Primary Role of a Research Analyst(RAs)
Research - Collection of information from various sources
Analysis - Processing the data to take decisions.
Data and information is imperative to the function of the research analyst.Research Analyst need information is pertinent to the investment being evaluated.This would include information abopout the macro and micro -economic factors, industry-specific information and companty-specific information.Economic information may be collected from Government statistics
and data provided by the central bank(RBI). Data on global factors may be collected from international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund(IMF).Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Other Global Development Finacial instituitions.
Industry-specific journals and publications may be used to collect information on industries/sectors.Company-specific information may be collected from various sources including the financial statements filed by the companies as part of regulatory compliance,requirements,officials of the company authorized to provide it and other sources such as plant visits,surveys and interviews.
Analysis and decision making process is a combination of understanding qualitative factors that affect operational performance , such as efficiency of operations,competitiveness ,businesss plans and work ethics of the management among others and quantitative factor such as revenues,costs, profitability and risks to these financials. therefore,Research Analysts spend lot of time interacting
with companies and others,accumulating data,analysing it and arriving at a buy ,hold or sell call.