What is your day to day job?

My job basically involves giving qualified, relevant advice to my clients, who are big institutions, about how possible changes in the world's economy will affect their business interests. After analysing the information systems, I have at my disposal; I make an informed decision about the probable outcome of economic changes and tell the client how this may affect their institution, giving advice about how they should react.

Although the majority of my clients are European, due to their size, a change in a foreign market will undoubtedly carry with it a knock-on effect. I therefore tend to spend most of my time studying the Asian and U.S. markets, following trends and shifts and seeing how they may affect my client's interests, i.e. their stock and future results. I have to carefully monitor fluctuations in the value of various currencies and interest rates; for when dealing with a great deal of money, even very slight changes can be extremely important.

What are the main attractions of your job?

One of the main attractions of this position is, without a doubt, the innumerable opportunities, which are afforded me. I often have to travel to see clients, which I very much enjoy, as I get to see a bit of the world. I have to be completely versed in current affairs, accessing up to the minute information and news from around the globe, both financial and otherwise and I would consider myself as fully up to date on current affairs; indeed part of my job involves reading newspapers, publications and internet reports.

Being an Equity Analyst is demanding, challenging and highly stimulating, but with its fair share of excitement and pressure too, for I am often dealing with rather large amounts of money. For me, my job is fascinating - it is fantastic being paid for something that one really enjoys.

What is your academic background and what qualities are important for working as an Equity Analyst?

I have two masters' degrees. One in Economics and the other in Finance and Applied Quantitative methods from Universities in Stockholm and Oslo respectively. I also had experience, working in Scandinavian broking houses, before coming to BNP Paribas.

I believe that having a good, numerically or financially based education is integral to this position. One must have an excellent understanding of numbers and be very good at arithmetic. Being thorough, organised and open-minded are three of the most beneficial qualities one can possess when working as an equity analyst, as is having an analytical brain. Yet to always think before one speaks, is vital, after all what I say could be of great importance and one has to give the correct information and advice.

Evaluating and weighing up information that one compiles is something that one gets better at as experience in the job increases. A further highly important factor is to have an interest in financial markets and the world economy. In fact I would say that this is imperative. Having the knowledge of a number of languages also helps, despite the fact that operations tend to be almost always in English.

What is your intended career path?

As I already mentioned, the opportunities for an Equity Analyst are seemingly limitless, when one works for an organisation the size of BNP Paribas. I am not wholly sure in what direction I would like to turn next, as regards my position in the company. Perhaps doing the same job, in another large financial centre such as New York, London or Tokyo. I think that I will almost certainly remain in Corporate and Investment banking, maybe moving more into Equity Markets.

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