Best S&T Desks for Transitioning to a HF
Which Sales & Trading desks provide the best opportunity to transition to a hedge fund and ultimately become a PM?
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Hy/Distressed Credit, preferably desk analyst but also trading
Thank you, what’s your opinion on the exit opportunities for rates trading in terms of macro hedge funds?
i know lots of rates traders (Govts, Swaps, MBS, Vol/Swaptions) who went to be PMs at the MM hedge funds (Capula, Brevan, Tudor, Citadel, Millenium, Exodus, etc...)
if you are good (if you make more than 40-50mm trading trades at a bank 2 years in a row)...then you can easily goto any of these hedge funds as a PM.
I can confirm this. Worked at a credit desk over the summer. Nearly all the desk analysts had buyside opps 1-2 years in. Traders for credit less so actually (though it still can happen).
Macro desks like rates, CDX, CMBX can lead to PM positions from the trading role as the desk analyst position is less relevant on those desks.
Thanks, that is really insightful. Which macro desks do you think had the best exit ops to HFs?
Agree. HY/Distressed desk analysts work on actionable trade ideas vs. maintain published coverage, and good analysts get picked off by buyside after not too long. Typical coverage topics include new issues, relval ideas, distressed situations, opportunistic bonds / loans, and reorg & special situation equities from time to time.
How about publishing analysts compared to desk analysts?
Is desk analyst an easier transition to buy side compared to a trader? How’s desk analysts compare to pure research?
Desk analyst will help you learn actual investing skills much better since you’re managing risk. That being said, as long as you’re 4-5 years of experience I don’t think it matters much. Take what experience and role you can get.
Also when do you think it’s best to switch from S&T to a hedge fund in terms of rank (an,as,vp,md)?
hey what if you are on a cash equities/electronic trading desk. Would it be possible or make much sense to transition over to a MM HF?
Don’t know much about exit ops from electronic, but cash equities doesn’t have many exit ops. You should probably look to jump to the equity derivs desk or preferably one of the aforementioned desks if you want the best shot to go to a HF.
How would you say an RMBS or ABS trading desk would be for buyside opps? (Non-agency ofc). Or would you have better odds coming from structured finance banking?
Macro desks (Indices, Rates, FX, Commodities, EM)
Securitized credit desks (ABS, CMBS, RMBS, etc)
Non-Linear Equity Derivatives / Volatility Trading desks
Credit Trading desk analysts
Let's say you're on one of these great desks, how do you start looking at exit opps and begin the recruiting process? I'm on an Equity Derivatives desk and want to move to an investment or research analyst role at a HF that focuses more on idea generation.
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