“Passion, detail-oriented and curiosity are the three major factors that have made me successful”
Mr. John Lam
Class of 2009
I joined the Equity Research industry upon graduation and it is my 13th year working in the industry. Over the years, I have worked at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and now I am the Executive Director in Research at UBS. As a research analyst, sometimes you would be invited to interact with and present to the senior management of listed companies, To me this is exciting and rewarding, and has kept me motivated for many years.
How did you decide what industry to get into as a university student? What was the thought process?
My experience is a bit different compared to many other students. During my study, I took a gap year to intern at Goldman Sachs Equity Research. During that, I learnt about the real business world and the Equity Research industry and then had the determination to be an equity researcher. Indeed, before the internship, I had little idea of my career aspirations. Looking back, I believe joining internships and connecting with alumni are two effective ways to identify which career suits you the best.
What does your typical day look like in Equity Research?
Equity Research is a morning-person job. We usually arrive at the office at 7:00 a.m. for a morning meeting, followed by handling client requests. By 9:00 a.m., we would start to monitor the news flow and the stock market. When the stock market is closed, we would start to work on thematic equity research, where we have to interview listed companies, do financial modeling, and write up reports.
What do you think has made you successful throughout your career?
Passion, detail-oriented, and curiosity are the three major factors that have made me successful. While passion is essential when you have to constantly compete with competitors, the detail-oriented trait is necessary for analysts to deal with numbers, and data in annual reports meticulously and accurately. Meanwhile, curiosity is key, as you would have to investigate, challenge and cross-check if the guidance and outlook that companies provide are achievable.
How do you see the industry in 10 years?
When I first joined Equity Research, I was told that the industry had transformed significantly as information became more easily available online. Indeed, the value of Equity Research has continued to decline due to the abundance of information. Thus, researchers nowadays, and in the future would have to go for the extra mile to prove their value. In the next 10 years, Equity Research would go towards two spectrums. The first spectrum is to provide alternative data to solutions to clients, such as building a big data vendor just like what UBS is doing. The second is to connect with the people, as this component will not be challenged nor be replaced by computers.
HKUST GBUS Alumni Series
Chapter 3 | John Lam
