MBA Job Profile: Equity Research Analyst
Many MBA students interested in a finance career think of working in corporate finance, commercial banking, financial planning, or investment banking. Rarely do they consider the more mathematically-inclined, analytical options. However, a career in equity research can be a top career choice for many finance students. It’s a valid career option for someone who is less interested in sales and communication and more interested in research, analysis, and strategy.
So, what exactly is an equity research analyst?
An equity research analyst helps analyze stocks so that portfolio managers can make better-informed investment decisions. They research companies, look at share prices, and issue recommendations on investments and M&A deals. Sometimes considered the un-glamorous and lower-paid cousin to investment banking, equity researchers are great problem solvers tasked with developing screening tools and investment models to help manage portfolios.
To be a great equity research analyst, you’ll need to be able to:
- Identify patterns in the marketplace.
- Interpret data to understand and predict a security’s behavioral outlook.
- Quantitatively analyze a stock’s statistical data compared to recent market activity.
- Create algorithms that identify stock investment opportunities.
- Understand the differences between international markets to cross-compare domestic and foreign stocks.
Equity research analysts begin their careers with a lot of financial modeling and analysis of a specific sector or group of companies. There is typically limited buy-side client interaction or interaction with top management. However, over time, your responsibilities will evolve to more report writing and formulating investment opinions and theses.
Equity Research Analyst Work/Life Balance
While an equity research analyst works long hours—typically 12-hour days—that’s nothing compared to investment banking. You may have busy seasons and times, but for the most part, your job will be relatively calm and offer some work-life balance.
Equity Research Analyst Career Advancement
However, the equity research analyst career path is less defined. You’ll generally start as an analyst for a few years before moving up to senior analyst, vice president, and then director of research. But that can be a slow process because you’re not considered as essential to the bottom line as the firm’s investment bankers.
Equity Research Analyst Salary Expectations
According to Payscale, the average equity research analyst salary is $77,901 a year with a $19,851 bonus. However, the actual range is between $53K and $143K with the largest and most prominent firms offering the highest salaries. Glassdoor’s average base salary is closer to $94,383 with analysts at J.P. Morgan earning $101,327 and Goldman Sachs analysts earning $99,699.
The majority of equity research analyst jobs are located in major metropolitan areas such as New York City, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco, which means cost-of-living should be considered. You’ll find the highest-paid positions at private equity firms and other large financial services institutions.
Getting Started
At the minimum, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree to become an equity researcher and typically start out as an associate. Even then, a bachelor’s degree is typically not enough to get you a job at a top investment firm. Instead, you’ll need either a CFA designation or an MBA.
The CFA is mandatory for security analysis and can be earned more quickly and cheaply than an MBA. However, with an MBA you’re more likely to have the professional network you need to earn a position at a top investment firm.
Top MBA Programs for the Job
Since a career as an equity research analyst is closely linked to investment banking, the top MBA programs are fairly similar. A few solid MBA program choices include:
NYU Stern
NYU Stern is a top school for a career in investment banking and equity research. The banking specialization covers risk management and other related topics with classes such as credit risk, valuation, and risk management in financial institutions. There is also a quantitative finance specialization specifically for more mathematically-inclined finance careers. You’ll learn stochastic processes, statistics, and applied economics.
Columbia Business School
At the Columbia Business School, the Investment Banking Club provides an opportunity to learn investment banking and recruiting, helping students develop strong relationships in the industry. There is also a specific Equity Research Club, which is designed to educate, inform, and bring together Columbia MBA students interested in this career field.
University of Chicago Booth
The Investment Banking Group at Chicago Booth is equipped to help MBA students learn about the investment banking industry. The goal is to guide students to landing a successful career at an investment bank. There’s also an Analytical Finance concentration designed for students interested in risk management, equity research, and more. Classes include Advanced Investments and Advanced Models of Option Pricing and Credit Risk.
