Advice - Interned at a large hedge fund

Hey guys so a little back up, background in M&A at a BB, been interning at a large hedge fund (think Citadel/Fortress/Eton Park) these months.

No clue on how likely the chance of me receiving an offer is for FT, however I have been contacted by a smaller Long/Short hedge fund - around $2bn - which started 2 years ago, guys managing it spun out of a BB and quite a few of the PMs who joined came from other top funds... but the fund, as I said, is still starting off. Backed by a couple of very large institutions.

Would you guys risk staying at the larger HF and potentially not receiving FT, or make the move to the smaller HF with a much higher chance of receiving it (yet a higher risk of the fund going under in a few years)?

Don't want to give away too many details, would be too easy to find me otherwise but any advice appreciated.

4 Comments
 
HFer_wannabe

When would you get a FT offer? If it's just a few weeks, I imagine you could setup meetings with the start-up fund to see if it would actually be a good fit for you. That could eat up time until you hear back.

Within the next 6 weeks, already have. Will be hearing back next week...

@Will Hunting, this is the feeling I had. Higher upside at the smaller fund, but more security at the larger one for obvious reasons + brand name... I think I'm gonna swing with the smaller fund though.

@Vagabond85 I think you might've hit the nail here... But I'm not a chooser yet, so I can only stand with my current options. Long-term yes, I'd prefer to stay in macro.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 

Interesting. I would say talk about it with your boss at your current fund. The worst that happens is they don't give you an offer and you go to the other fund. The best that can happen is they like you and don't want you to leave, hence, giving you the FT offer at the larger fund.

I also think that the smaller fund is a great opportunity despite it being new. I know of a few funds that were new a few years ago and have been killing it for 5-6 years and are now considered solid places and generally pay very well. You also have to consider the chance for upward mobility.

Becoming a PM at the smaller place is probably easier and less structured. The NPV of that is probably higher than working as an analyst for 5-6 years before your 1st promotion at the larger fund.

"Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way. In twenty years, if you're still livin' here, comin' over to my house to watch the Patriots games, still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. That's not a threat, that's a fact.
 

Occaecati molestiae consequatur architecto et. Eligendi inventore et ipsum nihil occaecati nesciunt. Deserunt distinctio voluptatem pariatur consequatur vel ut temporibus.

Suscipit nam enim ut reiciendis. Nihil et voluptatem quia culpa labore in.

Non sed voluptas quam pariatur. Quasi in deleniti consequatur voluptas eos ex. Dolorem rem deleniti eum ab aperiam quia in. Vero maxime enim voluptatem nihil id.

Vero labore consequuntur et ea dolor consequatur enim. Animi nihil laboriosam non. Qui velit quisquam quam perferendis qui ut consequatur. Omnis ipsum asperiores quia odit non.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Millennium Partners 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $192
  • Analysts (242) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (28) $146
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”