Sell Side Research after an MBA

Question

How difficult is it to find a sell-side research position after an MBA? What type of background is typically required? I have vast industry knowledge and would like to be a research analyst in this particular industry after my MBA. Do research analysts get hired into specific industries or is an industry assigned?

I have no prior research experience just industry knowledge, a finance degree, and some time in a financial analyst role on the corporate side, no research.

Is this an unrealistic goal for the "goals section" of the application?

shrouded1 · Answer

Most research analysts I know are not MBAs, but that doesn't mean that having an MBA will be a deterant. But bear in mind that research analysts payscales are not comparable to sales&trading payscales, so you may need to watch out for what seniorirty of position you are offered and with what sort of a base pay (if that matters to you)

I am sure industry experts might be a hired directly into sectors; but most people, particularly ones entering straight from graduate programs are hired into the team and the allocation happens later. Also often times, to keep things interesting, just like with traders the research portfolios are also shuffled within the teams.

mikebrady · Answer

What about S&T? Do you have to go to a quant heavy school for a S&T position? Are you just sitting behind a computer all day?

Can you talk about your S&T experience a bit?

Thank you

shrouded1 · Answer

The job doesnt necessarily require you to be quant heavy. Some roles are of course trickier than other.
Someone trading on FTSE futures doesnt need to know advanced math; someone trading complex mortgage CDOs probably needs to have basic understanding of advanced math; neither needs to be a master quant

Schools to go, depends on what avenues the school opens for you. The interviewer is likely to care less about what school you come from and more about what you bring to the table (short of alumni biases of course :p). If you can interview for bank XYZ as easily after graduating from one of 10 schools, in my mind all ten are equally likely to get you the job. For instance, neither me nor anyone I know would offer a job to someone from Booth over someone from a non-top 10 school thinking "he is from Booth, so his fundamentals must be stronger" ....

As a trader you will spend maybe 90% of your day behind a computer screen
As a sales person, again a lot of time on the computer, but maybe less by virtue of having to spend a lot of time calling and meeting people as well

mikebrady · Answer

what do you mean by "bring to the table"? i mean I know what that means but what exactly do companies look for in a candidate? what are the qualities companies seek in applicants?

shrouded1 · Answer

The answer is of course role dependent. For instance when we interview someone to work with us on the trading desk we would :
(1) Ask math puzzles, to see how sharp the person is with numbers
(2) Ask some really difficult questions, sometimes even Qs which the candidate is extremely unlikely to solve, to see how his thinking pattern is, does he freeze up or does he walk through the thought process calmly. its not about the answer, its about the approach
(3) If you say on your resume "I have worked in xxx OR I know xxx" where xxx is relevant to the desk, be prepared to answer some questions on it. So dont say you know what structured equity products are without being prepared to answer questions on them
(4) Try to test out if the person can work under pressure. It is not uncommon to have several people shouting on you and at the same time having to take a decision based on incomplete information.
(5) Finally there is the subjective factor, of how you think the personality will gel with the rest of the team

Now if the same person was to be interviewed for a sales role, the interview would probably revolve a lot around how the person speaks and how he conducts himself. Or asking him how he would deal with certain situations.

mikebrady · Answer

interesting
thanks for the help

3underscore · Answer

Business School to Sell Side Research is a well established path at most Finance MBA schools. It makes perfect sense - MBA classes probably feed directly into the job more than any other. With many schools managing small funds, it is pretty easy to pick out where the infrastructure exists.

The number of positions are limited - fewer than S&T, but then the candidate pool is smaller. From experience, a solid number of people looking to make the shift enjoy success. The interesting thing was that in 2009, when there was no market for anything in bank front office jobs, there was a shed load of Associate Research positions. I know at least two people that ended up in Research due to this, even though it wasn't their lead objective.

