Hey guys! What's the best approach to reaching out to activist funds? Is it possible to land an activist fund gig right out of undergrad or do they usually strictly hire from 2+ years of experience in IB/PE? How is the approach to recruitment different for mega activist funds (think Elliott) vs. smaller boutiques? Location is London or New York. Any insight would be helpful!
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Curious too
Bump
Anyone?
Very few activist funds will hire out of undergrad, and I'm not aware of any formal programs since Relational Investors shut down a few years ago. To note, however, a friend of a friend joined Elliott out of undergrad (don't know how he got that job). I'd also be rather unsurprised if there are a number of smaller activist funds that hire out of undergrad, although I can't name any off the top of my head.
I don't know anything about activist recruiting (I've heard Elliott's process is extremely intense), so I can't contribute on that front.
To note - there was a great feature on Elliott in Fortune recently: http://fortune.com/2017/12/07/elliott-management-hedge-fund-paul-singer/
You should decide whether or not you'd be comfortable joining that kind of firm. There are different flavors of activism (combative, like Elliott, or cooperative, like ValueAct, and a spectrum in between), and it might make sense to be a bit more introspective about your values before joining an activist fund just because you want to be an activist.
Thanks for your insight and the article is excellent!
Gotta agree with 7x EBITDA here
What value does an UG add to an activist fund? You definitely need prior activism experience and most likely will be recruited because Elliott sees you be successful somewhere else.
For example, look at general boss Mario Cibelli: https://www.barrons.com/articles/savvy-hedge-fund-manager-buys-hard-hit…
He's doing some activist stuff (successfully) in a larger fund. So let's say someone who worked for Mario and learnt a good deal about activism, maybe Elliott (or likely someone smaller) hears about her and says OK she has some experience and is very good - let's bring her in.
Activism requires patience, ingenuity and luck. It's not something you're walking into
Cevian, Europe's biggest activist fund, hires out of UG.
Given the more hands on / potentially operational approach, a number of these funds hire out of PE programs.
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