NYU Stern Announces New STEM-Designation for Full-Time MBA
In early January 2020, the NYU Stern School of Business officially earned a coveted STEM-designation for its esteemed full-time MBA program, available for students at the start of the upcoming spring semester.
Continue reading…A Columbia Business School Professor’s Quest to Find Efficiency in Affordable Housing
Working in the heart of New York City, just blocks away from some of the most valuable real estate in world, is a constant reminder of the problems with affordable housing. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, the Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor of Real Estate at Columbia Business School, address the issue first hand in a recent study, asking whether affordable housing can become more efficiency in an increasingly urbanized world.
“Can we improve the efficiency of the affordable housing system?” Van Nieuwerburgh asks in his latest study, “Affordable Housing and City Welfare.” Van Nieuwerburgh co-authored the study alongside Jack Favilukis of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia and Pierre Mabille of the Stern School of Business at New York University, which pivots the conversation away from a strictly cost conversation to one of social insurance.
“A lot of the previous models that have thought about these questions, haven’t really modeled risk, risk aversion, and insurance against risk,” Van Nieuwerburgh says. “That is what’s new here; it’s a finance perspective on the world.”
“Van Nieuwerburgh notes that people first sought out rent controlled or rent stabilized units when it was appropriate for their economic situation; but then over time, their careers progressed and they began to earned more. The research demonstrates that these very same renters tend to stay in the same unit when they can afford a market-rate unit, effectively taking the place of someone who earns less.”
A proposition from Van Nieuwerburgh in the study is that of a mean’s test, requiring applicants for an affordable housing lottery to earn within 30 percent of the proposed median income. Which, if successful, would allow needier applicants to earn higher priority, rather than keep tenants in housing built for people in lower income levels.
“That means that really needy people are going to get these units,” according to Van Nieuwereburgh.
“We can add everybody up, and we can see whether society is better off or not under this new policy,” he says. “The reason we’re better much off with this more efficient housing system is because poor people now get access to affordable housing units that they didn’t before.”
A primary difficulty with current proposals and changing rent laws, Van Nieuwereburgh argues, is that developers will have less economic incentive to build affordable housing if the demand increases while the cost of land in cities like New York continues to climb. His model also entails avoiding tax increases on wealthier residents, arguing that it disincentivizes upper-class earners and may not be more beneficial than voucher programs. However, despite the fiscally conservative framework, the study also advocates for potential solutions like “upzoning,” which can create more density in areas with tighter development laws.
You can read more about the affordable housing study, which was inspired by Mathew Desmond’s book Evicted, here.
GMAT Scores, GPA, Rise Again for NYU Stern Class of 2021
NYU Stern got a jump start on introducing its full-time MBA Class of 2021.
Of the 3,518 applicants hoping to join the NYU Stern Class of 2021, only 919 were admitted and 359 enrolled, for a 26 percent admission rate. Those students are, on average, 28 years old and have 5.2 years of professional experience. A few of them were also fresh graduates, with 3 percent having no work experience.
Dramatic Jumps in Academic Performance
One of the major highlights from the NYU MBA Class of 2021 is the improved academic performance of the candidates.
- The average GMAT score rose 5 points, from 716 to 721
- Average GPAs increased from 3.45 to 3.52
There was also quite a difference regarding undergraduate majors. While a quarter of the Class of 2020 majored in business, that percentage increased to 30 for the new group. Meanwhile, the choice of engineering, math, or science as a major matched last year’s candidates at 22 percent. The third most popular major for the Class of 2021 was social sciences (19 percent) followed by economics (15 percent). This is a reverse of last year when a fifth of the class were economics majors.
Women on the Rise, Veterans Hold Steady
The NYU MBA Class of 2021 is expected to arrive on campus with more women than last year—female enrollment rose from 35 percent to 36 percent. However, international diversity decreased slightly. Only 33 percent of the Class of 2021 maintains international citizenship in 37 different countries, compared to 39 percent last year.
