Job Title: Stock Analyst
Location: New York, NY
Submitted on: 11-Jan-05
|
|
Job Title |
Workplace
Survey |
| Stock Analyst |
I work in equity research which is separate from the credit ratings
business. There is very much a publishing mentality here (McGraw-Hill
owns S&P) and management is more concerned with the quantity and
timeliness of published research rather than its quality. Pay is well
below Wall St. averages and new analysts are actually covered by a
labor union (Newspaper Guild) and are not bonus eligible. Senior
analysts are not unionized and can be paid 20%-30% higher, including
bonus. New analysts have traditionally been hired straight out of
graduate school due to the low starting salaries; however, the weak job
market has allowed them to hire more experienced analysts over the past
couple of years. Promotions to senior analyst are generally done on a
two-year schedule and those not receiving promotions are basically
relegated to languishing in the union for the rest of their S&P
careers. Performance reviews are very quantitative with analysts ranked
against peers on volume and timeliness of work, as well as the
performance of their recommendations. Employee motivation and retention
are not high priorities and opportunities for professional development
are limited. Most senior managers have limited Wall St. experience,
having spent most of their careers at S&P (affectionately
termed "lifers"), and there is some concern that the managers do not
truly understand the marketplace, especially for institutional
research. Management's focus is generally on the annual renewals of
independent research contracts signed with investment banks as a result
of the Wall St. settlement between the banks and Eliot Spitzer. The
settlement is expected to expire in five years and most believe the
department will be downsized at that point. Diversity, work hours, and
dress code are positives: McGraw-Hill has very liberal corporate
policies, employees are much more diverse than at traditional Wall St.
firms, the dress is casual , and working 9-5 is accepted as a trade-off
for the lower pay.
|
|
Standard & Poor's Interview Surveys
