About ERC Community

ERC Community is a student-led research platform focused on financial markets, companies, economics, and corporate finance.

Our purpose is to provide students with an environment where they can apply academic knowledge to real-world questions, develop research skills, and share their analysis with a wider community.

We believe that financial research should be transparent, evidence-based, and open to discussion. Our publications therefore focus on the research process as much as the final conclusion.

Meet the founders

We're two finance students in our final year of a master's program, and the founders of ERC Community. We started this platform to put what we're learning into practice — publishing real research, not just coursework.

What we publish

ERC Community publishes student research across several areas:

Equity Research

Research on individual publicly listed companies, including company analysis, financial performance, industry positioning, valuation, and key risks.

M&A & Corporate Finance

Research on mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, ownership structures, strategic alternatives, and transaction valuation.

Markets & Sectors

Research examining industries, market developments, competitive dynamics, macroeconomic conditions, and sector trends.

Economics & Financial Markets

Research on broader economic and financial-market questions, including interest rates, inflation, commodities, currencies, financial markets, and other relevant economic developments.

Academic & Student Research

Independent research projects, essays, empirical studies, and other academic work produced by students with an interest in finance, economics, and related fields.

How we conduct research

Our research is based primarily on publicly available information and academic or industry sources. Depending on the research question, this may include:

• Academic literature and peer-reviewed research
• Company annual and quarterly reports
• Regulatory filings and official disclosures
• Financial-market data
• Industry reports and databases
• Macroeconomic and statistical data
• Disclosed M&A transactions
• Management commentary and investor presentations

Authors are expected to identify the main sources used in their analysis and clearly distinguish between reported information, assumptions, analysis, and conclusions.

Research standards

ERC Community aims to promote a research culture based on:

• Transparency: Sources, assumptions, and methods should be clearly stated.
• Evidence: Conclusions should be supported by relevant data and research.
• Critical thinking: Authors should consider alternative explanations, limitations, and conflicting evidence.
• Academic integrity: Research should properly acknowledge sources and avoid plagiarism or misrepresentation.

Publication process

Research submitted to ERC Community is reviewed before publication for structure, clarity, sourcing, and consistency with our research standards.

The purpose of the review process is not to guarantee that a conclusion is correct. Rather, it is to ensure that the research question, methodology, evidence, and reasoning are presented clearly enough for readers to evaluate the work themselves.

Who can contribute?

ERC Community is intended primarily for students and early-career researchers interested in finance, economics, business, and related disciplines.

Contributors do not need to have professional research experience. We value curiosity, rigorous thinking, and a willingness to learn.

Our objective

ERC Community aims to bridge the gap between academic learning and practical financial research.

By publishing student research openly, we hope to create a platform where students can develop research skills, learn from one another, and engage with real-world financial and economic questions.