skills/initiating-coverage/references/pm-md-standards.md

# PM / MD-Level Standards

## What senior-quality looks like

The report should feel like it was reviewed by a sector head or top-tier PM. It should:
- have a clear view,
- focus on the debate that matters,
- avoid generic company-description filler,
- tie thesis to model drivers,
- show what would change the view,
- be honest about weak evidence,
- respect valuation and downside,
- understand investor psychology and timing.

## The senior lens

Before finalizing, ask:

1. Would this change how a PM sizes or prioritizes the idea?
2. Is the thesis actually different from consensus?
3. Is the downside case credible and specific?
4. Are catalysts strong enough to close the valuation gap?
5. Does valuation already price in the good news?
6. Which estimate line matters most?
7. Which KPI is the tell?
8. Where is management most likely to disappoint?
9. What would a skeptical short or bull say?
10. What would make us admit we are wrong?

## Language standards

Prefer:
- "The debate is not whether growth is high; it is whether NRR can stabilize without incremental CAC pressure."
- "Our target multiple requires confidence in margin durability; absent that, the stock deserves a lower range."
- "The next two prints should resolve whether the guide is conservative or demand is weakening."

Avoid:
- "The company is a leader in a large and growing market."
- "Management is executing well."
- "Valuation appears attractive" without explaining relative to what, why, and what breaks it.

## Rating / view discipline

When providing a rating, view, or target price:
- define the rating framework if user has not supplied one,
- connect rating to expected return and risk/reward,
- avoid false precision,
- show target price sensitivity,
- show downside case,
- flag that publication requires human/compliance review.

## Research taste

A great initiation is not the longest report. It is the report that makes the central risk/reward obvious.

Cut or move to appendix:
- generic company history,
- broad market-size discussion with no financial impact,
- long management bios unless governance/capital allocation matters,
- peer tables with no conclusion,
- risks that apply to every company in the sector.

## Senior Public Equity PM Standards

Require variant perception, evidence strength, what is priced in, valuation support, downside mechanism, catalyst path, ownership/positioning, liquidity, factor exposure, benchmark/active risk, short interest, and falsifiers. Name what the market is paying for and where the PM edge sits.