Investment Research: Investment Scene Investigation

Investment research, also known as securities research, is the process of analyzing financial statements, interviewing corporate executives, attending trade shows, drawing price and volume charts and performing other research action to be able to wisely purchase, sell or hold different securities. Investment can be done in many ways. Here are some of the most commonly used approaches:

Fundamental Research

Also known as fundamental analysis, fundamental research is one of the two primary methods of analyzing the potential return of a stock. It involves evaluating the company's financial history and its present conditions. This includes sales, earnings and management. In fundamental research, the strength of the company's services or products in the marketplace is also measured and assessed. The gathered data, alongside the state of the economy at the moment, will be used to determine whether the value of the stock is probable to decrease or increase in the future. The data will also be used to determine if the current price of the stock is accurate according to its value.

Technical Research

Technical research or technical analysis involves tracking trading volumes and price in various securities. This is done to identify patterns and trends in the price behavior of a certain stock, commodities, mutual funds or options in different market sectors or in the financial markets in general. With technical research, probable changes in the price of the investments can be predicted. It allows technical analysts to choose a suitable trading strategy. Today, technical analysts use technologically advanced and sophisticated computer software, which makes creating track charts faster and more accurate.

Market Strategy

Marketing strategy is a type of research that looks at the trends on the macro-level so that investment strategies can be identified. Most of the time, analysts will provide asset allocations. They will also identify sectors that you can invest in and sectors you should avoid. Some research companies have a single market strategist. Others divide those roles into several asset classes including equities, commodities and fixed income.

Economic Research

Economic research or economic analysis is provided by economists who are employed by investment research teams. These economists will study many economic data points that investors need to know and focus on. These include consumer price index (CPI), non-farm payrolls and gross domestic product (GDP). They will also publish their opinions regarding this information.


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