Whether you can end up in a field where you have an interest is a moot point. The only person I know who did that was recruited in the fall, not for a summer. That worked as they new they had a slot in that field, for which he was a solid candidate given his background. For summers, it could be detrimental to be pushing for one industry group (it reduces your field significantly). Using that background to influence your stock picking is natural however, and probably the best way to apply your knowledge.

mikebrady · Answer

Is GMAT important in recruiting for research as it is for IB/PE? I hear that one needs to be in the mid 700s for IB/PE? But does that apply to research as well?

u0422811 · Answer

It is not too hard to get into S&T with a top MBA - each big bank has a number of sponsored recruiting days at top schools. Why do you want to get into sell side research? If you are trying to eventually break into the buyside there are far better ways.

mikebrady · Answer

never say never but I don't think I'd like to transition to or enter buy-side

u0422811 · Answer

If you can get into a top school you should be fine. Just know that your internship will be key - if you can parlay an internship into an offer you can shop it and will most likely be able to get a couple to choose from. You should also think about what area you want to go into. For example - if you want to do equity research on pharmaceuticals you better have a medical background and maybe even an MD (I know a ton of guys in this field and they almost all have formal medical training). Same can be said with some of the higher tech industries - they almost all come from engineering or computer science backgrounds.

The key is just finding what fits you best then tailoring yourself to it.

The key is just finding what fits you best then tailoring yourself to it.

shrouded1 · Answer

NOTHING WORKS ON WALL STREET LIKE LEVERAGE 8-)

3underscore · Answer

A high GMAT never hurt anybody. Only a few banks ask about it though.

u0422811 is like information from 2006 just arrived. Shopping around hasn't worked since 2007, but may be possible some point in the future (I wouldn't bet on it though). The ease of getting in seems to be mistaking Investment Banking with S&T, especially in recent years when the numbers taken into the latter have been cut drastically. Having summered at a BB bank with no people from Harvard, Stanford, Wharton or Chicago on the trading floor, I am not so certain as to the inevitability of it all in the slightest. Same for IB - the recruiting is hard work to the extent it is certainly not a formality. Its like 3 months of dating in wierd circumstances. Like a bad game show.

u0422811 · Answer

3underscore not sure what regional office you summered at but while you are correct that class sizes have shrunk banks are still hiring. Its not that hard to get a job on wall street. If you are reasonably intelligent you can definitely find a spot. For example there is currently a ton of demand for both IB and ST at Nomura, Jefferies, and Citi.

While I have seen a big increase in lateral hirings there is definitely still demand for top level summer classes.

Also you can always shop an offer - even during the crisis you could still shop an offer.

While I have seen a big increase in lateral hirings there is definitely still demand for top level summer classes.

Also you can always shop an offer - even during the crisis you could still shop an offer.

mikebrady · Answer

great information here. I don't think s&t is for me. I still have to use my fingers to count and I think that may seem a little weird on the trading floor. That and the whole 90% behind the computer thing. Research seems up my alley.

3underscore · Answer

New York, to answer your question. I raised it because it really took me by surprise as well. There were people from the others on IB, I should hasten to add, and obviously it doesn't mean that the opportunity wasn't there (the counter being just because you are at a top school doesn't make you the right person).

I wouldn't dispute too much of what you are saying though - difficulties are made in the most part if you are not GC / U.S. Citizen (partly culture, partly caution). I am not sure whether Jefferies or Nomura have become active on the S&T (or research for that matter) recruitment on campus, but there are certainly an increasing number of paths to go down as we move away from the big squeeze - Knight and Cantor have also begun to show some MBA activity. The IB numbers are always way higher, and depending on your school that can make the path somewhat easier than the trading floor.

shrouded1 · Answer

In my opinion, while it is still possible to find a job on wall street, and it was possible to do so even in 2008 and 2009, it was just incredibly hard. A year ago, the issue was that there were so many people fired that for every job that was advertised there was a glut of candidates. Now that is certainly not the case. But even so, employers are cautious.

As for the likes of Nomura, they have been in the market ever since Lehman went under. They are trying hard to establish their ex-Japan business, and are widely known to throw money at people to sign them up. Some of the stories of guarantee bonuses given around 2008 are plain silly. But the truth of the matter is that in a lot of products in S&T they just do not count as one of the big boys, and their goal is still to build themselves up. It is harder today to end up working for a MS or JPM than it was 4 yrs ago.

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