessary to produce accurate projections and recommendations. The best financial analyst career path for you depends on your individual strengths, work preferences, and long-term goals. These roles often share transferable skills, and it’s common to move between analyst positions, gaining diverse experience.

Earnings Potential for Senior Analysts

• Investment banking is a specific division of banking related to the raising of capital for other companies, governments, and other entities.
• Additionally, full information is not provided by the management, due to which further in-efficiencies are created and stocks trade below or above the fair value.
• The bonus can be based on performances of individuals, or on the basis of commission, profit share or any other benefits.
• To help corporations circumvent these challenges, AlphaSense has introduced Wall Street Insights, the first and only equity research collection purpose-built for the corporate user.
• If you don’t perform well enough to advance, you won’t necessarily be fired dramatically; research professionals are cheaper than bankers, and there’s no fixed 2-year or 3-year program.

Dreaming of a career where you can influence business decisions, drive financial strategy, or help organizations manage risk? But here’s the thing — the financial analyst path branches in several distinct directions, each with its own unique appeal. Without a centralized search system, analysts are left to perform multiple manual searches and parse through Google Alerts for the ones with real relevance. On the AlphaSense platform, real-time alerts are customizable and can be set up for a particular company, industry, keyword, or topic (or a set/list of any of the above). In terms of search and accessibility, Wall Street Insights® is the first of its kind. Not only does AlphaSense offer hard-to-find equity research reports, but we also provide a robust and seamless search experience.

Top Equity Research Firms

Equity research supports investment decisions, evaluates securities, and guides investors and fund managers. For example, it helps predict the future growth potential of tech companies, find investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, and understand how macroeconomic trends affect different sectors and stocks. Professionals joining an entry level job can expect a salary of $60000 to $100000, on an annual basis. The professionals who are already at mid-level may expect from $80000 to $150000, yearly. The senior level employees working at reputed financial institutions and also having a good track record may expect $ to $ annually, excluding bonus.

Thus, equity research analyst positions is very crucial in driving the market or the economy towards long term investments and also mobilising funds in the right direction. However, it is necessary that they act in the best interest of their clients so that the best results can be achieved by harnessing the knowledge and expertise of these professionals. These models are used to find the value of a company and analyze its financial position; it is based on some assumptions.

• Some companies tend not to cooperate with analysts they feel haven’t treated them fairly in reports.
• This research report is very professional and is prepared with a lot of caution.
• For example, it helps predict the future growth potential of tech companies, find investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, and understand how macroeconomic trends affect different sectors and stocks.
• Additionally, we collaborate with our corporate access team to provide clients with a comprehensive schedule of industry conferences and summits.
• CFI’s Careers in Finance course provides an expert-led overview of common finance roles, necessary skills, and their contribution to a high-growth business.

All levels (individual or institutional) may not have the resources or capabilities to analyze every stock. Additionally, full information is not provided by the management, due to which further in-efficiencies are created and stocks trade below or above the fair value. Here, we’re referring to the Equity Research Analyst role at investment banks and dedicated research boutiques that produce and sell their own equity research reports. Investment bankers, on the other hand, spend the first few years of their careers immersed in financial modeling, comparative analysis, and preparing presentations and pitchbooks. But as they climb the ladder, they get the opportunity to work on exciting deals such as mergers and acquisitions or initial public offerings.

How Many Hours per Week Can a Research Equity Analyst Expect to Work?

To be certified as CFA, you need to complete four years of full-time employment in a relevant field (read finance), and you need to clear three levels. But if you can clear CFA, you will be able to reach a much higher position within the firm. In those roles, you might also be in charge of competitive intelligence, monitoring your firm’s peer group, and publishing internal reports. Within that category, long/short equity funds are the most natural fit for equity research professionals, while global macro funds are the worst fit because you work on the “micro” level in most equity research groups.

Responsibilities of an Equity Research Analyst

How to Get Into Equity Research – There are a few key skills that you must develop if you want to make your mark as an equity research professional. You’ll build a solid network of buy-side professionals and company managers. Research compensation is likely to become more lopsided, with the top-ranked groups garnering the bulk of the fees and lower-ranked firms fighting over the scraps.

