Content Description of research division at investment banks Percentage of employees force under the research division at the firm Major research area focus on equities, fixed income, futures and etc Other areas of research that the firms focus on in investment strategy and economic The importance of research function The meaning of the concept research Who is an investment analyst? Responsibilities or functions of an investment analyst Necessary Skills for successful analysts What an industry's average data tells an analyst about a firm? Discussion of the quality and independence of research What does the quality and independence of research mean? How is a high quality and independe ...view middle of the document...
Research departments' analysts, strategists and economists strive to provide insights based on original research, close relationships with clients and integrity. According to Merrill Lynch, it has about 900-research professional compared to the total of 60,000 employees.Equity research provides timely, in-depth analyses to enhance the performance of clients' global portfolios. Equity research analysts, strategists and economists compile economic, market, industry and company data to interpret and anticipate developments that will affect security values worldwide. From that data, they produce comprehensive, insightful studies for the firm's clients. The equity research division is organized as follows: Equity research analysts emphasize fundamental analysis "from the ground up." To achieve this, the Firm's research analysts assess the investment outlook for their respective industries and companies. They publish stand-alone reports on individual companies and industry reviews that explore short- and long-term business trends and developments. Their opinions are disseminated in a timely manner through daily meetings and intranet-distributed reports that update sales force and, ultimately, clients around the world. Equity Research is organized along sector lines (Technology, Healthcare, Retail, etc.) and regions among sector groups and to help analysts determine trends in their overall broad economic sector. Responsibilities include: § Analyzing specific companies and industries; § Developing investment ideas and strategies that are used by clients in structuring and managing investment portfolios; § Providing data and analysis on interest rates, currencies, political events and other developments that affect economic conditions; § Disseminating marketing investment data, opinions and strategy to the firm's sales and trading professionals and to clients through publications, electronic delivery systems, investor meetings and telephone contact.The Fixed Income Research team helps clients maximize their investment opportunities through the provision of leading strategic quantitative and qualitative insights in debt instrument. Fixed Income provides a full range of research focusing on the following areas: · Investment Grade Debt (U.S. domestic, international and sovereign) · Corporate & Portfolio Strategy · Derivatives · Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities and Asset Backed Securities Both high yield corporate and sovereign research focus on non-investment grade debt of domestic and international corporations and sovereign debt of emerging market countries. The integrated global research team includes locally based analysts in New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo. This area is dominated by corporate and sovereign research analysts who are experts in complex high yield securities issued for sovereigns as well as start-up, distressed and mature companies, across all industries and countries. In t...
