Research on Wall Street

Catalog description

From its origins in the 1960s, to the swashbuckling days of the dot-com boom, up to today, research has long been an integral part of investment banking. This course will introduce students to the dynamic world of the research analyst. We will begin with the business of securities research. Students will learn how market structure, technology, and regulation have shaped the commercial purpose of the research analyst over time and across asset classes. Topics to be covered include the origins of modern equity research, research support of IPOs and its contribution to the dot-com bubble, the sell-side versus the buy-side, fixed income research, and the challenge posed by the rise of AI. The second part of the course will explore the craft of research. Through a series of case studies, students will learn to apply the tools of financial economics to real-world problems faced by analysts. We will learn the techniques analysts use for making recommendations, and their use (and abuse) of concepts from investments, corporate finance, and valuation. Special topics will include the rise of new "alternative" data alongside traditional accounting and financial data, and the analysis of emerging technologies and new products.