Morgan Stanley

Ron Jautz

Cynthia Rupeka

Associate in Equity Research

As an equity research associate at Morgan Stanley, Cynthia Rupeka researches revenue trends for a portfolio of media stocks, so the firm can advise investors on how stocks will perform. Her projects have included researching topics like how digital film will affect the DVD market, and box office projections for the upcoming year—which included watching movie trailers for two days straight!

How did you first become interested in equity research?
 I read an article about a well-known retail analyst and I thought it was a really interesting career—combining her knowledge of the retail industry within a financial framework. She commented on using weather trends to get an early read on retailers’ results.  For instance, those caught with too many sweaters in an unseasonably warm winter could be stuck with too much inventory that no one is buying. I was just fascinated by it.

What are you most proud about in your work?
One project I’m most proud of is one I actually started as an intern. It was to create a home video industry model that historically recorded the relative sizes of the DVD, video on-demand, and digital film markets and included a forecast of when DVD revenues would be replaced by digital alternatives. When I joined full-time, I was responsible for maintaining that model and being the lead associate on our home video research.  Coming back full-time, I’ve started working on it again. It’s exciting that something I started as an intern is such an ongoing and interesting project.  

What is the biggest misconception about your company?
I think the biggest misconception about Morgan Stanley, and about people in finance in general, is that we’re a homogenous group of people—everybody has similar education, degrees, and even physical appearance. While there’s always room to improve on diversity initiatives, we’re focused on attracting top candidates, regardless of their background. In order for us to succeed in this global market it’s important that our workforce mirrors the diversity of our global clients.

What’s something about Morgan Stanley that others may not know?
I think the biggest unknown is what the culture of the firm is like. I always get that question when I help out with recruiting. I think one thing that really defines our culture is the mentorship opportunities. Whether I’m interacting with my team or my manager, there’s always an open door policy and sharing of knowledge. When we were interns we had a meeting specifically with then-CEO, John Mack, to discuss whatever was on our mind. It was just an intern class of 20 people and the CEO—that kind of dedication to open discussion with upper management is rare.