There was also a slight decrease in the number of minorities represented in the student body. In the Class of 2021, around a quarter of students (24 percent) identify as minorities, 9 percent of whom are underrepresented minorities. That’s down from 29 percent and 13 percent from last year. However, 7 percent of students are still U.S. Military veterans or on active duty, which is owed in part to the Fertitta Veterans Program.
Work Experience and Industry Background
Students entering the NYU MBA Class of 2021 come from a wide range of industries and backgrounds, the most popular being financial services (28 percent). After that, prior industries are widely mixed with no other industry breaching 12 percent of the class. They include:
- Consulting, 11 percent
- Technology, 9 percent
- Consumer, Products, Retail, 7 percent
- Nonprofit, Arts, Education, 7 percent
To see the full profile as of July 31, 2019, visit the Stern full-time MBA admissions website.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from its original source, Clear Admit.
J.P. Eggers, NYU Stern Professor and Vice Dean of MBA Programs, Answers Our 5 Questions
In our latest installment of the MetroMBA “5 Questions” series, we speak with J.P Eggers, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations and the Vice Dean of MBA & Graduate Programs at the NYU Stern School of Business. Eggers talks about the MBA program’s new healthcare specialization, what students need to know before enrolling, and what makes NYU stand out when it comes to the business of healthcare.
1. Why Do You Believe The Time Was Right For NYU Stern To Introduce An MBA Specialization In Healthcare?
“Healthcare is an incredibly important part of the U.S. and global economy, and even more central to New York City given the hospital systems, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance providers within the broader region. As a result and in line with Stern’s continued push to diversify the opportunity set for our students, this became a priority to make our ambitious goals in the healthcare space something visible and public.”
J.P Eggers, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations and the Vice Dean of MBA & Graduate Programs at the NYU Stern School of Business
2. What Particular Kinds Of Applicants Do You Believe Are Right For This Kind of Program?
“This specialization is a good fit for applicants interested in the health system broadly. The curriculum options range from insurance markets to pharma strategy to health-tech, so the scope is ambitious. We expect that students with an interest in finance and marketing roles within health-related companies, or those interested in consulting or banking opportunities with a focus on the health sector, will be most drawn to the specialization.”
3. Is This A Sign Of More Unique MBA Specializations Coming To NYU Stern?
“We take our investments in specializations seriously, having been the first school to offer a FinTech specialization and having a broad range of specializations available. But we’ve found that many students have very specific interests when enrolling in an MBA program, and we will continue to explore and evaluate other opportunities.”
4. Since NYU Stern MBAs Can Study Three Specializations, What Are Some Other Specializations You’d Recommend For Someone Studying Healthcare?
“Since healthcare is a ‘vertical’ (industry) specialization, I expect that any of our ‘horizontal’ (functional) specializations would pair nicely. For those interested in pharma roles, I would think that corporate finance, marketing, or strategy would make sense. For those looking at health systems or consulting, I’d think operations may be a clear fit. And for those interested in health tech, our product management, analytics, and innovation specializations may make sense.”
5. Are There Any Unique Organizations In New York That Will be Part of the Healthcare Specialization?
“As part of Stern’s continued commitment to leveraging the amazing resources that NYU has to offer, we will work with both the NYU School of Medicine and the NYU Wagner School of Public Service on aspects of the specialization. The integration of the health-focused track in the Endless Frontier Labs means that we will utilize our connections to the NYC startup ecosystem. And we will continue to explore potential partnerships beyond those.”
To learn more about the NYU Stern MBA programs and specializations, head over to the official school website.
Which Business School Students Have the Top GMAT Scores?
A strong GMAT score is essential to a stellar business school application. Though the score is universally important to admission, certain schools emphasize a high score on the test more than others. Below, we’ve laid out a list of the 10 business schools with the top GMAT scores for incoming students.
