I have a buy-side investment analyst interview next week. I am currently a sell side associate in equity research, so I am assuming the skill sets and competencies tested for both sell/buy side are generally the same. Is there anything in particular that stands out as different that I may find myself accentuating in the interview. Just don’;t want to be caught dumbfounded as this is a position I really want. Any tips would be hugely appreciated? Thanks all
for further clarity, the position is a for a mutual fund company researching domestic equity securities
Congrats and good luck. I’ll take your old j o b if you get your bside gig. 
yipi, Good luck for the interview.I really hope you get the job so I can apply for the associate spot at your current firm. Do you mind sharing your background/experience a bit.It’s really encouraging to see people getting interviews in this market.
bump. Would like to know also. Thanks.
look at all the bottome feeders on this thread hoping to score a job lead. Just kidding. My experience in interviewing with the buy-side is that they tend to be more focused on your understanding of valuation than on the nuts-and-bolts type work you do as an associate. They assume you know how to work through financial statements, question managements, build/work with a financial model, do channel checks, ect. What most sell-side associates lack IMO coming out of that position is a good understanding or the ability to articulate an understanding of different valuation approaches and why they work or don’t work and when they are appropriate.
yes, know the pros and cons of different valuation methodologies and why you would use one over the other
Helpful. Thanks.
What’s a channel check? Not trying to be funny. Genuine question. How many stocks do you cover in your current job Hobbes? Any idea how many you’ll cover in your new one? Would you still be sector focussed in the new job or have a broader remit? The skills overlap from one to the other is very large as you would expect. I think having some SS experience is a good thing if you move to the BS. You know all the nonsense that goes on at the other side, especially when it comes to massasing target prices to keep corporate realtions sweet and so on. You’ll want to convince them you can read accounts, know how to value a company, intelligently meet with analysts and company represtentatives etc. Probably all fairly obvious but I’d write down a list of expected questions and then have answers prepared for them in your head. Depending on the company you’re interviewing at, you’ll also likely have to tolerate the usual silliness of telling them your weaknesses, answering riddles and all that nonsense. God interviews are really quite a strange process aren’t they? I think they get easier the higher up the food chain you know. Questions tend to be more job specific and less wishy washy.
Thanks Carson.
What you really need to do is research the firm regarding their strategy (or the strategy employed by the specific fund). Then you should analyze a stock using their methodology so when the “so, what stocks are you looking at and why?” question come up you’ll be ready to give them the answer most fitting. The sell side looks at 1 yr price targets, but buy side firms sometimes have holding horizon in excess of 4 years; thus the “risks” you identify may not be the key risks focused by the fund manager. Culture fit is also very important. Take the time to fish out interests of your potential colleagues (books on shelfs, signed autographs, and etc). I think the first 5 minutes of ice breaking goes by really fast (and well) if you focus (and feign) on the interest of your interviewer.
Carson Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What’s a channel check? Not trying to be funny. > Genuine question. > A channel check is basically where you independently verify a data point either quantitatively (preferable) or anecdotally. The term really comes from investigating manufacturers distribution channels. For example if I thought DECK was seeing a slow down in retail sales but management told me otherwise I might call someone in merchandising at Dillards or Nordstrom and ask them or on a more grassroots level I could do a store walk and talk to salespeople in the stores. But this isn’t limited to manufacturing or retail…It could be done by an IT analysts who surveys a group of IT people to find out if new software is really as great as touted by management.
Ah ok. Makes sense. I guess that kind of thing is important for sell side analysts or those on the buy side covering stocks in very close detail. I’m sure some analysts could add a lot of value if they have contacts built up in an industry over the years so that they can form opinions on the kind of factors you’re talking about.
channel = sales channel. Channel check = see what’s happening on the ground (in sales, typically) to see if it leads to similar conclusions (or not) to what the corporate guys are telling you.