Day in the Life: Lucy Kilroy, equity sales analyst

05:00 The alarm goes just before 5:00am. As I need to be at work at 6:00am and live about 45 minutes away, I usually get dressed as soon as I'm out of bed and then make a dash for the tube to Canary Wharf.

06:00 I'm busy as soon as I arrive. The first part of the day is usually the most hectic. I have until 6:40am to put together a 'market wrap'. This summarises what happened in the US and Asian markets overnight, what the papers are reporting that day and flags the day's forthcoming events in Europe.

I check emails from our team in New York and look on Bloomberg or Reuters for breaking news. I include information on company announcements, and changes in currency, treasury and index levels. UK and European companies also tend to report their interim results at this time of day, so things can get quite busy.

06:45 When the wrap is finished I send it out to the trading floor. The sales force call our clients, who are investment managers at pension funds and hedge funds, and give them a market round-up so they are fully informed before they get into their office.

At 6:45am our traders have their daily meeting, which I listen to over my speakerphone. The traders talk about what trading activity they saw in various industry sectors the day before and what they expect to see that day. These short term views are always interesting.

We have our research morning meeting at 7:00am for an hour; this is where Morgan Stanley analysts present their top stock picks to the sales force. The analysts have a longer term perspective and update us on their research into investment strategies across companies and sectors in Europe and the UK.

08:00 The research morning meeting ends at 8:00am. At this stage, I usually grab breakfast downstairs and take it back to my desk before markets open. It's still early, but it really doesn't seem to be because we've been so busy.

At 8:00am through to lunch, the sales force call clients to discuss key stock ideas and thoughts on the market. As news breaks throughout the morning, I liaise with the research analysts to unearth extra information, add detail to company results, or ask specialist sales people to comment on what they think might happen with a particular stock.

12:00 By midday I'm pretty hungry. I usually take something from our restaurant downstairs or one of the cafés outside back up to my desk. Sometimes I will be out of the office taking a company to see clients where the CEO or CFO runs through the strategy of the business, and the clients decide whether they want to buy or sell the stock. We normally have internal meetings around the lunch period with our research analysts where we discuss key themes and ideas.

13:00 The pace usually slows in the afternoon. It's a chance for the sales team to have more in depth discussions with clients and get out to meet clients face to face. My afternoon is spent working on specific client requests and sending out emails on ideas, conferences and future meetings.

16:30 After the markets have closed, a company often comes in to make a presentation. Typically, the chief executive or chief financial officer come and discuss their business. It's always really exciting to sit down with the senior people while they tell you how they run their business and what they think will happen in their industry.

17:00 At the end of the day I usually work on weekly tasks. As well as the daily wrap, I put together a recap of trading trends over the past week and another product that looks at upcoming events in the week ahead, their expected impact on the market and what clients should do to take advantage of these events. They both involve sifting through a lot of information; I try to think laterally and identify items that will be of interest to clients.

18:30 I usually finish between 6pm and 7pm. It's a long day, but it's very fast paced and never predictable, so I don't notice the time passing. After work, I try to get to the gym or get out and meet friends. I always start the week thinking I'll get to bed early and catch up on sleep, but it never happens!