Writing Equity Research Reports

A thoroughly analyzed equity research report can increase your business and build trust in your investment bank as your clients learn to listen to your advice. Let’s break down this offering to see where your team could be making a bigger impact.

What is Equity Research?

Equity research is a deep dive into an equity or stock. It incorporates financial context to explain and predict financial performance. Research takes place on the far side of an information barrier separating research for sell-side publications from investment banking teams.

What is an Equity Research Report?

An equity research report serves as a source to justify investment decisions. It can focus on something as narrow as a single stock or as broad as an entire industry.

Clear, concise writing is imperative. Readers should all finish reports with similar conclusions rather than needing to infer takeaways. The investment advice should be actionable and well-supported. It should also be accessible to an audience ranging from individual to corporate investors. An equity research report has a few key elements:

• company highlights


• industry overview


• financial ratio and valuation analyses


• description of risk factors


• analyst recommendations (e.g. buy, sell, hold) and summary


• investment thesis, including rationale for the recommendation


• disclosures (as needed)

Who Reads Equity Research Reports?

The audience for equity research reports is mainly fund managers and anyone responsible for managing wealth and investments. Although retail brokers might not need to meet the same fiduciary requirements as financial advisors, they do need to act in a certain “best interest” and can also use these reports to make recommendations. Hedge funds and mutual funds have different appetites for risk, but they can both use these reports to guide their strategy.

All these players are also choosing where to make their investments and through whom. That’s why it’s crucial equity research reports be thoughtful, reliable publications in any language.
 

Who Writes Equity Research Reports?

Research analysts need to be efficient writers capable of meeting short time-to-market requirements. They need deep industry background to reduce on-ramp time. Although these reports can be many pages long, often readers will skim for highlights. The inverted pyramid writing style applied in journalism helps report consumers get the most important information as soon as they start, so they don't miss a key piece of advice deeper into the piece.

To access the widest possible audience, a multilingual writer is ideal. Unless an analyst is truly bilingual, the original writer may not be the best choice for consistent translations.

Who Should Translate Equity Research Reports?

Of course, not every institution has these staffers on hand all year round—nor should they. That’s where language service providers come in. The specialists at Lionbridge include financial writers, research editors and translators, all with years of experience. They know derivatives, bonds, equity and more in markets around the world and will work with your team to create accurate, on-time publications.

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If you want fast, quality, scalable financial content, reach out to see how we can help.