Are there roles in a HF for those who are not ‘in love’ with markets?

Sorry if my ignorance offends you….

I see many comments about those who succeed in HFs. The most common seems to be ‘you have to love the markets’.

Does this apply for all HF strats?

Obviously quant roles are different to your L/S which are different to your activist. Some roles are code-based, whereas perhaps at the other end of the spectrum there’s the focus on the asset itself, long term.

Could someone with a comprehensive understanding of the main strats cross the board, explain which if any, HF roles don’t require your eye’s to be glued to various markets & graphs 24/7?

Appreciate any advice, cheers

13 Comments
 

You could also look at biz dev at the MM funds, IR, or many funds have research positions that don’t trade and just research topics. All would be in the business of a HF but not actually making investing decisions if you are worried about that.

 

Any role not oriented to trading P&L generation doesn't necessarily require passion: fundraising, legal, back-office, etc.

But anything related to investment is intensely competitive and you are unlikely to perform even in line with peers if you don't have the motivation that they do. A bit like pro sports, though there have been exceptions of people with exceptional talent that made up for the lack of energy/interest.

Note that from what I've seen on the private markets side, it's definitely possible to coast and become a multimillionaire.

 

Thanks. I do truly love PE investing and doing deals. But Iwant to do more than just structuring private deals. Activism interests me in this way, but I feel is somewhat dying.

Hence my question about anything in the HF space that you don't have to be obsessed with markets to be competitive in.

Perhaps I should take a look at distressed stuff?

I guess end goal is to be able to invest across the cap structure and look at anything as an option, as opposed to just thinking can we get 30-50%LTV/ 4xEBITDA on this, or staring at a bloomberg terminal all week.

Appreciate your thoughts.

 
Most Helpful

You have to be pretty aware of the markets in a cross cap stack role. Any HF investing or investing related role will require you to be in close touch with the markets on a daily basis. No way around it.


The role you’re describing is one where you simply focus on fundamental research on names in a vacuum while ignoring market related noise. Very few of those roles exist, and I assume they’re likely not the best of a learning and career development standpoint.


Distressed in a vacuum is a slowly dying space. If you want to work on crapcos that consecutively file for ch11s before everyone realizes they’ll obtain more value in a liquidation, go for it. But even then you have to be attuned to the markets to be aware of where stuff trades, where the next pocket of distressed might come from, etc. Good distressed / stressed opportunities that have relevance to survive will undergo some sort of out of court LME/RX. And none of those seats that focus on these opportunities will let you do research in a vacuum.

 

Right? Like I don't get OP - why do you want to work for a HF if you don't love markets lmao. 

Do you just want to say to people you work at an HF? Even now him bringing up distressed stuff, you're still  going to have to be following how the security is trading. 

 

Ea dolores placeat libero temporibus aut sint quo. Repellendus nihil aperiam neque harum iste asperiores. Vero autem numquam ut. Eum aut consectetur eum nisi. Illo corporis aut odio omnis corporis. Labore id et inventore sapiente amet voluptate molestiae.

Laboriosam tempora omnis sunt aut voluptate ut fugiat. Eos perspiciatis praesentium laboriosam sit dolor. Ut autem fugiat et qui. Quam sit ducimus eveniet consequatur et nulla. Et doloribus eum et quia aspernatur rerum. Rerum atque enim ut debitis.

Sed inventore eum quod optio eos. Quis aut explicabo aspernatur et et. Eos incidunt enim officiis quisquam ea voluptas commodi. Qui adipisci aperiam ut harum.

Itaque temporibus officia nemo alias architecto aperiam. Quis a aut enim sed. Laborum ut assumenda et autem. Voluptatem temporibus odio pariatur fugit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.0%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.0%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 94.9%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (11) $372
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $193
  • Analysts (234) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (276) $95
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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”