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Sell-side analysts are frequently criticised for being toooptimistic or biased, which is manifested in a disbalance betweenthe frequency of their ‘Sell’ vs. ‘Buy’ investment recommendations.List at least three different types of firms thatusually employ sell-side analysts and discuss how theemployer-related context might give rise to analysts’ conflict ofinterest and affect their stock recommendations and pricetargets.If we buy into the story of analyst bias, should we stoplistening to analysts? Why, or why not?The European regulation MiFID II (Markets in FinancialInstruments Directive), that was enacted in January 2018, isbelieved to have fundamentally affected the field of equityresearch. Discuss the implications of this regulation to sell-sideanalysts, fund managers and the investee companies(corporates).Outline and critically assess the differences and similaritiesbetween (a) sell-side analysts, (b)buy-side analysts, and (c) activeportfolio managers, in terms of:the activities that they perform,the objectives that they would be trying to achieve,the types of firms that they typically work at, andthe skills and expertise that should be central to theirroles