Equity market analysts collect and analyze financial investment data for investment banks or as freelance consultants. They compile data, assess its validity, and make recommendations on whether to continue, sell, or change investments. Analysts for investment banks have specific areas of investment to analyze, while those working with private clients consider a broader range of factors.
An equity market analyst is primarily responsible for collecting research and compiling and analyzing data related to financial investments. He or she works for an investment bank or as a freelance consultant for various clients. Responsibilities vary slightly depending on whether the capital markets analyst is working for a larger firm or working as a consultant. Generally, an analyst at an investment bank is concerned only with that bank’s investment portfolio and possible investment acquisitions. A freelance capital markets analyst is typically involved in analyzing a more varied collection of investments, due to the variety of individual clients linked to the consultancy.
The basic responsibilities of a capital market analyst include compiling data on all investment accounts under review at regular intervals. Data will include monthly interest earnings, overall annual performance of a given investment, and five-year outlook based on recent performance. The capital market analyst must take this data, assess its validity, and determine how these numbers fit with the financial goals of the investment banker or individual client. The analyst can then compile a report describing the current state and future viability of the investment based on the specific objectives of the client or bank. The analyst can then make a recommendation on whether the investment should continue in a portfolio, whether it should be sold, whether it should be changed to better suit the investor’s needs.
Capital market analysts for investment banks often have a specific area of investments to analyze. For example, an investment bank usually has an entire department of analysts, each with a different type of investment, such as bonds, stocks, futures, treasury bills, and foreign exchange transactions. The investment banker can look to diversify in a variety of ways, but the analysis will remain basically the same for each of the analysts. With an investment bank, the capital markets analyst has a defined list of priorities and objectives for the bank, and these, for the most part, do not change over short periods of time.
With private clients, an equity market analyst assumes a role similar to a financial advisor, addressing short-term and long-term needs such as savings, retirement and investment strategies based on an aggressive or conservative approach. Unlike an investment bank, a private client is more likely to need changes to an investment strategy based on life-changing events such as the birth of a child, job loss or medical issues. An equity market analyst working for private investment clients must consider a broader range of factors in investment analysis.
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