Securities Analysts : Job Prospects & Career Options

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A securities analysts job involves a lot of reading, research, meeting people, writing etc. The analyst has to study company history, and about its products and services. He or she may do so by referring books and trade publications, financial reports, by studying the public records of the company, or by participating in public conference calls or using reference services like Standard and Poor's Outlook etc. Based on this preliminary research, the analyst may shortlist companies in a particular industry he or she is dealing with and then proceed to study the same thoroughly. Analysts usually study an entire industry, observing and assessing the current trends in business practices and industry competition. They must keep abreast of new regulations and policies that may affect the industry as well as monitor the changes taking place in the economy, as such happenings affect the earnings of the companies.

Once the analyst has short listed companies which promise to be good investment opportunities, the next step is meeting the top management of the concerned companies and gathering detailed information about them. After having collected detailed information about companies the analyst has to prepare a report on the company.

Analysts may use spreadsheet and statistical software packages to analyze financial data, spot trends and develop forecasts, write reports and make presentations. A major and important part of an analyst's job is writing reports. The report should be lucid, concise and persuasive. The report consists of a description of the business and the company's investment potential and it may also project future earnings. The analyst may summarize the report with ratings such as "buy", "sell", "over perform", "hold" etc. Once the report is ready the analyst has to use his/ her marketing skills to sell his/ her services to traders, brokers and investors by making recommendations about investing opportunities and convincing them to buy or sell the concerned stocks and securities.

Success in this field depends on performance or reputation. If an analyst's judgment is consistently correct which means they are profitable, his/her performance record as well as reputation gets a boost. The more outstanding performance record an analyst has, the more successful he/or she can be and success in this field translates to good pay packets and compensation too.

An analysts work is very time consuming in that analysts are required to put in long work hours. They need to travel a lot- visiting companies, attending conferences, conventions and tradeshows. Their work requires constant attention and is quite demanding and absorbing. They need to take quick decisions as the stock market may fluctuate and thus need to keep cool in situations where the markets may turn bearish.

Analysts can work their way up to become senior financial analysts or associates after 3 or 4 years of work at some firm. They can progress to become investment bankers, investment advisors or financial consultants. Some may even become portfolio analysts and further become portfolio managers. Portfolio managers however require licensing from SEBI.