Cambridge Associates Interview Questions (2024) - 72 Entries

Cambridge Associates Interview Questions

74 total interview insight submissions

Interview Experience (94%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.8

Very Negative
Negative
Neutral
Positive
Very Positive

Interview Difficulty (90%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

2.8

Very Easy
Easy
Average
Difficult
Very Difficult

% Interns - FT Offers (97%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

78%

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Interviews at Cambridge Associates

Get Prepared

Year

Job Title

Group/Division

Location

Experience

Difficulty

1st Year Analyst

Year 2022

Job Title 1st Year Analyst

Group/Division Asset Management

Location San Francisco

Experience

Positive

Difficulty

Easy

1st Year Analyst

Year 2022

Job Title 1st Year Analyst

Group/Division Portfolio Management

Location Boston

Experience

Very Positive

Difficulty

Average

Student / Prospective Monkey

Year 2022

Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey

Group/Division Investment Research

Location Boston

Experience

Positive

Difficulty

Easy

Student / Prospective Monkey

Year 2022

Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey

Group/Division Generalist

Location Arlington

Experience

Very Positive

Difficulty

Average

1st Year Analyst

Year 2022

Job Title 1st Year Analyst

Group/Division Investment Banking

Location Boston

Experience

Positive

Difficulty

Average

1st Year Analyst

Year 2022

Job Title 1st Year Analyst

Group/Division Generalist

Location Boston

Experience

Positive

Difficulty

Average

1st Year Associate

Year 2021

Job Title 1st Year Associate

Group/Division Markets

Location Boston

Experience

Very Positive

Difficulty

Average

1st Year Analyst

Year 2021

Job Title 1st Year Analyst

Group/Division Consulting

Location Boston

Experience

Positive

Difficulty

Average

1st Year Analyst

Year 2021

Job Title 1st Year Analyst

Group/Division Generalist

Location London

Experience

Very Positive

Difficulty

Difficult

Investment Analyst

Year 2021

Job Title Investment Analyst

Group/Division Investment Research

Location Boston

Experience

Very Positive

Difficulty

Average

Interview Questions & Answers - Cambridge Associates Examples

Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston

Interviewed: March 2022

Date Submitted: Apr 04, 2024

Outcome

Declined Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month

Application

Skills Test

Personality Test

Interview

Several rounds back to back for 4 hours with a 30 minute break scheduled towards the end. After the last round you have an hour to write an email to a client summarizing a report on why they should invest in a private equity fund (they give you the details on this potential fund.)

Interview Questions

Questions about how to allocate a portfolio and how you would measure that performance (in the context of a perpetual entity).

How to measure the risk of a portfolio and then answering as if you were speaking to a client that did not understand the terminology. (make sure you study risk ratios)

What various strategies would you invest in for your client?

Sample Answer

Performance Associate Interview - Performance Improvement

Anonymous interview candidate in Arlington

Interviewed: February 2023

Date Submitted: Mar 18, 2024

Outcome

Declined Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month

Application

Phone Interview

1 on 1 Interview

Group Interview

Presentation

Interview

I applied for a job online and was contacted by a recruiter via phone. I was then invited to participate in a superday interview and case study. The superday comprised of six back-to-back interviews, each lasting about 30 minutes. The fourth interview was the case study and it was fairly simple since it was qualitative in nature. A week after the superday, I received an offer, but decided to reject it. The entire process took less than a month from start to finish.

Interview Questions

During my interview, I was asked to describe the nature of the role and its responsibilities. The question was in reference to a case study, which, in my opinion, was not very detailed and quite convoluted. Although I was able to answer the question successfully, I found it to be an odd question.

Sample Answer

Investment Performance Associate Interview - Portfolio Management

Anonymous employee in Boston

Interviewed: February 2024

Date Submitted: Feb 25, 2024

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month

Application

Phone Interview

1 on 1 Interview

Other

Interview

Applied online via their careers website, and was invited to a phone interview. Phone interview was with the recruiter going over my academic and work background, as well as my interest in the role and the company. After a week, was invited to a superday consisting of 4 30-minute interviews with team leads and managers, one of which was a qualitative case study. The impression I got over the interview was they really want to understand your ability to handle the workload and time management, as well as your ability to work well with the team. Everyone I spoke to seemed really proud of the people at the firm, as well as the resources available to employees for skill development. Some hardball questions that are too niche to prepare for, but convey your thought process and focus on explaining how you would work through the scenario rather than remembering the perfect example.

Interview Questions

When have you been confronted with a mistake, but the mistake was made by someone else? How did you handle the situation?

