We study sell‐side analysts’ motives to diversify their portfolios across industries. Despite the negative association between diversification and accuracy, more than 60% of analysts cover multiple industries. We argue that analysts’ choice to diversify is rooted in concerns about future job security. We find that more diversified analysts are less likely to experience job turnover and leave the profession but are not more likely to advance their careers. For experienced and all‐star analysts, diversification does not improve career outcomes. We conclude that industry diversification is a safety mechanism for inexperienced and unranked analysts who are concerned about job security.

中文翻译：

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多元化是卖方分析的工作安全网吗？

我们研究了卖方分析师在整个行业中多样化投资组合的动机。尽管多元化与准确性之间存在负相关关系，但仍有60％以上的分析师涵盖多个行业。我们认为，分析师选择多元化的原因在于对未来工作安全的担忧。我们发现，多元化程度更高的分析师不太可能经历工作流失和离开该行业，但更不可能促进其职业发展。对于经验丰富且全明星的分析师而言，多元化并不能改善职业生涯。我们得出的结论是，对于那些对工作安全感缺乏经验的，缺乏经验的分析师来说，行业多元化是一种安全机制。