Hi Guys, I'm currently at a L/S equity fund, not too big, but in the 50-100M USD range. The thing is, I've been at this shop for less than a year, but I've discovered that the PM is incredibly difficult to work with. In that he is a poor people manager and actually goes to great lengths to keep analysts from building out their areas of expertise, in order to (in my view) limit the possibility that analysts take this experience with them and go somewhere else. This PM also likes to micromanage, so we all just spend time crunching numbers, but are not allowed any flexibility to make calls, even to pitch stocks. The PM generates all of the ideas and even when the few analysts pitch something that makes a lot of sense, I've noticed the PM tends to ignore all it and switch the topic back to his own ideas.
I'm a bit confused how to deal with someone like this at my point in my career (3-4 years of solid work experience). Would it be worth starting to look for other opportunities, even though I've only been here for one year? The thing is, I want to be working for a place where I am getting personal growth and new experiences as well, not stuck doing the same number crunching over and over again while being micromanaged and given absolutely zero freedom to specialize on any industry or geography. The pay is industry / Street average.
However, the work environment at the office is extremely toxic because the boss only hires "Alpha" type personalities and then finds ways to pit people against each other. For example, he will often switch up the analysts tasks - ie if I was in charge of looking at company or sector A, he would suddenly reassign this to the other analyst without warning, making you confused and often frustrated at what you did wrong. Or he would ask other analysts to secretly look at the same companies you are doing as a way to encourage undermining and sabotage amongst staff. Nobody in the office talks to one another - we only communicate with the boss. This job has been increasingly my day to day stress levels tremendously
Was wondering if any of you have seen something like this (boss who doesn't want you to grow, don't see any career progression path, but stayed for a 1 year only).
The thing is, I've had a chat with him about my longer-term career, and his feedback was basically I should be happy I have a job to begin with. There was nothing said about what my role 2-3 years down the line would look like if I stay and the fund does well. I have other friends in the industry and I just don't think this is normal because smart / motivated workers also want to progress and feel like they are getting better and contributing more, but the PM apparently wants everyone to be extremely motivated but his strategy is to micromanage them (ie, "build the model this way", "do this calculation", "ask this question", etc...) This type of management kills motivation.
I currently have another option, but it isn't at a hedge fund, but at a sell side firm. The thing is, I want to move out of this fund, but also worry that I might be doing the wrong thing by jumping to the first option that would let me get out of this fund. The situation here isn't that pleasant but not sure if it's worth anything to stay until I find a truly better option.
Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!
Let me put this into perspective, since i am sitting on the other side of that imaginary divide. I am not an L/S PM (thank God) but I know that side of the business well enough.
(a) I doubt there are any sister motives in play here. It's very unlikely that your PM is really doing anything that purposefully reduces the growth of his analysts. However, it's very likely that he is doing nothing that would improve their growth either.
(b) Micromanaging is normal in this business. After all, the buck stops with him and he feels that he needs to give you the exact directions. I don't know what your experience was prior to this, but from his perspective you are just a hunk of fresh meat that does not know his ass from his elbow.
(c) Switching analysts, asking people to look at other peoples models etc is just his way of getting a diversity of opinions. It's a pretty tricky thing to do, in all honesty and frequently ends up in a sh*tshow like you are describing.
(d) On the other hand, there are several red flags. Is he the founder and all of the capital is his/FF money? How many analysts does he have? Why did you go to work there (100m fund is a startup in this day an age) in the first place?
I've personally been in this position before, and it's a bitter pill to swallow.
In reality, you already know the answer to your question. Once you start perceiving that your boss isn't conducive to your personal/professional growth, it's rather hard to reverse that thought. Realistically, ask yourself--what can your PM do to change it? Pay you more? Even if he does that, chances are you still aren't going to be happy (you stated above that you don't have the freedom to pursue ideas independently and that bothers you). Resentment can also be a snowball that turns into a boulder. It's hard to stop negative thinking once the cycle begins, and there's an ensuing feedback loop that just stays "on" the entire time.
I think the right move here is to stick it out (unless you have a ton saved up, you don't mind a lack of income, and the situation is borderline toxic/unbearable). Just view it as a paycheck, and spend whatever spare time you have networking/applying to roles/cold-emailing.
Make sure that your next career move isn't out of desperation or fear, because remember--your next gig may bring you relief in the short-term (due to change of environment and people), but long-term, you may become bitter/resentful again if it isn't what you envisioned it to be.