Gillian D. Elcock - How to Get an Equity Research Analyst Job: A Guide to Starting a Career in Asset Management

Gillian Elcock has worked as an equity research analyst for several years at respected asset management companies in the U.S. and the UK, including Putnam Investments and Insight Investment. She started her career as a management consultant at The Boston Consulting Group.

She holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and MEng and BSc degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

You can visit her blog at www.dennyellison.com.

How to Get an Equity Research Analyst Job
First published in 2010 by: Ecademy Press
48 St Vincent Drive, St Albans, Herts, AL1 5SJ
info@ecademy-press.com
www.ecademy-press.com

Printed and Bound by: Lightning Source in the UK and USA
Set in Warnock Pro and Myriad by Karen Gladwell
Cover artwork and illustrations by Michael Inns

Printed on acid-free paper from managed forests. This book is printed on demand, so no copies will be remaindered or pulped.

ISBN 978-1-907722-12-7

The right of Gillian Elcock to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright holder except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Applications for the Copyright holders written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers.

Copyright 2010 Gillian D. Elcock

Do you want to get a job in the asset management industry,analyzing stocks or managing portfolios? It is a highly competitiveprocess, with hundreds of university graduates, MBA students,and others trying to get into the industry every year, but not manyavailable positions.

How do you go about convincing a company to give you a job? Whatwill the interviews by like and how should you prepare? Should youapply for sell-side research roles as well as buy-side ones? What arethe real differences between the buy and sell side?

This book, written by an experienced equity research analyst, willanswer these questions and more.

It will guide you every step along the way, from choosing whichcompanies to target, to mastering the specialized interview process,so that you can stand out from the pack. It includes:

• An overview of the asset management industry, also knownas the buy side.
• Description of the role of the equity research analyst,including a comparison of the buy side and sell side jobs.
• Tips on preparing a great resume and cover letter.
• Details about all the most common interview types you arelikely to encounter, and how best to prepare for them.
• Advice on how to be successful once you start your careeras an equity research analyst.

I would like to greatly thank the reviewers of this book including Tim Codrington, Carmina Buzuloiu, Christianne Elcock, and Peter Renton. Their comments and suggestions were invaluable.

I would also like to thank Mindy Gibbins-Klein of The Book Midwife and Ecademy Press. Her guidance and coaching enabled me to write this book in a structured manner and at an impressive pace.

My parents, brother, sisters, and entire family have given me great love and support during the writing of the book and at all times. Thank you.

I have worked as a buy side equity research analyst for several years. I entered the asset management industry straight after I graduated from business school. I started my career in the U.S. and then moved to London, in the UK.

Before business school, I worked in management consulting in New York City. When I decided that I wanted to work in equity research, I found that there wasnt a lot of written help on the topic. There were many resources that dealt with investment banking roles, but not much on research specifically.

Luckily, I went to a very large Boston-based business school in the U.S., with investment clubs and helpful second-year students who guided me through the process. Many asset management companies came on campus to recruit, and that is how I got both my summer and full-time positions. However, I still think that I would have benefited from a book that explained the industry and how to prepare for interviews. This is my attempt to write such a book.

This book is targeted primarily towards students: business school students and undergraduates who would like a career in equity research, particularly in asset management i.e. on the buy side. The book should also be helpful for other people who want to get into the industry, for example those with experience in other areas of finance or in other industries altogether. However, many of the examples I use and much of the advice I give is written with students and people who are early in their careers in mind.

Though I am focused on the buy side, this book should also be helpful to people who are interested in sell-side equity research positions, because the interview processes are quite similar. During my career I have interviewed with both the buy and sell side, and received job offers from both.

That being said, I have only ever worked on the buy side. In addition, my experience has been quite specific: fundamental equity research, mostly long-only. The book will be relevant for people who want to work at hedge funds, but mainly if they want to do fundamental research (long or short). This book will be less helpful to people interested in fixed income research, quantitative research, or technical analysis roles.

It can be tough to break into asset management. It is not a big industry in its hiring relative to other branches of finance. In addition, people already on the buy side can sometimes be quite sceptical about the desire of others to enter the industry.

Luckily, I have a lot of experience that I can draw upon to guide you through the process of finding an equity research job. I have had several interviews of all different types at many asset management companies in both the U.S. and the UK (and once in Asia). I have received several job offers, and have of course been turned down for interviews and jobs many times.

This book distils all of this experience into guidelines, tips, and advice that will help you to identify the firms you might want to work for, get interviews, then prepare for and execute the interviews well. At the end of the book I even give you a few tips to start you off on the right foot in your first buy side role. I hope you can learn from my mistakes as well as my successes, as I share my experiences and lessons learnt with you.

Please note, however, that because the book is based on my experiences, almost the entire work consists of statements of my opinions on various matters. You are of course free to agree or disagree with me on any point, and do what you think is best. At the end of the day, you have to do what feels right for you. All I can hope is that you will find some of my advice useful on your journey to getting a job in equity research or asset management. I wish you the best of luck. It is a great industry to work in.