Can you switch to ibanking after a year at a hedge fund?

I will be joining the industry in a couple months after graduating last month. My role will be focused on FI relative value trading. It is unlikely that I will be getting much exposure to traditional financial modeling (as my friends in banking will be).

I've been reading up about the hedge fund universe and it seems to me that the majority of funds out there are focused on equities (long/short, value, activist, etc.). It also seems to me that the majority of the analysts in these funds join the funds after doing two years of investment banking.

Does anyone ever join these funds from a trading background? For example, if they spend some time on their own improving their modeling skills? It seems to me that the most prestigious funds out there are focused on equities (Baupost, Viking, Pershing Square, Point72).

What's also concerning is that the vast majority of new hedge funds launching seem to be focused on equities. Very few new hedge funds are fixed income funds as far as a I can tell.

Do you think I should try to join an investment bank after I spend a few months or a year at my hedge fund? Do people ever make that transition? Or what is the easiest way to move from my hedge fund to a prestigious equities hedge fund?

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