Typical Day

I work as an Equity Research associate covering the Banks and Diversified Financials sector.

I'm usually in the office just before 7:30 AM, I then head into the morning meeting, which lasts anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. During this meeting, the sales and traders discuss the trades they'll be working on, while the research analysts provide news updates from within their universe of coverage that might result in additional trading opportunities.

The rest of the day is typically spent working on new or existing financial models, and creating charts and models based on analyst or client requests. I will also frequently check for any news on my companies. If a bank issues a press release on a significant corporate action, we'll spend the remainder of the day preparing a comment on what the implications are for that particular company.

During the reporting season, which runs for approximately two to three weeks, the days end up being much longer as one or more banks may release their results in one day. When a bank reports, I'll read through the press release, update the model with the latest financials, and listen to the conference call before helping my analyst prepare the comment for the next day. Once the reporting period is over, we'll spend time working on the bank quarterly report.

When it's not busy, I usually leave the office by 6:30 pm.