What does a securities analyst do?

A securities analyst provides a customer with an investment recommendation based off in-depth research. As a securities analyst, you may advise individual clients or institutional clients, such as pension funds or municipal entities. Your duties include amassing contemporary and historical financial data to analyze trends in particular markets, assessing the financial stability or value of a specific company by analyzing its balance sheets, and meeting with company representatives to gain a better sense of business practices and whether it would be a good investment opportunity. Out of your analysis, you then develop a written report to present your buy, sell, or hold recommendation to investors.