INVESTMENT ANALYSTS work in the field of investment securities. Sometimes
they are called Securities Analysts or Financial Analysts. Their services
are required by investment brokers, banks, pension funds, investment banking
firms, investment management and counseling firms, and insurance companies.
The analyst's job is to make assessments of the economic performance of
individual firms or whole industries and to make investment recommendations.
Investment Analysts must stay current in the fields of industrial technology,
business, finance, and economic theory. They assess complex technical data
and present written and oral reports. Acting in the capacity of economist,
financial detective, and forecaster, analysts help direct much of the
professionally managed capital of this country.
In the research department of a brokerage house, bank, or insurance company,
Investment Analysts produce reports on general economic trends, individual
corporations, and entire industries to advise the firm's representatives and
clients in investment decisions. They present comparisons of the various
securities of a given industry and develop opinions regarding their relative
quality. Also, the current market price of a security is evaluated in terms
of its value as an investment. Some of the factors involved are historical
and subject to statistical measurement; other factors require the exercise of
judgment in weighing intangibles, including the changing psychology of the
investing public.
In making a detailed study of a company, analysts determine the economic
position of the entire industry, how it is affected by new products, new
processes, and competition. They summarize the financial position of the
company, analyze past experience, review dividend records, note capital
structure and comment on managerial effectiveness. Often the analysts strive
to uncover hidden meanings in balance sheets and other financial reports.
Finally, they develop a recommendation on the investment status of the equity.
Investment Analysts in an underwriting house must prepare a complete
financial picture on companies before their firm undertakes the financing of
them. After the underwriting house is convinced of a company's soundness,
the analysts recommend the types of equities that will best suit the
company's needs and will also be attractive to the investing public. They
then determine the price at which the security should be syndicated and
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