Sample Answer

Investment Analyst Interview - Investment Research

Anonymous interview candidate in

Interviewed: July 2023

Date Submitted: Oct 20, 2023

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

2-3 months

Application

Phone Interview

1 on 1 Interview

Presentation

Skills Test

Interview

Was initially contacted by HR for a first round interview over a phone call, mostly discussed previous work experience and motivational questions on why CA, why funds investing, etc.

Was then contacted to complete a case study (evaluating funds) over two days, and was asked to send it back before another round of interviews discussing the case study with Senior Associates. Also completed a simple Excel skills test and writing test on the same day.

One week later, was asked to come back to the CA offices to speak to all the Investment Directors and Partners for the team I was interviewing for at the offices.

Subsequently contacted for a F2F interview with two Investment Associates, and spoke to them about past experiences and motivations for joining CA. Was asked general questions about FOF investing, how to evaluate funds, etc.

The whole interview process was quite long but very thorough - they really focus on your motivations for joining the firm, and lots of questions on what I thought about the PE/VC landscape given that I had prior experience evaluating funds in the region at my role. I spoke to 7 people in total and the process was very professional. No bad actors whatsoever with the firm.

Interview Questions

Do you think China is investible right now?

What are some of the key aspects to consider for funds investing?

Elaborate on your foreign language capabilities

Sample Answer

Investment Analyst Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in Dallas

Interviewed: September 2023

Date Submitted: Oct 19, 2023

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month

Application

Phone Interview

1 on 1 Interview

Presentation

Skills Test

Interview

First was a phone call. Super straightforward, try and highlight your experiences and how it ties into cambridge associates. Also talk about the firm and do your research on their business practices. Next was a superday which was pretty long. Two case studies, they walk you through most of it and you just have to give recommendations on the information. Then a writing prompt which was unique. Overall nice interview experience.

Interview Questions

Probably the case study questions, one was asking about specific stuff with portfolio management regarding Sharpe ratios, so try and read up on that beforehand.

Sample Answer

Investment Analyst Interview - Real Estate

Anonymous employee in Boston

Interviewed: April 2022

Date Submitted: May 24, 2023

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month

Application

Phone Interview

1 on 1 Interview

Group Interview

Presentation

Background Check

Interview

Phone screen with HR. Then intro meeting with hiring manager. Got a take home case study that was due in a week. Group interviews and presentation of case study to members (2 at a time, 3 interviews). Final round with MD behaviorism interview. Got offer and accepted. Start to finish about a month.

Interview Questions

I had to find information on two PE shops to compare and contrast. Performance info is not readily available so hard to quantify decisions but made a very qualitative presentation.

Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Investments

Anonymous interview candidate in San Francisco

Interviewed: March 2023

Date Submitted: May 18, 2023

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

HR screening then a superday. Fairly quick turnaround and got an HR call with little experience and at the time a weak resume overall.

Interview Questions

Why Cambridge Associates?

What investment news have you been following and why?

How do you value an asset?

What do you understand about this role?

Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Investments

Anonymous employee in Boston

Interviewed: January 2022

Date Submitted: Mar 03, 2023

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

1-2 months

Application

Phone Interview

Group Interview

Interview

One initial phone screening with HR, why interested in the firm and private investments, one group interview with an analyst and a director on specific industry questions and background.

Interview Questions

What is going on in the world of private investments?

Sample Answer

Investment Analyst Interview - Investments

Anonymous interview candidate in San Francisco

Interviewed: December 2022

Date Submitted: Jan 09, 2023

Outcome

Declined Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month

Application

Phone Interview

1 on 1 Interview

Interview

One 30 minutes phone interview, asking about why I wanted to work in IM and at CA. Then, superday with 3 different members of investment team, with one case study and behavioral questions.

Interview Questions

Case study consisted of selecting an investment manager, and explaining why I would choose them

Sample Answer

Investment Analyst Interview - Asset Management

Anonymous employee in San Francisco

Interviewed: November 2022

Date Submitted: Jan 01, 2023

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month

Application

Phone Interview

1 on 1 Interview

Interview

Interview process consisted of an initial screening/behavioral interview with recruiter. If you passed this round, you were moved onto a super day which takes place a few weeks later. Superday had 3 interview sessions, a casual coffee chat, and a written prompt after all the interviews. The interviews were mainly technical and about portfolio management. If you know modern portfolio theory, then the interview case studies should be quite easy.

Interview Questions

All the interview questions were relatively the same difficulty. Each case study has multiple parts that typically built upon each other. If you know modern portfolio theory or read any books/material on portfolio management, the questions should be pretty straight forward.

Sample Answer