Hey everyone,
On hedgetracker, the numbers for plenty of hedge funds are listed. Would it be a good idea to call these office numbers and ask to set up informational interviews? I haven't done much cold calling, so I'm unsure what the best way to do it is
No harm in trying- worst that will happen is they say no.
Go for it. All you need is one yes...
Email them. Send an actionable investment thesis. That is likely to yield better results
How is this a high/risk high reward way to go? If you have actionable investment ideas people will listen. Worst that happens is the guy deletes it. When I was interviewing I got a lot of my interviews this way at great firms, same with my buddies. It shows A. That you are hungry B. That you take initiative C. Most guys wont view it as a waster of their time D. Shows your work product
Email and/or calling is fine. OP will probably have a better hit rate should he get someone on the phone just by the very fact they'll pretty much have to give an answer right then and at that point it's a 50/50 chance most likely heavily dependent on their mood at the time.
I would NOT under any circumstances send a write-up with a first correspondence. But, if you feel the need to send a write-up for whatever reason for the love of God do not label it as "actionable". You're setting yourself up for failure. It's called expectations management. Under promise, over deliver.
Say you send this "actionable thesis" to a guy and he decides to sit down with you to talk about it. Maybe he covers the name or a competitor and grills you about it. Maybe you know enough to impress him at that point, but it's unlikely.
It's better to ask him for some time so you can learn from him because you're passionate about the industry than to promise something you likely can't deliver.
It's better to promise a single and hit a double than call your shot Great Bambino style and then only hit a double.
N.B., most of the #s listed are going to be the front desk/reception or marketing. At a minimum, do some googling and have someone on the investment side to ask for by name. Best is probably someone in the mid-level seniority/tenure.
Sorry to sidetrack the convo, but Kenny... saw this GIF on Reddit and had to post it for you...
Sidetrack? That's totally relevant.
What Kenny said. Ask to speak to someone by name. Occasionally the gatekeeper may ask what this is regarding and they would probably be reluctant to transfer you over if you state that you want an informational interview. Just remember what the person does there and answer accordingly. Say you want to speak to a bond trader then say it is about some fixed income products.
I don't know man, I employed this approach years ago when I was pounding the pavement, but I called in to the direct lines of the guy I wanted to speak with (and had a pretty good yield). Going thru the main receptionist is a total crapshoot - most PM's and analysts have assistants screening the calls & they're are probably instructed to filter out the "noise" & shoo people like yourself away. Either you call in to someone direct or stick to a well-worded email & be prepared for any followup. As Kenny said above, best to target a mid-level guy connected to the key decision makers. Aim higher & you risk annoying the "silverbacks". Good luck
You're all welcome.
Highest hit rate would probably be from cold emailing with an investment idea attached (that is actionable within the framework of said firm's investment process). A little bit of research goes a long way. I have gotten a few of these before and I will always read the write-ups out of curiousity, and though none of them impressed me enough to bring them in, I will sometimes reply and give feedback on how it could be improved. What no one has ever done is incorporate the feedback and come back with a better write-up - that kind of diligence and follow-through is what it takes to impress someone in the industry.
So, in your mind, what would make a good write-up? Obviously it would go differently based on the focus of the fund, but what about something like:
Intro/Overview of the Investment--just an overview of the company that the equity covers, the sector, and other things. For macro/event-driven funds, this would include the basic events/economic theory driving the investment decision.
Technical analysis: Modeling for equities (what would be the preferred model here?), metric analysis, forecasting the effects of current/future events, or fitting the asset into some economic model.
Conclusions: Interpreting the results of the technical analysis, determining final positions, hedging strategies (esp for market neutral funds) and then exit/entries.
Can I pm you about some more specific things?
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