Best job to get into a pod shop?
I’m a sophmore at a top target. My freshman internship was at a wealth management firm. I don’t have anything for sophomore summer yet (don’t qualify for diversify so I’d appreciate any advice on that) but my main question is what careers (besides IB) offer a clear path to working at Citadel, Millennium, Point72, Baly? I know ER is good, but is it impossible if you start in AM, some investing role at a bank, or even WM? Obviously going directly to a training program like the P72 academy would be ideal but those are quite competitive.
Your first job is to spend 10 seconds of research on your question. Then employ about another 10 seconds of deductive reasoning on what skills will be required in your career, and what jobs teach you those skills. These 20 seconds of research and deductive reasoning, oddly enough, are exactly what you'll do at a hedge fund. You're welcome
Before you even entertain the thought of a pod shop, figure out why you want to work in public equities. What is it that interests you in fundamental or L/S equities versus fixed income? Then, learn how financial analysis works, read a book, sign up for a finance course at your school or the most applicable/helpful class you can enrol into. Learn how to model but not just for the sake of it but truly learn how to build a model, bottoms-up analysis with a full revenue build, then find an upperclassman or someone who knows how to model to check it over and give you feedback. Read research reports about the sectors or businesses you find interesting, learn what makes their revenue line grow or fall. Network and learn about the different pros and cons of each role/industry, maybe even join an investment club. Then after you've done all the above, and you still have chosen the HF path or route, apply to HF, IB, or ER intern roles. There are other MM pods aside from the standard 4 that offer internships. If you're at a target then you perhaps might even be able to get a SM internship. Lastly, I would advise against WM if your goal is HF but really think about why you want to do this and if your interests and goals align with this path.
Citadel, Millennium, and Point72 recruit kids out of undergrad. From my experience/interactions with those juniors, I've been most impressed with the Citadel associates, then Point72 I've been less impressed (moreso the P72 juniors are what I would expect from a junior HF analyst; the citadel juniors that work for my analyst friends over there have been really impressive/exceeded my expectations and often seem like they've been covering their names for 3-4 years). I've only met 1 MLP junior that joined from undergrad, he was similar to the P72 juniors, but definitely still good. I do think if you do any of these, it puts you at a pretty huge advantage versus those doing what I did years ago / 2+2. Night and day in terms of the skills/reps you'll get in 4 years and how much you'll develop
Nonetheless, there are exceptions to every program, and these are excellent paths to top seats if you can get into one. Nothing like this existed when I was in school, would've loved to have skipped 2+2. If you're certain public markets are the career you want (regardless of MM, SM, LO), my view is these are the best seats. I do get quite a bit of inbound from kids asking if PE is the best entry to a good public markets seat; it used to maybe 5-10 years ago, but I think the answer has definitely changed. You won't get branded as a MM guy until you're old enough to be a money-maker / risk-taker; we and similar funds interview kids from these programs and we've actually hired one. Do PE if you're unsure whether you want to pursue HFs or private markets. If you're certain you want to go down the HF path, don't waste time in PE
I'm at one of the larger single managers on my way out, have been here for a while, and we've interviewed a few kids from these programs - really impressive stuff. It does seem like pretty high quality training. What's unclear to me is how they place you in a pod - I can ask my friends, but a lot of my Citadel friends have juniors from this program, and they're all on top teams, so there's likely some linkage.
Why are you on your way out if you don’t mind me asking
were you impressed the most by the citadel guys, just because of the depth of their knowledge in their coverage? vs. p72/MLP?
1) MMHF grad scheme
2) IBD/ER
No WM is a meme
If I were to rank programs to get into HF (regardless MM, SM), where as a SM analyst hiring someone, I primarily care about skill level of the analyst, training, do you “get it”, and then how does one candidate compare the next, the answer is:
1. MM HF grad programs (I also do agree with above Citadel >>> P72 > MLP)
2. MF PE grad programs (I frankly don’t know all the names anymore/who’s ranked what, but think Blackstone flagship PE group is 1 here)
3. Top IB programs
4. MBB consulting (I’ve personally only seen a handful of successful moves here, mostly in UK)
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