Just finished up a couple very long weeks at work and am feeling pretty generous at the moment. So, a little bit about me:
- Non-target former varsity athlete/captain
- Corp Strat to HF
- Won't go too much in to location/fund size, but we are mostly a typical L/S fund and a pretty small team.
So, if anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I'll answer as best I can and as quickly as possible.
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For this particular job I sent my resume and cover letter to their [email protected] email address when I noticed they posted an analyst position and was lucky enough to hear back from them. In general though I networked and cold-called my ass off for quite a while. I think I might write a short series of posts on what I've learned about networking and my transition from strat to a HF because I won't be able to do your question justice right now. However, my path was eased a little because I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to manage outside money for a few businesses from my sophomore year in college on through when I started this current job (the amount was enough that I didn't look stupid when putting it on a resume).
I didn't have to learn a lot of new stuff directly before starting my analyst role because I had already picked most things up from managing the money for the small businesses for an extended length of time. That being said, it's not likely that someone is going to have to learn a great deal of things directly before starting as an analyst because no HF is going to hire you if you don't already know the basics. They may try to teach you how to think like an investor, but there is very little hand holding (read: none) so you better know the basics well before you start.
Basically, I sold myself as:
1) Someone who is passionate about investing 2) Someone who is smart, driven and results oriented 3) Someone who is knowledgeable about the markets/individual equities 4) Someone who is decently likable and won't destroy the team atmosphere
When you're selling yourself for an analyst position-- in my experience -- it really comes down to, "can this guy make us money?". Plain and simple. i think this may be a part in the "blog series" for lack of a better term.
My day can vary wildly, but this is a pretty typical, uneventful day:
6am -- Alarm goes off. 6:30am -- Actually get up and shower/get dressed. 7am -- Leave for the office. I drive every day. 7:30am -- Arrive at the office. Check email/schedule for the day. Read a few blogs/check twitter/read FT and WSJ. May or may not meet with my boss/rest of the investment team depending on what is going on. (This is assuming a company I am following didn't have a call/earnings in the morning). 9:30am -- Watch the open and begin monitoring my positions/research/modeling. 12pm -- Go grab lunch and most likely bring it back to my desk. I try to go out at least once a week for lunch just to keep my sanity. 1 - 4pm -- Meet with my boss about current positions and maybe begin to pitch him a new company. I might pick his brain about a few things. These meetings can range from 5 minutes to all afternoon. If I'm not meeting with him or the rest of the investment team I'm doing some more research at my desk. 4 - 5pm -- Finish up my notes from price movements/anything special I noticed during the day on my holdings and watch list. 5 - 6pm -- workout at the gym in our building. 6 - 7pm -- Wrap everything up from the day and usually print out a Q or K to take home and read. 7 - 12am -- Eat dinner/hang out with friends/gf, read, etc. Nothing too exciting.
Edit: Forgot your second Q.
I am the decision making process. I decide what businesses to look at, develop the thesis, do the leg work, and pitch it to my boss (the PM) as well as set the price target (even though I hate them) and decide when to add, cut, or completely exit the position.
No one is going to think you're a quitter. Make it part of your elevator pitch. I'd leave it on under your GPA from your transfer school, but that's without seeing your resume. Take all this worth a grain of salt it's just my personal opinion.
Yes, I meant NCAA
Went a little in to how in a previous answer. Why? Because that's where I wanted to be, basically. I went in to Corp Strat as a fall back at the time of graduation and had been trying to make a switch ever since.
No, I don't cover the same sector. We have four total analysts -- three cover a sector each and I am a generalist.
Yes, the jump was difficult. The hardest part by far was getting interviews. Once you get in an interview room it's [kind of] equal footing for everyone, but before then having a non-traditional background is not a positive.
(I have a feeling I'm not answering your question that well. Let me know if you want me to elaborate.)
I would recommend to read the link that StryfeDSP replied with, but you're going to have to give me some more information about the interview/fund/position for me to really give you a good answer. However, I usually structure my pitches like this:
Industry Overview (read: why is the industry attractive?) Company Overview (read: why is the company attractive?) Catalyst (read: what is going to change to alert the market that is is wrong about its current valuation. Be sure to include current valuation.) Valuation (read: how much do you think the business is worth?)
Yes. They do not factor in to the bigger picture. I use SS research to gauge market opinion and see maybe see if there is anything I missed on the industry and/or comps. I'm being completely serious when I say this -- My boss would fire me on the spot if I told him I used SS research to confirm my thesis.
I think I'm going to do a short series going more in depth on networking/cold calling, interviewing, choosing the right place to work. If there is anything else anyone wants me to write about just let me know.
Personally, I would not give any weight to the CFA in the resume review period or in an interview. However, I know plenty of people who do and plenty of shops in which it is a prerequisite for working there.
Yes, about half of the people in my firm have the certification or are in the process of getting it. I am not one of them, however.
The CFA can add value by helping you to get your foot in the door. However, it will not make you a better investor in my opinion and that is really what it's all about. Having a great command of academic finance doesn't really mean a whole lot if you don't pick winners.
I would (and do) prefer to be a generalist. If I was forced to pick an industry, it would probably be consumer or maybe tech. There is obviously a lot of good that comes with specializing in an industry, namely the contacts you make within the industry, but I want to be able to pick whatever business I want to follow or buy. Possibly the main reason, though, is I hope to one day become a PM and -- rightly or wrongly -- I believe that having experience valuing and owning businesses from several different sectors will only enhance my chances of being successful in such a position.
Take my thoughts on this with a grain of salt, but my impression of the general consensus about going to the buyside directly out of undergrad is that you give up some optionality in your career. Having a banking stint on your resume is sometime seen as a prerequisite for working at some places. That being said, had I had the choice between a banking stint and a buyside job coming out of undergrad (I had neither) I would have taken the buyside gig and never looked back. If you're confident in your abilities as an investor/analyst than having a career hedge shouldn't be your biggest concern.
I'd rather have someone else answer the second question. My guess is that it would be easier for you to move around while staying as an REIT/MLP guy, but don't know how much traction you'd get trying to move around as a generalist or some other industry. My guess is that how knowledgeable you are about other industries, your resume as a whole, and how you interview would have a hand in your ability to switch industries while switching firms.