Open for enrollment: May 1st Asynch Academy!

ANALYST ACADEMY

A 4 WEEK VIRTUAL MASTERCLASS
EQUIPPING YOU WITH
THE FRAMEWORKS, TOOLS, & TRAINING TO

FAST TRACK YOUR BUY-SIDE CAREER

APPLY NOW

ENROLL NOW IN OUR NEXT LIVE ANALYST ACADEMY

Beginning March 27th, 2023

Anxiety is the first thing that hits you as you wake up.

The weight of the world is on your shoulders– or at least the weight of the current thesis you are constructing.

Are you focusing on the right elements? Are you missing something?

Can you be compelling enough when it comes time to pitch?

Can you make them see what you see?

You’ve spent your whole life working towards this goal.

You’ve finally got your shot, but instead of crushing it, you’re the one being crushed.

It’s not your fault.

The first three years are supposed to be a struggle.

You have heard this is a sink or swim industry, but will you be the analyst who sinks?

You’re not alone. This is how it’s always been – but it doesn’t have to be.

The Fundamental Edge Academy is here to help

A Live 4-Week Virtual Masterclass for buy side professionals who want to condense 3 years of learning by osmosis into laser focused frameworks, roadmaps and tools to equip you for success.

ANALYST ACADEMY IS DESIGNED FOR

New Buy-Side Analysts: analysts with 0-2 years learning the ropes and need help ramping

Experienced Buy-Side Analysts: looking for a refresher, or analysts struggling to meet demands of the seat

Buy-Side Interns: current interns or interns who are returning full time who want to use the gap to prepare

Sell-Side Juniors: looking for the buy-side approach to better serve their buy-side clients

High Potential Career Switchers: The “Google Engineer” who wants to break into the buy-side

High Potential Undergrads or MBAs: Looking to develop a skillset that will differentiate in interviews

What is the Academy NOT for?:

Academy is not designed for teach grads to “make money in stocks” (we believe this takes years of experience & mentoring to do well)

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THE CURRICULUM

  • Analyst Toolkit Deep-Dives: the 12 core modules that teach the skills a
    buy-side analyst will need when PM asks,
    “hey go look at XYZ stock and let me know what you think”

    1) PREPARATION & PROCESS

    • Welcome to Academy!
    • The Fundamental Edge backstory
    • A buy-side primer
    • “Quarter in the life” of a hedge fund analyst
    • The eight abilities you will need on the buy-side
    • A recipe for success: process & judgment
    • The criticality of compliance & the “WSJ test”
    • Resources & tools for the research process
    • Six habits of the exceptional buy-side analyst
    • Ten things that move stocks

    2) ANALYZE A BUSINESS

    • Creating your reading stack
    • A structured deep dive roadmap
    • The underpinnings of FCF generation
    • The Fundamental Edge pizza shop
    • A good business, bad business framework
    • Unit economics & incremental margins
    • Tying value drivers to the stock price: AMZN example
    • Your first 12 hours on a stock
    • Quick dive follow-along: NFLX example
    • Roadmap to analyze an industry

    3) BUY-SIDE FINANCIAL MODELING

    • The six reasons buy-side analysts build models
    • A step-by-step raw build: TSLA walk-through
    • Common modeling challenges
    • Bells & whistles: incr margin, 2-year stack & more
    • Understanding consensus & estimate revisions
    • Seven hacks for identifying variance vs. street
    • Mental frameworks for better forecasting
    • The three statements for stock pickers
    • What your PM is looking for in your model
    • The model & stock selection: NVST case

    4) KEY DRIVER “KD” DIFFERENTIATION

    • The critical pivot: from deep dive to key drivers
    • Why most stocks can be distilled to three drivers
    • Market embedded KDs & the reverse DCF: NFLX case
    • KPI to stock price correlation: what matters
    • Key drivers, EPS sensitivities & variance
    • Mapping the food chain to ask the right questions
    • Channel checks, surveys & expert networks
    • Alternative data overview
    • The secular view & value compounders
    • The power of a differential view on terminal value

    5) VALUATION & RISK/REWARD

    • Valuation: academia vs. the real world
    • The Core Formula: P/E x EPS = Price
    • The eight most common valuation tools
    • Beyond P/E: EV/rev, EV/EBITDA & FCF yield
    • Valuation with normalized earnings
    • Constructing a 30-year reverse DCF
    • Return disaggregation to P/E & EPS
    • The algorithm & why it matters
    • Valuation sets the bar: META case study

    6) SHORT SELLING

    • Short selling 101
    • Squeezes, take outs & pumps, oh my!
    • The cyclicality & criticality of short alpha
    • Risk management on the short side
    • Idea generation on the short side
    • Anatomy of a melting ice-cube
    • Secular vs. cyclical & “peak on peak” set-ups
    • Risk/reward on the short side
    • Short selling case studies
    • A PMs approach to a diversified short book

