Case Study: Helping Graduates at a Top Investment Bank Excel in Equity Research

Getting graduates up to speed on the nuances of equity research can be challenging.

One global investment bank hired us to deliver a comprehensive equity research training program to their new hires. Previously, the graduates had only attended the investment banking division course. This meant they lacked some of the specific technical skills needed to succeed in this area.

Our Solution

We designed the course so that it was:

• Specifically tailored to the needs of equity research, having worked closely with management to design the content.
• Devised to cover a full spectrum of topics essential to the industry, such as financial analysis, modeling, company valuation, as well as several more advanced topics including forensic accounting and credit analysis.
• Split into two parts: core and advanced. Core materials are delivered in intensive learning blocks shortly after the graduates join to ensure they are desk ready. Advanced materials are taught in shorter, less frequent sessions over an extended period of 12-18 months. This split approach allows a continuous learning journey, which fits well around the demands of the analysts and is specifically delivered at quieter times in their calendar. It also allows us to add in additional training modules in response to analyst requests – for example, we ran an extra training session on rights issues and liquidity analysis at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instructor Expertise

The training is delivered by Deborah Taylor, former equity research analyst with 19 years’ experience. Her knowledge ensures that the learning is always relevant to those making investment decisions. Also, the trainer’s wealth of experience dealing with the practical challenges of equity research, such as sector nuances or geographical variation in financial reporting, ensures that there is a strong focus on practical application, going well beyond what is covered in corporate finance texts or mainstream teaching resources.

Incorporating Felix

Throughout the training, graduates also have access to our Felix database which allows them to review the materials covered in each session, or take a deeper dive into any of the topics covered.

The Result

Participants felt that the content stood at the right level and therefore was applicable to everyday tasks. For those who had covered it before, mainly the newer graduates, the recap felt much clearer than what they had learnt in their original training. Everyone has already asked Deborah to flag future sessions to them so they can ensure availability.