looking for guys on SS E/R to weigh in. I’ve got a CPA and big 4 audit/advisory experience. I have also just passed CFA Level 3. I’m not even sure i’d necessarily pursue equity research, but a couple things i’d be curious about would be: (1) Comp - what sort of paycut would i be looking at to “start over” - i’m currently over $100k base but bonus is a joke (usually less than $10k) (2) Work/life - i have some really busy hours at times, but there are peaks and valleys. During the valleys, if i want to scram at 5 to get home & see my kid, i have the freedom to do that. I know ER doesnt pull IB hours, but how bad are they? Exit opportunities - accounting is stable - there are always opportunities out there for people with my background, even during downturns. Whats job security like in ER.
CPA, CFA, and four years of work experience can be very attractive to equity research both on sell side and buy side. (1) Sell side ER associate base salary is above 100, below 175 usually. Total comp around 150-250 usually (In NYC) (2) Sell side ER hours: 7am- unpredictable usually past 7pm Exit opportunities: buyside analyst, sell side analyst, school
thanks pawn - i was hesitant to ask this question, was anticipating getting a bunch of “you’re a useless accountant” type posts. whats the culture like in ER- is it pretty cutthroat? or depends on where you work? I’m definitely guessing i’d be considered “old” to make the move (I’m 30).
Culture is challenging in ER at every bulge bank or research shop. There are doctors who are older than 30 who break into ER to focus on the healthcare sector. There are also PhD’s who break into ER in various other sectors.
My guess is that you have very little chance. CPA isn’t necessary to be in ER outside of that you don’t bring much to the table unlike a doctor or tech engineer who brings a working knowledge of his industry. More importantly we are in the the downside of the IB hiring cycle. Depending on your coverage list/client list very late nights can happen quite often especially since a lot of the support staff has been let go. Remember there is money in plastics.
this is not the time to be doing career changes without the MBA. Get in line with all the others with Big 4 audit background and taking the CFA test.
i don’t even know if i want to do it, just getting a sense of the lay of the land, etc. MBA ain’t happening, i’m not shelling out that kinda cash at this point. One of the reasons that gave me the idea is that quite often i see accounting/cpa listed in equity research job specs, contrary to the previous 2 posters. This one, for example: http://www.careers.macquarie.com/jobDetails.asp?sJobIDs=727402&lCategoryID=&lWorkTypeID=&lLocationID=&lSkillTypeID=&stp=WEBSITE&sLanguage=en To be successful, you will have: • experience as an Equity Research Associate, ideally covering Banks or a strong accounting (CPA) background • a bachelor’s degree (minimum) in a finance, accounting, engineering, quantitative or similar discipline • exceptional financial analysis and modeling skills, a strong understanding of valuation techniques is required • excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate ideas succinctly • initiative to help build a quality product and be willing to work the hours to achieve your goals • NASD Series 7, 63 and 86/87 qualifications (or be willing to obtain these)
I don’t know why you are asking questions instead of applying? I think it’s a good move. Switch to TAS if you don’t get it.
lxwarr30 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t know why you are asking questions instead > of applying? I think it’s a good move. Switch to > TAS if you don’t get it. Just curious, Is TAS really worth it? I’ve heard a lot that TAS is the place to be within Big4, if you can’t get into IB or PE. What do they exactly do? Based on what I know, they go to target companies and check their balance sheet and income statement (due dilligence stuff…). Any insights into TAS and exit opportunities? I very much appreciate… As I’m currently in valuation practice at big 4, I would like to know. We don’t really interact with TAS much…
Most of the work that the TAS groups do is post-merger, post-transaction stuff, such as purchase allocation (allocating the combined company’s assets legally and accurately, etc). TAS also does pre-transaction activities like fairness opinions, but the bread and butter of the work is done after a deal is announced.
I was in TS before and we did 90% DD.
