J.P. Morgan - Research

Research

We believe that joining J.P. Morgan is the most challenging and rewarding career choice a talented college graduate can make.

As you enter your last year of college, you may realize that you have a talent for research. You enjoy digging into a subject, detecting trends and spotting patterns. You like staying on top of an industry, following a company or analyzing alternative investment products. You have, in fact, exactly the qualities we're looking for in a research analyst.

In 2007, J.P. Morgan was named in BusinessWeek’s top 20 “Best Places To Launch A Career.” As an Analyst our Research program, you will spend three years gaining hands-on experience in the financial markets as you work with top-tier professionals at the heart of a leading global Investment Bank.

The magnitude of an Analyst’s job

As a Analyst, you will gain hands-on experience in the financial markets and learn from outstanding colleagues. Through practical exposure to financial markets and working with a senior analyst you will learn a disciplined and systematic approach to developing reports that assess the investment merits of first-time and existing issuers; provide ongoing assessments of trends in a given industry; and identify investment opportunities in the secondary markets.
The pace is fast, demanding and intellectually stimulating, and you will work harder and learn more than you ever thought possible. But we will give you the training and tools you need to succeed.

Analysts are placed into one of the following groups: Equity, Credit, Corporate Quantitative Research and Credit Portfolio Group. Read more about them in our Research business area description.

Responsibility from the start

As an Analyst in Research, your responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

Performing core fundamental research on an industry and the companies that comprise it
Modeling historical and projected financial statements including detailed cash flow and ratio analysis
Building relationships and servicing external clients in part through research notes, larger industry reports, and by meeting with analysts and portfolio managers
Actively participate in new issues through vetting, due diligence and sales and investor education
Working closely with the sales force and trading desk to interpret breaking news and to market and augment their industry view as well as build relationships and service external clients through published research, marketing events and corporate access. And, working closely with the trading desk helping to generate trade ideas and strategies and manage risk
Writing notes and large reports focused on company and industry trends

Training and development

Vault voted J.P. Morgan best training program out of all Investment and Commercial Banks for 2008.

Our training program is uniquely global and widely accepted as the best in the business, and it is one of the reasons so many top undergraduates choose to join our firm. Learning side by side with participants from J.P. Morgan’s international offices, you will network with peers from around the world and build your global network right from day one.

You will participate in an intensive five-week training program that introduces you to J.P. Morgan’s clients, products, services and business practices. J.P. Morgan professionals and world-class consultants use a variety of interactive learning formats including case studies, projects, and hands-on exercises. In our intensive training program, you will master the relevant concepts and skills related to research such as accounting, modeling, and valuation. We will also expose you to all the markets we cover and prepare you with presentation and writing skills. Series 7, 63, 86, and 87 training is provided to all trainees who requires these certifications.

For Analysts, we offer a 1-week pre-training “bootcamp” session that is designed to get you up to speed on core financial concepts.

Vault voted J.P. Morgan best training program out of all Investment and Commercial Banks for 2008.

After the program

The Analyst program lasts three years, with continuous training and networking opportunities throughout. If you perform well, you may assume increasing responsibilities and may encounter many opportunities to advance your career.

What we look for

Research is fast-paced, demanding and intellectually stimulating. We look for candidates who possess strong accounting, finance, quantitative and business writing skills, but we are open to all majors and have training to make sure you succeed. Because research analysts’ time is devoted to studying firms and industries and then writing about them, there are three qualities every successful research analyst must have in abundance: deep curiosity in business and industry, well-honed financial analytical ability, and exceptional written and oral communications skills. You will be analyzing some of the world's largest companies, and must be able to write your analyses in clear, unambiguous prose. You must also be able to communicate with senior-level people, both at the firm and the companies you cover.

You must be adaptable and have the ability to work well under pressure in a demanding environment. You should also be able to work independently to produce accurate, detailed materials while meeting tight deadlines. Candidates should be highly proficient in Excel and Word software. Other qualities we look for are academic strength, a minimum GPA of 3.2, high energy, maturity and demonstrated ability to work well on a team.

An aptitude for numbers is a must, even if you're a liberal arts major. If you don't have a strong financial or business background, be sure you can tell your story; be able to demonstrate your quantitative aptitude both scholastically and practically (former jobs, for example) and be ready to articulate how your background will enhance your career at J.P. Morgan (you'll find out more tips in our Advice Center under not a business major).

How to apply

For more information, read before you apply. It will give you detailed information and direct you to useful links related to your application. You may also want to visit our interview process and check with your campus careers office or our campus schedule to see when we'll be visiting.

The most successful route to a career with J.P. Morgan's Research group is through our summer internship program, for two reasons. First, it will give you the opportunity to see what it's really like to work on a trading floor; and second, we hire as many of our full-time Analysts as possible from the summer program.