  • Analyst Toolkit Deep-Dives: the 12 core modules that teach the skills a buy-side analyst
    will need when PM asks,
    “hey go look at XYZ stock and let me know what you think”

    7) EARNINGS SEASON

    • Why you shouldn’t get married in earnings season
    • The two drivers of big earnings movers
    • A structured earnings preparation process
    • Divining the buy-side whisper
    • The importance of positioning & set-ups
    • Six model checks into earnings
    • Creating an earnings print risk/reward
    • Where’s the alpha? Understanding the run-up
    • Read throughs & the adaptive bar
    • Earnings season case studies

    8) ASSESSING MANAGEMENT

    • Why management matters (and when it doesn’t)
    • A framework to evaluate management
    • Doing a deep dive on a management team
    • The obsession with corporate access
    • A structured management meeting process
    • The role of investor relations
    • Navigating an investor conference
    • Analyzing stock-based compensation
    • Five options for deployment of cash
    • Analyzing stock buy-backs

    9) IDEA GENERATION

    • Why stocks get mispriced
    • Articulating “why an opportunity exists”
    • Honing your idea filter with pattern recognition
    • The two C’s: change & chaos
    • The FEV approach to idea generation
    • “Multiple ways to win”, “paid to wait” and more
    • Risk/reward and the power of asymmetry
    • “Secular vs. cyclical” in idea generation
    • Generalist ideation with a thematic approach
    • Inflections & pair trades with a coverage approach

    10) THESIS DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATION

    • Is there something here: convincing yourself
    • Not yet: IRR, catalyst path & the shopping list
    • A risk-first mindset to thesis development
    • Six tips for communicating with your PM
    • Uh oh: reporting bad news to your PM
    • Frameworks for morning, weekly & monthly notes
    • Pitch like a pro: 30-second, 5-minute, 30-minute
    • Numbers plus narrative: the art of the stock pitch
    • A structured 15-page presentation pitch
    • The skeptic: throwing dirt on a pitch

    11) IDEA MAINTENANCE & THE CATALYST PATH

    • A roadmap for getting in the flow on a name
    • Developing an ongoing research plan
    • A structured catalyst assessment process
    • PSUC (probability of success) catalyst framework
    • Isolating the “steep part of the return curve”
    • When the facts change: adaptive R/R mindset
    • A tactical risk/reward framework
    • Identifying a stock’s PMR (point of max risk)
    • Time management & your “three golden processes”
    • Anatomy of thesis creep

    12) BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

    • Review: the eight abilities you will need
    • Review: ten things that move stocks
    • Review: core Fundamental Edge frameworks
    • Review: develop a R/R & IRR
    • “Know thyself”: finding your game in markets
    • Becoming a full-stack analyst
    • Sharpen the saw: optimizing analyst performance
    • Introduction to portfolio management
    • An overview of risk & factor models
    • Capstone case studies

  • This week we’ve assembled leading experts that span across the industry to give you insight and access to some of the brightest and innovative minds on Wall St. and beyond.

  • PITCH LIKE A PRO: In Week 4, attendees will use the tools learned to go from start to finish on a fresh idea, with office hours & pitch coaching from our training staff.

    1. GENERATE AN IDEA
    2. CONDUCT THE RESEARCH PROCESS
    3. DEVELOP A THESIS
    4. PITCH COMPETITION

    THE LIFE: How to be a good analyst
    Develop sector expertise
    Creating a network
    Becoming a learning machine
    Soliciting feedback
    Seven habits of a top hedge fund analyst
    THE LIFE:
    Avoiding burnout
    Managing your mental state
    Maintaining perspective
    Tools for analyst efficiency

    CANDIDATE MODULE

    Best practices for interview preparation
    Consultation on career trajectory
    Connection with Talent Portal open positions

Fundamental Edge Approach to Education

Night School Approach: The delivery mechanism is intended to allow attendees to work during market hours then come to training after the close

Class Times (all virtual):

Monday to Thursday, 4:30pm-7:30pm EST (Zoom)
Weekly Office Hours (Zoom)
Receive up to 3 Zoom replays for missed sessions

If you want to go from crushed to crushing it. Equip yourself for a successful career on the buy-side, with Analyst Academy

APPLY NOW

TESTIMONIALS

  • “I could not recommend Academy highly enough. Brett’s content leaves no stone unturned and is a cheat code for any analyst who wants to level up beyond their experience.” – David G, Australia

  • “The course seemed too good to be true at the outset and it still managed to exceeded my expectations." – David, Sydney

Fundamental Edge is a buy-side analyst training firm, condensing three years of “learning by osmosis” into a four-week buy-side analyst masterclass.

  • 4-wk virtual analyst training teaching the frameworks & analytical tools used by successful buy-side analysts
  • Core curriculum — 16 core steps of the fundamental equity research process
  • Guest speaker week supplementing core curriculum with some of the world's foremost experts in their area
  • Capstone Pitch Week where students test their newfound abilities and identify, research & pitch a thesis to the group.