I’m a buyside ER analyst / junior PM. I like the job, but I find it incredibly difficult to get any closure when it is time to go home (often-times bad for my social life and occasionally bad for the quality / efficiency of my work). There are no boundaries. I never actually finish anything, since there is always more to understand about the world or more companies to look at. Even when I go home early, it’s increasingly with an annual report or I’ll at least plough through The Economist, usually in such a systematic and thorough manner that it becomes “work”. Is this the curse of the buyside analyst or is this just me? Even though my office hours are great, there is this on-going “work creep”. I also wonder if it’s related to my first job having been in IB, where I found the only way to trump my rivals was to be on call all the time…
You know, I think your question is one that, if it were more generalized, could apply to anyone in any profession. People are more likely to bring their work home if they like what they do, and/or they have no other choice to do so. My experience in equity research was that I’d often bring stuff home in order to work on them, when there was a crucial deadline that I couldn’t or didn’t want to miss, or when I just found it enriching on a personal level. However, during times where I didn’t care as much about my job or didn’t really feel a sense of “ownership,” I didn’t bring work home with me and didn’t care to. And of course, when I was ready to quit, I stopped thinking about working from home altogether, and it became incredibly easy to get closure (my friends and family also noticed a notable change in my overall happiness and quality of life).
I work on BS and it is not a job it is a life for me as well, but i like it. I go home grab a quick bite to eat, work out while watching Smart Money, commute to and from work with podcasts of conference calls, Wake and get dressed to sqwak box. Read WSJ Barron’s and research reports (usually the big picture macro ones) i didnt get through during the week over the weekend. Just embrace it…
I am assuming that ER = equity research on the domestic side. In that case, why would plowing through the Economist in a systematic and thorough manner, helpful to the buyside analyst? Seems like an utter waste of time.
buddha Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I work on BS and it is not a job it is a life for > me as well, but i like it. > > I go home grab a quick bite to eat, work out while > watching Smart Money, commute to and from work > with podcasts of conference calls, Wake and get > dressed to sqwak box. Read WSJ Barron’s and > research reports (usually the big picture macro > ones) i didnt get through during the week over the > weekend. > > Just embrace it… Where do you fit in enjoying life?
Economist is a waste of time in general it can hardly qualify as journalism, just idealistic rants laced with more opinion than fact (the few the have are pretty distorted)
storko Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > buddha Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I work on BS and it is not a job it is a life > for > > me as well, but i like it. > > > > I go home grab a quick bite to eat, work out > while > > watching Smart Money, commute to and from work > > with podcasts of conference calls, Wake and get > > dressed to sqwak box. Read WSJ Barron’s and > > research reports (usually the big picture macro > > ones) i didnt get through during the week over > the > > weekend. > > > > Just embrace it… > > Where do you fit in enjoying life? Fri/Sat nights are still mine, we are not talking about banker hours here. And who says i dont enjoy learning about the markets?
Good comments. I think I am not yet entirely comfortable with the fact that it is my life. For example, I go to a restaurant to grab my food to-go b/c I want to read something or other. I can’t help noticing how completely relaxed / worry-free everyone looks. I’m wondering if I’ll have time to read the macro-research I printed out. It occasionally manifests itself in greed, whereby I wonder if I shouldn’t jump to whatever hedge fund so that I can max-out on the financial side. That is quite out-of-character, b/c I have deliberately eschewed those firms in order to work with a top quality business.
negativefcf Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am assuming that ER = equity research on the > domestic side. > In that case, why would plowing through the > Economist in a systematic and thorough manner, > helpful to the buyside analyst? Seems like an > utter waste of time. It’s just about trying to understand at least a little about everything. I primarily focus on a couple of sectors at the moment, and I wouldn’t rely on The Economist to teach me anything about those. But Turkey’s politics, India’s economy, Colombia’s cross-border raids?? In the short-term, it is of no value. In the long-term, I want to understand as much as possible about the places I might be investing.
Etienne, I’m going exactly what you’re going through. Same situation…buy-side (hegde fund), analyst role. My office hours are probably more than yours from the sound of your posts (around 75 hours a week), but I never have enough time to finish what I need to finish. It’s the toughest part of the job, IMO. Sometimes I’ll go home after working a 14 hour day, eat dinner, then begin studying for the CFA, only to find myself working on a model 15 minutes later because I can’t get it out of my head. I wish I had an answer to make our lives less stressful and easier, but I don’t. You just have to hang in there and realize that becoming great at what you do takes time.
buddha Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Economist is a waste of time in general it can > hardly qualify as journalism, just idealistic > rants laced with more opinion than fact (the few > the have are pretty distorted) And what do you consider good journalism?
CFA_Halifax Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > buddha Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Economist is a waste of time in general it can > > hardly qualify as journalism, just idealistic > > rants laced with more opinion than fact (the > few > > the have are pretty distorted) > > > And what do you consider good journalism? not a issue of being good or bad just by definition journalism should not be laced with opinions, let the story tell it’s self
The working hours get better with experience. Financial modeling becomes almost routine. BTW: if you’re on the buyside, you should be getting financial models from sell-side to save time and tweak it to your liking. The majority of a buy-side analyst’s time should be on the phone and visiting companies.
Most people pick up the economist for its analysis and opinion… buddha Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > CFA_Halifax Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > buddha Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > Economist is a waste of time in general it > can > > > hardly qualify as journalism, just idealistic > > > rants laced with more opinion than fact (the > > few > > > the have are pretty distorted) > > > > > > And what do you consider good journalism? > > not a issue of being good or bad > > just by definition journalism should not be laced > with opinions, let the story tell it’s self
Hey Etienne, how many hrs do you work currently?
What are your favorite sites and resources for company research?
Exactly. Unbiased news is impossible. And usually every Economist article at least makes some mention of the opposite side of the coin. When you strive for fair and balanced you end up with Fox News… commstudent Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Most people pick up the economist for its analysis > and opinion… > > buddha Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > CFA_Halifax Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > buddha Wrote: > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > ----- > > > > Economist is a waste of time in general it > > can > > > > hardly qualify as journalism, just > idealistic > > > > rants laced with more opinion than fact > (the > > > few > > > > the have are pretty distorted) > > > > > > > > > And what do you consider good journalism? > > > > not a issue of being good or bad > > > > just by definition journalism should not be > laced > > with opinions, let the story tell it’s self
I find the Economist to be the most unbiased new source in terms of analysis and where it does flaunt opinions on the “Opinion” section, I usually am inclined to agree with their classicaly liberal/hawkish/environmentally conscious stances. Plus the dry wit is great.
Mez Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hey Etienne, how many hrs do you work currently? My contract hours are 9.30-17.30. Most people of my rank work 8.45-18.30. I get in a about the same and probably leave around 19.30. As I said, though, when I leave, I do so with a stack of reading or rough meeting notes to write-up.
Etienne Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mez Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Hey Etienne, how many hrs do you work > currently? > > > My contract hours are 9.30-17.30. Most people of > my rank work 8.45-18.30. I get in a about the > same and probably leave around 19.30. As I said, > though, when I leave, I do so with a stack of > reading or rough meeting notes to write-up. u guys don’t “huddle” before the market opens?