OUR ANALYST OF THE WEEK- Mayar El Ashry, senior associate at Pharos (Linkedin).

I’m Mayar El Ashry and I've been working in sell-side research for six years. I started my career at Pharos right after graduating from the American University in Cairo, where I majored in business administration with a concentration in finance and had a double minor in economics and history. I started off as an equity analyst and I’m now a senior associate with a focus on the real estate sector. I chose real estate because there's a lot of coverage that comes with that sector in terms of the number of companies.

The best part of my job is the learning that comes from my interaction with corporates, investors, and managers. I’m constantly getting to know different people with different perspectives. When I bounce my own ideas off of these other parties, I love to be countered with other opinions and different angles and I try to always learn from them.

The most challenging part of my job is being creative during the writing process. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing — it was actually one of the reasons I went into research. When it’s a regular part of the job, it becomes more challenging to tap into that creativity on a daily basis. However, when inspiration kicks in, you have to pull me away from the computer and it's an enjoyable process for me to type away.

Given the nature of the research job, working from home was quite efficient. I wouldn’t say it is better than working at the office, but it is part of the package that comes with the current circumstances. I do miss travel as well, but I think it will pick up again once the pandemic subsides. As analysts, our work depends on our connections and interactions with other people.

My theory of investment is to look at the fundamentals, the experience, and the cashflow that’s being generated. I like to think of these things as stories and it’s important that it all fits together in a way that makes sense.

If I limit it to real estate, the most important thing I look at before recommending an investment is if there is a monetized asset generating cashflow. If there is prior history of that monetization of the assets and how it translates into cashflow, that's always a good starting point. If that’s not applicable, I start to think whether I have reason to believe that it will be monetized anytime soon in a sustainable manner. Of course, all this has to be rooted within an economic framework that supports and enables this growth.

Things are in the right place and are moving in the right direction in 2021. I’m very optimistic about the year when looking at Egypt’s economic framework and investment climate. For real estate, I think it’s going to be a stable year. 2020 was definitely tough given the circumstances, but the sector made it through and held their ground in terms of sales performance. I think any sector that weathered the storm with positive results proves its resilience.

For people thinking of working in the finance sector, my advice is to always be on top of news and developments. Read a lot of articles and be comfortable to discuss them and voice your opinions. That is an essential skill working as an analyst as you always need to present your investment ideas and reports to clients. Finally, always try to seek causality in the news to get a sense of how things affect other things.

I consider myself to be both a numbers and a words person. I specifically studied finance at university because it was sort of a common ground between business and math. That’s something else someone thinking of going into the industry should understand. It’s constantly needed to link both together to create a story and accurate depiction. You can calculate all you want, but then how do you present those numbers in a way that is a narrative that can be sort of communicated as an investment idea? And vice versa, if you have an investment idea where are the numbers to back up your arguments?

The last great thing I watched was the Pharaoh’s Golden Parade last weekend. It was sensational and everything was truly spectacular including the music, choreography, attire and makeup, documentaries, museum tour, cannon salute, the vehicles carrying the mummies, and the entire procession through Cairo. I was moved to tears from the beauty of it all and I’ve been replaying the video of the parade over and over because I love the music. As more of an everyday watching experience, I enjoyed season four of The Crown. Maybe it’s the history enthusiast in me, but there’s something about the setting and the angle that just speaks to me.

The last great thing I read was Face Paint: The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge. The book talks about the history of makeup, but then also the business side of it. So it's fascinating.

When I'm not working, I like to exercise, watch movies, spend time with family, and cook. I make a mean apple pie. I’m also always listening to music, it’s a big part of my life. I’m into rock music mostly so bands such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd are a part of my daily routine. I also really like Eric Clapton.

I’m a very organized person. I don't like clutter. So in terms of physical things like my desk or my files on the computer everything is organized, filed correctly, and labelled. It’s the same in my professional life. I hate the feeling of having something I still need to do linger over me, so I always set deadlines for myself and try to finish everything beforehand.

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The EGX30 rose 0.1% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 888 mn (37.2% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 5.4% YTD.

In the green: Ezz Steel (+2.2%), Emaar (+1.8%) and Fawry (+1.1%).

In the red: Pioneers (-3.2%), Qalaa Holding (-3.0%) and Abu Qir Fertilizers (-2.0%).