Equity Research Associate Interview Questions & Answers

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Equity Research Associates are tasked with analyzing securities, conducting investment research, evaluating equity investments, conducting industry-specific surveys, generating proprietary reports, and producing financial models.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Equity Research Associate or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Equity Research Associate position, these Equity Research Associate interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Equity Research Associate Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Equity Research Associate interview questions.

1. What methods do you use in your stock valuation?
2. What ratios do you use to analyze a company?
3. Which industries have you researched and analyzed in your work history?
4. How do you deal with conflict around which stocks to invest in?
5. Tell me about an investment you recommended but didn't yield desired results, what did you learn from it?
6. Describe your current position in the financial sector. What are your responsibilities?
7. What did you study in college that qualifies you for this position?
8. Have you ever worked as an equity researcher or analyst before? Can you describe that job?
9. What are the most common ratios used to analyze a company? Expand on these, please.
10. Do you have experience selling bonds?
11. Do you have data analysis experience?
12. How would you analyze a balance sheet for a business?
13. Do you have direct customer service experience in a financial setting?
14. What training do you have regarding financial systems and applications?
15. Do you hold any additional certifications besides your degree?
16. Which job in finance did you like the most and why?
17. When performing equity research, how do you organize your time?
18. How might you handle an impatient customer?
19. What information do you look for during your equity research?
20. How might you handle a discrepancy in a company's financial data?
21. What do you believe is the most important part of the financial industry's future?
22. How do you feel about cryptocurrency?
23. Do you think honesty is important in finance?
24. If you had to perform an audit on a company's finances, what would you look for?
25. Do you think retail and institutional investors are equally important to a fair market?
26. Can you describe the difference between enterprise and equity value?
27. Do you think cryptocurrency has a future in the financial industry? Why or why not?
28. If you had $1 million to invest, what would you do with it?
29. Tell me about a company you admire and what makes it attractive.
30. Pitch me a stock (typically will be followed-up with a challenge – e.g., Why has the market not priced this in?)
31. How do you value a stock?
32. Why might a high tech company have a higher PE than a grocery retailer?
33. What drives the PB multiple? Or, how can two companies in the same industry have very different PB multiples?
34. Tell me when you would see a company with a high EV/EBITDA multiple but a low PE multiple.
35. What is a beta?
36. Why do you unlever beta?
37. What’s the difference between enterprise value and equity value?
38. Can a company have an equity value larger than its enterprise value?
39. What are the major valuation methodologies?
40. When would you not use a DCF valuation methodology?
41. What are the most common multiples used to value a company?
42. Why does Warren Buffett prefer EBIT multiples to EBITDA multiples?
43. How is valuing a resource company (e.g., oil and gas, a mining company, etc.) different from valuing a standard company?
44. Why do DCF projections typically go out between 5 and 10 years?
45. What do you use for the discount rate in a DCF valuation?
46. How do you calculate the terminal value in a DCF valuation?
47. Explain why we would use the mid-year convention in a DCF valuation?
48. Tell us a bit about investment analyst reports of equity research?
49. In equity research describe the structure of an investment banking?
50. For an equity research analyst which skills are needed?

Equity Research Associate Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Equity Research Associate interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

1. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
2. What is Your Salary Expectation?
3. Tell Me About Yourself
4. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
5. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
6. What is Your Greatest Strength?
7. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
8. Why Should We Hire You?
9. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
10. Why Do You Want This Job?

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