A day in the life of an Equity Researcher

There is no inkling of doubt that the life of an equity researcher is not devoid of pressures. Let’s explore what involves in a typical day in the life of an equity researcher. As a researcher, he has to keep himself updated with the latest trends and current happenings of those companies whose equity he is concerned with. The equity market is so volatile that a news can create a huge impact in the stock price, hence, it is vital for him to be abreast with all the changes.

• A typical day starts off with reading up on all the latest news on the sector / company that the Associate is covering. The Associate then reads up emails he may have received from traders or sales teams. Also, any new market-impacting news is forwarded to the sales team and important clients
• Once he/she has read up well for the day, he/she may update existing models, do more research on any one or more companies or maybe hunt around data to initiate coverage on new companies. There may also be administrative work to be done for the team
• Earnings season can be quite busy and the team may occasionally have to put in an all-nighter. Also, they have to balance out other work during this time.
• He has to liaison with the client, prepare reports and communicate with them to advise on whether the stock is a viable option for them.

With a higher level, the responsibilities of the equity researcher increases. He is also supposed to update his colleagues and team members about the latest changes, or any important research data which he might have missed out.

Salary and perks:

• The starting salary for Equity Research Associates in bulge bracket banks is over INR 25Lakhs/annum. This is just the fixed pay and there is usually a bonus
• In Indian boutique investment banks, one may have to start a bit lower at around INR 5-7Lakhs/annum or so and a lower bonus than the bulge bracket firms