equity research career move? move, experience, currently, research

genuinecfa

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.

stockjaguar

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 !)”.

LokiDog2

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?

cross-ied

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

giants2010

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?

mik82

I was in TS before and we did 90% DD.

dotamasta

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.

jbaldyga

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…

invic

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.

Houjichasan

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.