A new study by SMU examines the effects of equity analysts' social skills on their performance and career advancements and finds significant and positive effects of social skills. The findings support the growing importance of social skills, for which there is still no good substitute in the age of artificial intelligence, and highlights the importance of social skills training in school and workplace. Titled "The Effect of Social Skills on Analyst Performance", the research was conducted by SMU Assistant Professor of Accounting An-Ping Lin and two other academics.