OUR ANALYST OF THE WEEK- Nada Wagdy, equity research analyst at Prime Holding (Linkedin).

I’ve been working in sell-side for the past three years. I graduated from Helwan University and during my time studying I took part in the CFA Society as an ambassador teaching FIVA or finance, investment, valuation, and analysis. I joined the first CFA Research Challenge and my team was awarded first place. I had no doubt that finance was the direction I wanted to go in. I now work as a consumer analyst at Prime Holding.

The best part of my job is that it makes you educated about a variety of sectors. You know about the dynamics of other fields and can hold a proper conversation about them. I also like that I get to learn everything new everyday. I believe that working in the sell-side gives you the chance to move around because you learn so many skills. You could go on to work in IR or journalism, for example.

The most challenging part is always being updated with the market. However, it’s what makes you good at your job in the end.

I prefer work from the office. While work from home wasn’t difficult, it was a bit boring and there was a lack of motivation. I also felt that my day wasn’t organized and my working hours were extending to the whole day.

My theory of investment is holding on to your value stocks until market data tells you otherwise. The big challenge with that is making sure you’re keeping up to date on the position to determine when to buy or sell. I’m also a strong supporter of diversifying your portfolio, but again, it all has to be timed correctly.

In consumer goods, the most important things I look at before recommending a stock are macro indicators. The level of income, GDP per capita, unemployment rate — they all impact consumption one way or the other. After that I look at the sector itself and assess how well it's doing and whether there are catalysts that could move it and then finally the company itself. It usually makes more sense to me to take a top down approach when looking at consumer goods companies.

I don’t think the EGX30 will close in the green this year. It’s performed much better than last year, no doubt about that, but it still isn’t performing as well as we’d like and usually it moves in a way that surprises us. So we’ll see.

I also don’t think 2022 will be the year of Egypt. I would say it’s the back-to-normal year. We’re still in recovery mode from last year, but there are still two quarters that will really show how we did this year. A lot of things are still having an impact on various sectors including the shortages of shipping containers and semiconductors.

If I had to switch and cover another industry, I’d choose healthcare and pharma. I believe that the pharma sector is somewhat similar to consumer goods, especially when it comes to the over the counter market.

When I watch something, I always want it to be comedic and relaxing. Life is stressful enough [laughs]. The last great thing I watched is The Insider, which stars Russell Crowe and Al Pacino. As for reading, I like to pick up books or read articles that have to do with psychology. It’s what I find the most interesting.

In my down time, I like to work with my hands. During university, I used to make accessories and display them in showrooms. Now it’s mostly cooking or other handmade crafts.

---

MARKET ROUNDUP-

The EGX30 fell 1.9% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.5 bn (4.4% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is down 3.2% YTD.

In the green: GB Auto (+1.3%), EFG Hermes (+0.1%) and Fawry (+0.1%).

In the red: Ezz Steel (-8.3%), Raya (-7.7%) and AMOC (-7.5%).