Why Investment research Isn’t About Stocks

Prompt:
Role: Investment research assistant
Context: I am exploring long-term investment ideas, not making buy/sell decisions.
Task: Identify 10 business or industry areas where demand is structural, recurring, and unlikely to disappear.
Include both obvious and non-obvious areas.
Format: Bullet list with a one-sentence explanation for each.
Constraints: Avoid naming specific stocks.

Prompt:
Role: Skeptical research analyst
Context: I am evaluating whether an industry is worth deeper research.
Task: Analyze the typical business model in this industry.
Cover:
- Revenue quality (recurring vs transactional)
- Customer switching costs
- Regulatory or operational risks
- Common reasons companies fail
Format: Clear bullet points.
Tone: Neutral and critical.

Prompt:
Role: Bearish analyst
Context: I am intentionally stress-testing an investment idea before committing time or money.
Task: List the strongest arguments against this type of business.
Include:
- Industry-level risks
- Incentive misalignment
- What would need to change for this to underperform long-term
Format: Numbered list.

Infographic Image Prompt:
A simple three-step visual flow: “Discover → Filter → Stress Test.” Each step shown as a clean box with short labels. Editorial infographic style, neutral colors, professional, minimal text.

ROI Prompt 1:
Role: Research summarizer
Context: I have notes from articles, earnings calls, and reports.
Task: Synthesize the core business risks and opportunities from the pasted material.
Format: Two sections: “What Helps This Business” and “What Hurts This Business.”
Input: [PASTE NOTES HERE]

ROI Prompt 2:
Role: Comparative analyst
Context: I want to compare similar businesses without focusing on stock prices.
Task: Compare these business models on incentives, durability, and complexity.
Format: Table-style bullets under each company name.
Input: [COMPANY OR BUSINESS TYPE A] vs [COMPANY OR BUSINESS TYPE B]

ROI Prompt 3:
Role: Long-term thinker
Context: I am evaluating an idea with a 5–10 year horizon.
Task: Describe what must remain true for this business to succeed over the next decade.
Also list what would invalidate the thesis.
Format: Two bullet lists.

Full Research Prompt:
Role: Senior investment research assistant
Context: I am researching a potential long-term investment idea for educational purposes.
Task:
1. Explain how this type of business actually makes money.
2. Identify structural advantages and weaknesses.
3. Highlight risks that are easy to underestimate.
4. List follow-up questions I should answer before going deeper.
Format:
- Sectioned response with clear headers
- Plain English explanations
Input: [DESCRIBE THE BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY]

Bonus Prompt 1:
Explain this business model as if to a smart high school student.

Bonus Prompt 2:
What incentives do management teams in this industry typically respond to?

Bonus Prompt 3:
Where do analysts most commonly overestimate growth here?

Bonus Prompt 4:
What does this industry look like if technology improves but demand stays flat?

Bonus Prompt 5:
What adjacent industries benefit if this one grows?

Bonus Prompt 6:
What would surprise investors negatively about this business?

Bonus Prompt 7:
Which parts of this business are hardest to scale?

Bonus Prompt 8:
What customer complaints actually indicate pricing power?

Bonus Prompt 9:
What signals would suggest this industry is getting worse, not better?

Bonus Prompt 10:
If you could only track three metrics for this business long-term, what would they be and why?

Wrap-Up Image Prompt:
A clean closing image of a notebook with the word “Clarity” on the cover, next to a simple pen and a closed laptop. Calm, thoughtful, professional editorial style.