Securities Analysts : Introduction
The economic growth and liberalization in India has had a positive effect
on the capital markets as well. As the stock markets boom, more and more people
tend to invest in the capital markets. The investors may take their own
decisions regarding which securities to buy or hold or sell, or they may
consult their stockbrokers for advice. The stockbroker utilizes the expertise
of the research department of his firm to provide this kind of information
and the people involved in such research are called securities analysts
or market analysts. The job of a securities analyst is to research and
evaluate companies, find out their profitability, look for indications
of growth and expansion, project the company's future earnings and on
the basis of their observations, make recommendations to clients on which
securities to buy or sell.
The field of securities research is a discipline within the financial
services industry and securities analysts are also known as research analysts,
securities analysts, market analysts, financial analysts or simply as
analysts. The job prospects of securities analysts are tied to the stock
market with the bull market leading to an increase in hiring people and
bear markets causing layoffs. Analysts find employment in brokerage firms,
securities firms, mutual and pension funds, investment banks, merchant
banks etc. They can also start their own consultancies.
Securities analysts may be employed as Sell Side Analysts- such analysts
work for broker-dealers and indirectly for broker dealer trading customers,
or as Buy Side Analysts- who work for institutional investors such as
hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, proprietary trading operation
of banks and brokers, endowments and insurance companies. Some also work
as independent analysts, i.e they sell research to buy side or sell side
firms and they themselves do not engage in securities transactions.
Some of the major players in trading and stock broking in India include
companies like Kotak Securities Ltd, Angel Broking, Karvy Stockbroking,
Anand Rathi, Geojit Financial Services Ltd, JRG Securities Ltd. etc. The
big international players in this field are Bloomberg, Thomson-Reuters
and financial news organization Dow Jones Newswires. These companies employ
analysts in their research departments. In India, Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) is the authorized body which regulates the operations
of stock exchanges, banks and other financial institutions. Similarly,
other countries have their regulating body and licensing authorities which
regulate the operations of capital markets and finance professionals in
the respective countries.
An ideal candidate for the job of securities analyst should have a strong
sense of purpose. They should be able to handle heavy work load, prioritize
and complete work under strict deadlines, work as part of a team and be
able to keep abreast of new technologies and developments in this field.
With a lot of scope for growth and specialization the job offers new challenges
everyday and is quite prestigious and well paying too.
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