financial-deep-research

What this skill does

# Financial Deep Research

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## Core System Instructions

**Purpose:** Deliver citation-backed, verified financial research reports through 8-phase pipeline (Scope > Plan > Retrieve > Triangulate > Synthesize > Critique > Refine > Package) with financial source credibility scoring, regulatory compliance tracking, and progressive context management.

**Financial Focus:** This skill specializes in:
- Market analysis and investment research
- Due diligence and competitive benchmarking
- Regulatory compliance and risk assessment
- Financial modeling support and valuation analysis
- Earnings analysis and financial statement review
- Sector/industry deep dives

**Context Strategy:** This skill uses 2025 context engineering best practices:
- Static instructions cached (this section)
- Progressive disclosure (load references only when needed)
- Avoid "loss in the middle" (critical info at start/end, not buried)
- Explicit section markers for context navigation

---

## Decision Tree (Execute First)

```
Request Analysis
|-- Simple stock quote? -> STOP: Use WebSearch, not this skill
|-- Basic company lookup? -> STOP: Use WebSearch, not this skill
|-- Debugging code? -> STOP: Use standard tools, not this skill
+-- Complex financial analysis needed? -> CONTINUE

Mode Selection
|-- Quick market check? -> quick (3 phases, 2-5 min)
|-- Standard analysis? -> standard (6 phases, 5-10 min) [DEFAULT]
|-- Investment decision? -> deep (8 phases, 10-20 min)
|-- Due diligence/M&A? -> ultradeep (8+ phases, 20-45 min)

Execution Loop (per phase)
|-- Load phase instructions from [methodology](./reference/methodology.md#phase-N)
|-- Execute phase tasks
|-- Spawn parallel agents if applicable
+-- Update progress

Validation Gate
|-- Run `python scripts/validate_report.py --report [path]`
|-- Pass? -> Deliver
+-- Fail? -> Fix (max 2 attempts) -> Still fails? -> Escalate
```

---

## Workflow (Clarify > Plan > Act > Verify > Report)

**AUTONOMY PRINCIPLE:** This skill operates independently. Infer assumptions from query context. Only stop for critical errors or incomprehensible queries.

### 1. Clarify (Rarely Needed - Prefer Autonomy)

**DEFAULT: Proceed autonomously. Derive assumptions from query signals.**

**ONLY ask if CRITICALLY ambiguous:**
- Query is incomprehensible (e.g., "analyze the thing")
- Contradictory requirements (e.g., "quick 50-source ultradeep analysis")
- Critical compliance/regulatory scope unclear

**When in doubt: PROCEED with standard mode. User will redirect if incorrect.**

**Default assumptions:**
- Company analysis -> Assume investor/analyst audience
- Sector query -> Assume comprehensive market view needed
- Valuation query -> Assume institutional-quality analysis
- Regulatory query -> Assume US jurisdiction unless specified
- Standard mode is default for most queries

---

### 2. Plan

**Mode selection criteria:**
- **Quick** (2-5 min): Market snapshot, earnings preview, quick check
- **Standard** (5-10 min): Most analysis, balanced depth/speed [DEFAULT]
- **Deep** (10-20 min): Investment decisions, detailed due diligence
- **UltraDeep** (20-45 min): M&A due diligence, comprehensive sector analysis

**Announce plan and execute:**
- Briefly state: selected mode, estimated time, number of sources
- Example: "Starting standard mode financial research (5-10 min, 15-30 sources)"
- Proceed without waiting for approval

---

### 3. Act (Phase Execution)

**All modes execute:**
- Phase 1: SCOPE - Define financial analysis boundaries ([method](./reference/methodology.md#phase-1-scope))
- Phase 3: RETRIEVE - Parallel financial data gathering (5-10 concurrent searches + agents) ([method](./reference/methodology.md#phase-3-retrieve---parallel-information-gathering))
- Phase 8: PACKAGE - Generate report using [template](./templates/report_template.md)

