Can you take vacations at HFs? Do you get holidays off?
One thing I hate about PE is inability to take vacations (have pretty much worked every single day for years now). Can you take vacations in HF? Do you usually get holidays off?
Yes but you can never truly disconnect from emails/calls/etc
Hey, thanks.
Hm, I guess that's ok. Can you ever go off the grid (e.g., take a few nights backpacking)? As a general rule of thumb, I'm asking.
They gave me 10 days of vacation in my offer letter at PE and I haven't been allowed to use one.
What are the reasons for not being able to take a few days from emails / calls? In PE usually it's process driven but curious what it is in public markets investing.
One of your portfolio cos pre-announces results, announces a deal or gets acquired, management change, etc.
Never fun. As the analyst, you're expected to be on top of any material developments. Ideally, your PM is deep enough in the weeds and generous enough to let you disconnect
Thank you for these examples. That is very helpful.
In HF land there are 'slow times' such as the end of August and around the major holidays (mainly Christmas) when the mkt slows down...However you never really disconnect. Some European companies (I recall a few distressed situations) in particular are fond of having big announcements the day after Thanksgiving as a 'gift' to American investors.
Good times
I take a full 20 days off per year. I generally have to give a month+ notice before, and myself and the other junior trader can’t really take time off at the same time other than around the holidays, but at those times I’m pretty unplugged
I’ve always been able to do it. Candidly, I’m usually somewhat plugged in - I.e., not 10 days on safari without checking email or Bloomberg but I can get away with checking twice a day and answering phone if trader calls.
I have never once had a vacation cancelled or even changed. But I’m also different than a lot of HF people.
It will all depend on your fund (SM or MM? How lean? What is your role? And of course how do the higher ups feel about this and what do they do?).
But if just looking at personal experience, yes I take vacation (20-30 days a year), yes I take holidays off. I normally check emails while away, will occasionally jump on a call, and very rarely need to log in to take care of anything. I am generally available, but have been out in the middle of nowhere for a week a couple times.
When I was more junior I took less time (more like 10-15 days a year) and had a couple holidays where I had to go into the office.
Thanks for the response. What you are describing is ideal. I have been at a PE firm working close to 360 days per year.
I would ideally be joining a SM. Relatively lean / in an ideal world I join a startup fund. Does that change your answer?
Startup/very lean could be tough. A bit of it depends on strategy too. Joining a fund that runs longer term strategies/holding periods will give you more flexibility (those 1 day moves won’t matter as much). A very lean team focused on equities will be pretty busy around earnings season. A place that is more systematic can also offer flexibility (again holding period matters), in that it is less discretionary and requires less “being on top” of every move (unless very short term)
Basically, a startup can be great, but usually these funds are “all hands on deck” and don’t have a lot of flex for people to be disconnected for too long. So I would be cautious and make sure you understand the expectations and the strategy.
I take time off when I need to, but I usually don't want to. I honestly believe that to be successful in the role, you've gotta love what you're doing enough to miss it almost immediately when you take time off.
The last part so well said
To be honest it’s a function of your PM/culture and more so how your PnL has been and if you feel like you can ask?
Whoever suggested shorting GME must be getting sent on a nice long vacation right now.
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