Pros
I applied to New Constructs attempting to break into finance after spending 10 years as a golf professional. I noticed that their Associate Analyst job posting said "Experience in finance and accounting is helpful, but not required. All majors are encouraged to apply." Although I had a finance degree, I was attracted to the fact that they did not require a finance background. New Constructs recruits candidates from any background that are smart and have a sincere interest in equity investing.
New Constructs has been able to attract a number of great analysts from non-traditional finance backgrounds. The head of the analytics department initially started as an Associate Analyst with a background in philosophy PhD work. A previous analyst I worked with had a BA in the Classics from a liberal arts college. Working with a highly intelligent and diverse group of people at New Constructs has been a great experience.
New Constructs invests heavily in training new analysts. All new analysts are required to pass a 2-week classroom portion of training covering topics that include Capital Markets Theory, Corporate Finance, Valuation, and Strategy. The classroom portion of training is taught by the CEO who sacrifices a significant amount of time from his busy schedule. This is a great opportunity, especially for new analysts that don't have a finance/accounting/economics background, to learn MBA level finance and accounting. After successfully completing the classroom portion of training, analysts go through 3-4 months of systems training where they learn how to use New Constructs' proprietary app to navigate through corporate filings and build some of the most sophisticated and accurate valuation models for over 3,000 companies.
Analysts are encouraged to convey their ideas. Interaction with the head of the analytics department (VP of Research) occurs daily. This allows analysts to showcase their value and make immediate contributions and improvements to the analytics department. New ideas often lead to new projects that an analyst will be responsible for researching, implementing, and documenting. Management also allows analysts to take ownership of their projects. This is ideal because it allows analysts to submit the work they had envisioned.
Work/life balance is excellent. New Constructs prides itself on efficiency so during work hours, analysts are expected to complete tasks as efficiently as possible. This affords analysts the luxury of working a regular 8-5 M-F schedule 11 months out of the year. For one month out of the year, during corporate filing season, analysts work roughly 6-6 M-F with the option to work 7-5 on Saturdays. Analysts that choose to work on Saturday are compensated with 1.5 vacation days for every Saturday they work. As a previous reviewer posted, analysts are compensated well for this month with bonuses that are based on performance.
New Constructs' office is closed for all market holidays, the Friday after Thanksgiving, the Monday after the Super Bowl, and two weeks during Christmas and New Years. These days off are in addition to vacation and personal time. Throughout the year, New Constructs also sponsors a Super Bowl party, Christmas party, company outings (that are actually fun), and the occasional office lunch.
Cons
A sincere interest in fundamental equity research and data analytics is essential. We do not do any technical analysis. If you're fascinated by Warren Buffett's long-term value approach, New Constructs might be a good fit. If you're fascinated by CNBCs guests that interpret charts and short-term price movements, New Constructs is not for you.
