Interview: Recruiting for Equity Research

Thank you to Esha Vaish ‘21 for taking the time to sit with Old Ezra and answer some questions about the Equity Research recruiting process!

Old Ezra: Why equity research?

Esha: I have always been interested in taking complex abstractions and translating them into actionable ideas. I did my bachelor’s in communication and these were the classes I enjoyed the most. After undergrad, I took a natural step into journalism, working for Reuters for six year in India and Sweden. As a journalist, I covered equities, real estate, M&A, and IPOs across sectors. It was in this role that my interest in business and equities developed. From talking to C-suite executives across sectors, I realized there was an information gap between those who had information and those who wanted to access it.  

This realization crystallized what would be the most rewarding career path for me: equity research. I genuinely enjoyed meeting with analysts, and I wanted to be on their team! Equity research has a lot of overlap with journalism but as an equity research analyst I would have the ability to communicate with investors and bring information and original analysis to the people who need it most. This epiphany inspired me to pursue my MBA and go deeper into the topic that was most interesting to me.

Old Ezra: What do you find interesting about it?

Esha: As a journalist, I was doing a lot of initiative work. Essentially, my best pieces were original research pieces, rather than aggregation articles. I appreciated the challenge of taking information and explaining how people could profit and how the economics affect the shape of the world. In 2017, I wrote a piece on labor markets for homebuilding and how they would be affected by Brexit. I used public data sets to forecast a labor shortage and determined which firms were in a position to take advantage of pre-fab homes, which require less labor, and which firms were reliant on imported European labor, which were subject to Brexit disruption. Figuring out unique competitive advantages for plugging a forecasted gap was fascinating to me. [Editors note: Link to story here!]

It’s this type of work that equity research analysts spend their time on. I heard feedback from investors that they really appreciated my analysis and a Canadian pension fund decided to move forward with an investment after reading my story. The direct effect my research and writing had showed me the direction I wanted my career to grow in. There was a specific career out there for what I enjoyed and what I found interesting.

Old Ezra: What were your strengths during recruiting?

My biggest strength was my unique story and background. Equity research values different ways of looking at the puzzle. The information is out there, so the value lies in approaching things from a unique angle and leveraging that. I think that was my strength.

Old Ezra: How was your recruiting process?

Esha: I had a great recruiting process! I was lucky enough to receive multiple offers despite my non-traditional background. I believe it came down to the strength of the school. When Johnson shows up for competitions, we play to win but we want to win as a team. Many of our interviews took place at stock pitch competitions and we quickly realized that if we all gave each other support, we could all look good together.

Old Ezra: How did Old Ezra help you?

Esha: Old Ezra was instrumental to my success. We had an equity research mentorship weekend, in which alumni coached us how to present our stories while we were still green. We had a Thanksgiving trek, in which we met executives and gained valuable touchpoints and facetime with decision makers. And we had second year informationals, in which second-years walked us through their own recruiting journey and set expectations. The common thread through all of this is the Johnson and Old Ezra support network. Little things like resume review and big things like daily phone calls and coaching – it’s the support networks that help you keep calm and make your career transition.

Esha Vaish will be spending her summer at Bank of America