Research Associate Salary
Research associate salary in finance for fresher ranges from 4.5 Lac INR to 6 Lac INR in India. However, this number can change based on the company size and background of the candidate. However it’s important to understand the meaning of associate in the entire hierarchial structure. Which in simple words, is neither fresher nor experienced. Usually candidates with some years of experience and who have done an MBA Qualification get this position.
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Components of Research Associate Salary
For most of the research associate working directly with investment banks have their salary structured in the following way;
- Base salary
- Stub Bonus- typically offered to mid year joinees
- End of year bonus-depending on the bank performance
- 80% bonus for associates released immediately
- 20% Can be deffered
- Relocation Bonus: If joining the company also entails you to shift, then depending upon the company they can offer you relocation bonus
What is a research Associate?
Research Associate Less Than 1 Year of Experience
So, in general a research associate with less than a year of experience will spend most of its time on;
- Collecting Data
- Organizing the template for research
- Research on secondary sources
Research Associate more than 1 Year of experience
This is when the associate has some acclimatization with the investment industry. Hence, beyond this there are chances that a research associate might start assisting in the following activities
- Initiating Fundamental Analysis
- Collecting actional research data based on the model
Career Path Of Research Associate
So in general and under ideal conditions and performance following could be the career path of a research associate;
- Minimum 2 years as research associate
- Progress into Senior Research associate or research analyst
- Lateral shift to front office, marketing role
In conclusion what matters is really the experience and expertise gathered by you. The more core experience you get, the better roles and options are wide open.
Examples of Research: Morgan Stanley
Team structure in Research
So, now I am beginning a little deeper display of the reality of how the team looks like in research. So generally, a team for research is structured as;
- One Analyst + 3 Research Associates
- Each research associate is expected to cover 7 companies.
- Also these teams are divided based on the sector expertise of specific analyst and research associates.
Just to depict this visually, I have created an infographic below for your reference.
Types of Research Analysts
Now, analyst doesn’t mean that he or she has to be necessarily only senior. In fact below are the type of analysts based on the seniority level;
- VP Level analysts
- MD Level analysts
- Senior Analysts
Bonus Criteria’s For Research Associate
Now let me take you through some criteria’s which decide the kind of bonus you make in the research associate salary.
- Analyst rankings such as the Institutional Investor Poll (II) Greenwich Poll; 2)
- the performance of Buy/Hold/Sell calls;
- And revenue indirectly generated via trading commissions and investment banking fees (e.g. from companies going public or public companies issuing follow-on offerings through the bank).
However, please understand that these bonus will be applicable only when you are directly working with an investment bank. Not really with a KPO.
Skill & Requirement
So,research is a intellectual job which requires the candidate to have a diverse knowledge of a specific industry.
- For eg; If you follow the consumer discretionary industry, then the market size, market share, the effect of inflation etc
- Have a sound knowledge of looking at financial statements
- Finally posess the financial modeling skill to bring this altogether.
Other softer skill requirements include
- Excellent communication
- Excel
- Presentation skills
- Comfort with data bases like Bloomberg, Reuters etc
Conclusion
Well, I think in a nutshell research associate salary finally depends on the kind of investment bank you work with. Whether it is a boutique investment bank, or is it a full scale investment bank. However the above discussion should be preety near to the reality of mostly all the research associate roles.