**Standard/Deep/UltraDeep execute:**
- Phase 2: PLAN - Financial research strategy formulation
- Phase 4: TRIANGULATE - Verify 3+ sources per financial claim
- Phase 4.5: OUTLINE REFINEMENT - Adapt structure based on evidence (WebWeaver 2025) ([method](./reference/methodology.md#phase-45-outline-refinement---dynamic-evolution-webweaver-2025))
- Phase 5: SYNTHESIZE - Generate investment insights

**Deep/UltraDeep execute:**
- Phase 6: CRITIQUE - Risk analysis and bear case
- Phase 7: REFINE - Address gaps, strengthen thesis

**Critical: Avoid "Loss in the Middle"**
- Place key findings at START and END of sections, not buried
- Use explicit headers and markers
- Structure: Summary > Details > Conclusion (not Details sandwiched)

**Progressive Context Loading:**
- Load [methodology](./reference/methodology.md) sections on-demand
- Load [template](./templates/report_template.md) only for Phase 8
- Do not inline everything - reference external files

**Anti-Hallucination Protocol (CRITICAL for Financial Data):**
- **Source grounding**: Every financial claim MUST cite a specific source immediately [N]
- **Clear boundaries**: Distinguish between FACTS (from filings/data) and ANALYSIS (your interpretation)
- **Explicit markers**: Use "According to [1]..." or "[1] reports..." for source-grounded statements
- **No speculation without labeling**: Mark inferences as "This suggests..." not "Data shows..."
- **Verify before citing**: If unsure whether source actually says X, do NOT fabricate citation
- **When uncertain**: Say "No sources found for X" rather than inventing references
- **Financial precision**: Always include specific numbers, dates, and currency when available

**Parallel Execution Requirements (CRITICAL for Speed):**

**Phase 3 RETRIEVE - Mandatory Parallel Financial Search:**
1. **Decompose query** into 5-10 independent search angles before ANY searches
2. **Launch ALL searches in single message** with multiple tool calls (NOT sequential)
3. **Quality threshold monitoring** for FFS pattern:
   - Track source count and avg credibility score
   - Proceed when threshold reached (mode-specific, see methodology)
   - Continue background searches for additional depth
4. **Spawn 3-5 parallel agents** using Task tool for deep-dive investigations

**Financial Search Decomposition Strategy:**
```
[Single message with 8+ parallel tool calls]
WebSearch #1: Company fundamentals + recent filings
WebSearch #2: Earnings/financial performance
WebSearch #3: Industry/sector analysis
WebSearch #4: Competitive landscape
WebSearch #5: Regulatory/compliance news
WebSearch #6: Analyst ratings/price targets
WebSearch #7: Risk factors/bear case
WebSearch #8: Recent news + catalysts
Task agent #1: SEC filing deep dive (10-K, 10-Q analysis)
Task agent #2: Financial statement analysis
Task agent #3: Industry comparison/benchmarking
```

---

### 4. Verify (Always Execute)

**Step 1: Citation Verification (Catches Fabricated Sources)**

```bash
python scripts/verify_citations.py --report [path]
```

**Financial-Specific Checks:**
- SEC filing references (verify EDGAR links)
- Financial data accuracy (cross-check key metrics)
- Date accuracy (earnings dates, filing dates)
- Flags suspicious entries (future financials, impossible metrics)

**If suspicious citations found:**
- Review flagged entries manually
- Remove or replace fabricated sources
- Re-run until clean

**Step 2: Structure & Quality Validation**

```bash
python scripts/validate_report.py --report [path]
```

**9 automated checks (financial-enhanced):**
1. Executive summary length (50-250 words)
2. Required sections present (+ recommended: Risk Factors, Valuation)
3. Citations formatted [1], [2], [3]
4. Bibliography matches citations
5. No placeholder text (TBD, TODO)
6. Word count reasonable (500-10000)
7. Minimum 10 sources
8. No broken internal links
9. Financial data consistency (dates, currencies, units)

**If fails:**
- Attempt 1: Auto-fix formatting/links