Function

• Equity professionals study and analyze private and publicly traded companies and make recommendations to investors about the company's assets, profitability and overall future. They can also be hired by companies to assess their own equity and assets.
  
  

Types

• There are two main types of equity professionals. Standard equity professionals provide general knowledge and analysis; private equity professionals specialize in companies that are not publicly traded on the stock market. Private equity training can be completed in three to six months.
  
  

Certification

• Equity professionals must be certified by an accredited school and receive training in a variety of disciplines related to equity management and analysis. Some break the certification down into three stages: basic, intermediate and expert.