CSE Career Captain, Shivam Gossain, MSF’25, compiles and shares his insights from his participation in the Career Strategies and Engagement’s Spring 2024 Alumni Speaker Series with Wei Fang, MBA’10.  

Life on the Sell Side: Insights from Wei Fang, MBA’10

When I first heard that we were having an Alumni Speaker Event focused on sell side roles on Wall Street, I enthusiastically searched up the alum on Linkedin. I learned that our guest speaker, Wei Fang, MBA’10, has 12+ years of experience in equity research at companies like CLSA and Mizuho Securities where he currently works as a Director. Given this, I got excited about the possibility of the chance to interact with such an experienced industry professional who was once in our same position: a business school student!

Before the session, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of what sell side equity research roles were all about, but I soon found out there was much more to learn. Wei’s insights and expertise provided me with details that one would rarely get to know about an industry as a student. 

Here are my top 5 takeaways:

What do Sell Side Equity Research Analysts do?

The day to day activities of an analyst in the field can be broken down into work done on a project level or daily level. 

On a project level basis, analysts research new companies, prepare first time reports, initiation reports, and more detailed reports with a full set of forecasts. This process includes incorporating any feedback from investors and buy side clients and focusing on the small details, like any new information which can change the model drivers in your forecasts or how you build up a story while presenting information about the company. Typically, one analyst would cover about 20 companies based on their sector specialization.

On a daily basis, analysts are constantly monitoring their target companies, updating their models with latest financials and attending company earnings calls.

Distinguish yourself as an Analyst

You may have come across the phrase: “buy low and sell high.” During the initial segment of the session, Wei broke down the essentials of being a professional in equity research, which included sticking to this motto and knowing where you can find value as an investment professional. He also shared his insights on developing skills that distinguished a professional equity research analyst’s perspective from an individual investor’s perspective. One example that stuck out to me was looking at relative valuation instead of putting the majority of your focus on the stock price.

Filter out the Noise

As analysts, you are going to be attending earnings calls to attain crucial details on how target companies are performing and getting additional data to solidify your investment thesis. Wei stressed the importance of asking the right questions during these calls to filter out the noise and focus on what’s important for you as an analyst. This involves discerning and prioritizing essential information, such as key financial metrics and strategic insights, amidst the abundance of details provided by company executives. Wei also mentioned that asking good questions is a way to make a strong impression and stand out.

Buy Side vs Sell Side: Money Makers vs Storytellers

While the buy side clients are the money makers who invest, as an analyst on the sell side, you are going to focus on finding value to invest in and you will always be on the lookout for your next report. During this session, Wei emphasized on the importance of building a story as sell side analysts, highlighting the importance of your skills as a storyteller and the all rounded nature of the job covering aspects such as content marketing and even sales.

Essential KPIs

Ever wondered how sell side equity research analysts’ performances are measured? The key lies in KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, which serve as crucial metrics revealing the effectiveness and impact of their equity research efforts. During the session, Wei laid out the essential KPI’s on which your work as a sell side equity research analyst would be evaluated:

• Research Quality
• Client Votes
• Sales Votes
• Interactions (~200 Interactions in a month with stakeholders!)
• Corporate Action
  

Lastly, apart from all the valuable insights that Wei provided us with on sell side equity research, what really stuck with me was his enthusiasm to share his experiences with students and his excitement for coming back to Brandeis International Business School, which was evident throughout the session.

Wei also expressed interest in continuing to meet with current business school students and participating in future speaker series and events. We are fortunate to have him as part of our community!

—Shivam Gossain, MSF’25

If you missed this event, check out upcoming CSE Alumni Speaker Series here!