Equity Research

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Before business school I worked…
in marketing. I enrolled in an MBA program to make a career change and participated in Morgan Stanley’s Summer Program after my first year. It was a conscious decision to focus my career on a more research-oriented path—research appeals to me intellectually and requires self-motivation and creativity.

I chose Morgan Stanley to launch my postgraduate career because…
Morgan Stanley is known for matching people’s experience with a position in which they will provide value and succeed, while providing the necessary tools and support for growth. 

As an Equity Research Associate…
I predict what’s going to happen in the markets—either in the near future or the long term—by using information and logic. I work on a two-person team and have been given the opportunity to talk to clients and discuss issues with more experienced analysts, create models, and write reports and notes.

You must be self-aware, confident and able to communicate an at-odds point of view in front of clients and the sales force—on a call or face-to-face. You need to be able to synthesize large amounts of information, make judgment calls, and present a cogent analysis.  At the same time, you need to evaluate topics from multiple points of view. I've become a subject matter expert and that is very rewarding and satisfying.

My greatest achievement at Morgan Stanley so far…
came on two occasions; in my first year there was a team vacancy in London, so I stepped in to cover three stocks that I had to learn very quickly. I also went to London for meetings, met with companies and attended events. The second achievement was when I forecast a specific stock that was playing out over 12 months. I traveled to Washington, D.C., and developed industry contacts—it was a political issue that required me to strengthen my message through networking and debates. I didn't acquiesce to market sentiment and, over the course of the year, the issue played out as I had predicted and the stock rallied.