The Week of Firsts
Wow… a lot of things happened to me this week, my third week (or was it second since there were several days off two weeks ago) as a junior analyst. While last week marked my first email contact with a client as an analyst and my first visit to a shareholders meeting (of a bank), this week I experienced at least four new things:
- Accompanied client for meetings with company management. Truly a nerve-wracking experience as the client is a fund manager, and my boss said the client used to be an analyst himself. I didn’t know the story of each company we met with thoroughly, much less the valuation of their stocks. Fortunately, my boss realized this and tried to cover for me most of the time. Pheww…
- Visited companies for updates. It is still related to the previous assignment, but this time visiting their headquarter directly instead of having a meeting in a hotel. The same client asked comprehensive questions, mainly on the business model rather than valuation per se. I asked my senior colleague, and they did say the client was most thorough.
- Attended an investment forum. The 2nd Indonesia Investor Forum was held this week, and I visited several company presentations. I learned more about various business models from different industries. I also networked with several people ranging from a researcher in a consulting company to a fund manager in a private equity shop.
- Attended a public expose of a consumer product company. I met a senior analyst from another equity house, and we discussed a lot about the profession and the industry. While the event was informative, I learned more from him about many things in just 30 minutes.
Initial euphoria seemed to set in, and I was having fun. Check back on me when I gotta do financial modeling and write my first report. See what I have to say then.