My Experience With Research

I work on the investment side of a financial planning firm. My job is to evaluate the current investment holdings of a client and to determine if they have high risk, too little risk, under invested, over invested etc. In doing so, I conduct much research in the financial realm dealing with stocks, bonds, money market accounts, etc. I spend the majority of my workday researching firms to determine if they are over-valued or undervalued. I use many techniques and investment strategies to gain as much knowledge as possible to make a safe and intelligent investment. Research is not just believing the first thing you read and believing it to be true. It is digging and finding every bit of detail and uncovering the truth behind the company or thing you are investigating. It not only includes researching just that particular stock or bonds, but comparing it to others that experienced similar characteristics and to find how those two might correlate and have similar paths. It is finding all perspectives and from their making educated judgements to have every angle covered.

I have been blessed also to work and do research with a professor at Rollins College. We conducted much studies and research for the effect of housing prices on the US economy and seeing the two correlations. It was interesting how the two ran in such close ties with one another and it was blessing seeing many smart individuals work together to find answers.

 I recently have done intense research on credit based bonds and the reason for the issuance of these bonds. In the research done, I concluded that these bonds were very high risk with minimal rewards. These “bonds” were purely related to the performance of stocks and made you consider why label these “credit bonds” as bonds when they are more so an equity investment. Research can be fun because the task at had is the puzzle and research is putting the puzzle together. It is very enjoyable seeing the puzzle be put together and seeing it all fit.

This was my experience with research and am very excited to continue to learn more!