Viceroy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was in TS before and we did 90% DD. What do you do now?
thommo77 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Most of the work that the TAS groups do is > post-merger, post-transaction stuff, such as > purchase allocation (allocating the combined > company’s assets legally and accurately, etc). > TAS also does pre-transaction activities like > fairness opinions, but the bread and butter of the > work is done after a deal is announced. To OP, I’m sorry to hijack the thread… Anyway, I remember seeing that Robert W. Baird prefers CPAs for their equity research role. Anyway, yeah, more than 90% of my work involves purchase price allocation, goodwill impairment, and audit assist (reviewing other big 4’s analysis)… Sometimes, we do some interesting stuff such as valuing complex security or equity investment in a nuclear power plant, but as you pointed out, our work starts “after” a deal is announced. Sometimes, I just wonder what I am doing really doesn’t make any difference or doesn’t really matter…That’s one of reasons why I would like to move to a place where a decision is made or a deal is executed. Anyway, anyone who successfully transferred to PE, corporate development, or commercial lending from big 4 TAS and valuation?
Stop hijacking threads
pawn Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > CPA, CFA, and four years of work experience can be > very attractive to equity research both on sell > side and buy side. > > (1) Sell side ER associate base salary is above > 100, below 175 usually. Total comp around 150-250 > usually (In NYC) > (2) Sell side ER hours: 7am- unpredictable usually > past 7pm > > Exit opportunities: buyside analyst, sell side > analyst, school this is wrong on so many levels. are you even in the industry? do you even know what you’re talking about??? you know how many analysts make >250 in ER??? a lot. associates make 200
builders, (1) was in reference to ASSOCIATES. What banks pay associates 200k base salary? Unlike you apparently, I’m not being paid that yet.
builders Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > pawn Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > CPA, CFA, and four years of work experience can > be > > very attractive to equity research both on sell > > side and buy side. > > > > (1) Sell side ER associate base salary is above > > 100, below 175 usually. Total comp around > 150-250 > > usually (In NYC) > > (2) Sell side ER hours: 7am- unpredictable > usually > > past 7pm > > > > Exit opportunities: buyside analyst, sell side > > analyst, school > > this is wrong on so many levels. > > are you even in the industry? do you even know > what you’re talking about??? > > you know how many analysts make >250 in ER??? a > lot. associates make 200 Without getting into detail, he’s generally right, depending on variables such as MBA, years of experience, etc. Builders, go back and read his post. He’s talking about associates and you’re talking about associates + analysts pay…apples and oranges. I’d ask you the same question, are you on the sell side? Do you even know what you’re talking about?
dhyun3 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Viceroy Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I was in TS before and we did 90% DD. > > > What do you do now? I’m currently in project / structured financing. One important thing I’d like to point out about TS / TAS: You really have to differentiate the accounting stuff and the corporate finance stuff, as TS can mean different things between Big4s. The CF stuff can be very cool: - M&A, Capital Markets (advising on raising capital, IPOs, debt advisory, etc.), Joint ventures, Valutation stuff, etc. The accounting stuff can suck big time: - Financial Due Diligence. Depending on the Big4, TS can mean either (or a combination of) CF and accounting stuff. Some of the CF stuff is basically similar to what you’d be doing at Investment Banks. In fact, in some european markets you’ll find some big 4 names listed in the top M&A lead advisors next to major Investment Banks. However, the accounting stuff is, well…just accounting stuff. Unfortunately that’s what I did. In my experience, often a buyer financial DD is just compiling interim financial statements and presenting financial information, with fixing the underlying P&L and Net debt in a way that would benefit the buyer. There isn’t much finance involved, in fact we’d call in the CF department as soon as valuation / M&A work would be involved. They even had a separate modelling department. Hardly sexy stuff. So in the end, when you hear “Big4 TAS”, ask yourself what exactly is involved.
Oh and BTW, another distinction: the valuation guys doing fairness opinions are not the same type of guys as the ones doing valuation as part of the M&A team. Yet, they were both in “Corporate finance” at my former Big4. So all in all in my experience I would say: Deal guys > fairness opinion guys > Due diligence guys. But again, the point is that you’ll get 5 different stories if you talk to 5 Big4 guys. Lastly, I remember reading something interesting and revealing in an IB job description of a couple of years ago. It went in the lines of: “Required work experience : 2-3 years in Investment Banking, Private Equity or Big4 Corporate Finance (No Transaction Services !)”.