Where along the HF spectrum do you draw the line?
Hedge funds are viewed as one of the most attractive opportunities on this forum. Some of them recruit out of undergrad, and obviously if you get something like Bridgewater you probably take it, but not all funds are created equal.
Where would you draw the line? There's got to be a point as you move down the ladder (based on AUM, structure, performance, or whatever criteria you want) where you say, screw it, I'm better off starting out in FICC trading (flow) at a bank.
Curious to know what yall think. Fire away.
i'll play along. my minimum requirements for joining a hedge fund are
1) C-level executives and PM's with pedigree 2) $100 million AUM 3) Successful track records from PM's 4) acceptable risk-management procedures.
If you don't have pedigree, you will never raise capital. and you don't want to work for a guy whose swinging for the fences with every trade. that's just not how you build a long-standing business.
I'd replace #2 with "interest in mentorship". You want to work with people who are not only competent but will bring you up in the business. If the rest of the infrastructure is in place, AUM will follow.
interest in mentorship is important but so is AUM, you don't want to be at a fund where minor investor withdrawals cause half the work force to be cut.
Being a talent factory was extremely important when I was making the consideration at my first fund. There's really nothing worse than joining a great fund and doing grunt work with no opportunity to get more involved.
Whatever side of the line Bridgewater is on, I want to be on the other side.
I think this pretty much goes without saying
I think you have an unrealistic notion of what BW has their entry level people do. The goal should be to learn, which requires enough AUM to give you some level of security and people who are willing to teach you. People move around enough that even if you have to accept PM(s) that are missing the "something" needed to get to the next level, its fine. If you want to drop right into a GSP or relatively established Tiger cub, you need to be both smart and lucky or spend some time cranking in IB/ER/PE.
Why do people on WSO think working at bridgewater is a great opportunity? The amount of misinformation on here is quite staggering.
Yeah most people don't understand that the firm has gotten too big and basically controlled by the wise men at the top. You'll be doing nothing hedge fund oriented at the junior levels. I've heard horrible stories from my colleagues there who have basically wasted two years pushing papers around, data entrying, and playing "Big Brother" by reporting their colleagues as well as being reported on.
As for AUM, it really depends. You can get a great experience from a small fund if the PM has an amazing track record and wants to train you in all parts of the investment and idea generation process. But if the role is all about grunt work and no idea generation, even the largest fund will be a disappointment (i.e Bridgewater).
I knew somebody who worked at BW out of undergrad - they basically said it was only good for a line on your resume and then to get out as fast as possible. They made IB analysts look positively jubilant about their careers.
As for HFs, I would want: Cultural fit 300m+ AUM Strong, replicable performance A PM interested in teaching -even better, a PM interested in building a business
I assume this person was an investment associate? Not sure if this is accurate, but the investment and senior investment associates (post-MBA role) do interesting macro research. I met one guy who managed to become the assistant to the CIO greg jensen and did research projects for him. Let BW, now at Stanford GSB.
I would say mentor ship and the HF manager is someone who great at his strategy (ya I know.. no shit), which is hard to tell for an undergrad who very limited knowledge... The most important thing is making it a learning opportunity, don't worry about pay or prestige when starting out; these things don't matter in the beginning. That means you might be going to a firm with less AUM and one that normal people in Finance have never heard of.
So the basic criteria (for me) are: 1) $200mm-$1bn AUM 2) Established track record
I feel that not many people factor in the strategy of the fund. Do you want to look for solid firms trading at nice multiples, conduct bottom up research of small caps, or watch the yield curve? Obviously you'll want to be somewhere that allows the the junior levels to get involved.
1) Preftige
That's all.
I just want to work for greenlight :(
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