31 December 2005
By Brian Salazar
Amit Dayal, MBA ’05, had the opportunity to work with Terra Nova Trading in New York City through the Global Management Program as a summer intern. This fall Amit shared his experiences with the company and explained more about his role as an equity research analyst for this small, entrepreneurial securities trading company.
Terra Nova specializes in the technology and video gaming sector for the bulk of its portfolio. Amit’s primary focus was on researching and analyzing companies in the semiconductor sector, “My job was to research and analyze investment ideas the firm had developed and present my findings for or against those ideas to my seniors. During that period of time inventory levels in the tech sector had become a key concern and we were focused on capacity issues in the semiconductor value chain. Based on this kind of analysis, we made industry leading calls on the absence of revenue drivers in Intel for the coming quarter.”
Although his role with the firm required him to keep long hours, Amit reflected that this experience was very rewarding, “I was expected to work independently, and with little guidance which really forced me to conduct my research in an organized way. Also, the nature of the business is fast-paced, so results come quickly. That aspect was very satisfying to me.” Amit also mentioned that half of the challenge was in teaching himself the best and most efficient way to conduct his research, especially in fields where he had little previous experience.
“The [MBA] program really helped me through the process on many occasions. I was able to directly apply DCF, strategic, and statistical analyses in my work. Those tools were not forgotten after the academic year was finished!”
As echoed by many other Global Management Program participants, communication with upper management was the key to Amit’s successful summer, “The environment is so intense, that communication must be short and to-the-point. Quickly adapting that style in the business world was a great challenge.”