We’ve written about this extensively in our guides on how to be a good financial analyst, as well as providing a breakdown of financial modeling skills. Although investment bankers and research analysts both have to steer clear of conflicts of interest, this is a bigger issue in equity research than in investment banking. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement actions against 10 leading Wall Street firms in 2003, relating to analyst conflicts during the telecom/dot-com boom and bust of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Equity researchers analyze stocks to help portfolio managers make better-informed investment decisions. Equity researchers employ problem-solving skills, data interpretation, and various other tools to understand and predict a given security’s behavioral outlook.

Complete the ESG Investing CPE exam to earn 1.5 credits.

Today, over 90% of equity research is consumed by fund managers, who have the Wall Street relationships to acquire it and the analyst resources to mine it for insights. For corporate strategy professionals who lack this access, however, equity research has historically been challenging to obtain and navigate. An equity Research career is about financial statement analysis, economic analysis, comparable company analysis, valuations, recommendations, investment decisions, research report writing, management interactions, etc. This job fits well for those who enjoy and understand financial modeling, are passionate about analyzing companies, have the right decision-making attitude, and meet rigid deadlines. Professionals who have advanced research skills, such as extensive knowledge of fundamental analysis, can pursue opportunities in all sectors of the investment industry.

Investment banks also provide guidance to issuers regarding the issue and placement of stock. Investment banking positions can include elements of consulting, banking, capital market analysis, research, trading, and much more. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued rules relating to such fair disclosure practices, meaning analysts have to tread carefully with management.

To find your ideal role, consider which aspects of financial analysis appeal to you most, and focus your learning accordingly. In total compensation, high-performing junior analysts can expect to earn between $65,000 on the low end and up to $100,000+ at top-tier investment banks and asset management firms. A finance management analyst specializes in performing extensive research and analysis to devise strategies that can help a company achieve its long-term financial goals. Furthermore, a finance management analyst must report their findings and present action plans, providing a comprehensive explanation to officials, all while adhering to the company’s policies and regulations. An Analyst in the equity research department is responsible for preparing various valuation research reports and financial models on selected companies under the guidance of the fund managers and the top management.

Meanwhile, the average equity research analyst earns over $98,000 in annual base compensation as of 2025, according to PayScale. While it’s higher than investment banking analysts starting out, this profession doesn’t typically see the same magnitude of bonuses or salary growth as the career progresses. Research analysts indirectly generate revenues through sales and trading activities that are based on their recommendations. As we’ve discussed, equity research is essential for investors as it provides valuable information and investment recommendations. It involves digging into company finances, creating financial models, and meeting with industry experts. A master’s degree is not required to advance into senior analyst positions.

Get to grips with using relative and fundamental valuation to determine a target price and master critical analysis of peer company multiples to explore value drivers and critical analysis of DCF assumptions. The content will include the valuation of a case company delivered using Articulate e-learning software. Get the same training we provide to sell-side and buy-side research firms, in some of the largest global investment banks. Even if you don’t know anything about this equity research interview question, it’s common sense that chemical companies spend a lot of their money on research & development.

The majority of firms producing equity research are hyper-focused and only have one or two equity research analyst analysts developing reports on a specific industry. However, larger firms, such as Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, collectively employ thousands of analysts to write reports on thousands of public companies — covering everything from TMT giants to niche products. The top three skills for an equity analyst include financial models, equities and discounted cash flow. The most important skills for an equity research analyst are financial models, macro, and securities. Equity research professionals produce analyses, create recommendations, and suggest the right investment opportunities to institutions, investment banks, and clients.

Generative Grid pulls data from both premium external documents in the AlphaSense platform and users’ internal content. From there, users can choose pre-built templates or create their own to automate routine workflows. Each summary provides a direct citation to the source material it was pulled from. When searching for insights, Generative Search helps you get up to speed on a company or topic by instantly surfacing the answers you need.