J.P. Morgan - Research

Research

J.P. Morgan remains committed to research. Our Research team is one of the broadest on the Street.

J.P. Morgan is serious about maintaining its leadership role in market research, and we are just as serious about bringing in promising MBAs to cover our growing number of companies, sectors and products.

As an Associate in our Research program, you will work with top-tier professionals at the heart of a leading global Investment Bank. With the support of a world-class training program and numerous development opportunities, you will work in a specific sector or product group where your primary responsibility is to provide analytical support to senior research analysts, including developing company and industry profiles, credit and valuation analysis, financial forecast generation and competitive profile compilation.

The magnitude of an Associate’s job

As a Associate, 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 research 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.

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

As a full-time Associate, you will participate in an intensive five-week Research 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 require these certifications.

What we look for

Because a research analyst’s 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
Exceptional written and oral communications skills

Research is fast-paced, demanding and intellectually stimulating. We look for candidates who possess strong accounting, finance, quantitative and business writing skills. 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.

Strong oral and written skills are also a must. 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. Other qualities we look for are academic strength, intellectual curiosity, maturity, high energy, and demonstrated ability to work well on a team.

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 including advice for career changers.)

How to apply

For more information, read before you apply. It will give you details on application 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. (You'll find out more tips in our Advice Center.)

If you think you would like a career with J.P. Morgan's Research group, consider applying first to our summer internship program, for two reasons. First, it will give you the chance to see what it's really like to work in at our firm; and second, we hire a majority of our full-time Associates from the summer program.