ending up at long/short equity - what to do now?
hi everyone, im currently a student in the process of applying to summer internships. i eventually want to go into the buyside/hedge funds especially long/short equity however i am not interested at all in doing investment banking (its not that interesting and the hours are not worth it) so I am applying to sales and trading roles - however, i wanted to get a feel for whethere this is actually useful for long/short roles if i apply for graduate programs for something like point72 analyst program which requires "1+ years’ experience in Investment Banking, Private Equity, or Public Investing" does sales and trading (especially the trading part, which i am more interested in) count as public investing? or will i be limited to global macro hedge funds and is that a bad thing?
I am also applying for asset management roles (typically long only), is that better?
ER is much better than S&T for L/S imo
i suspected that might be the case, every bb where i applied for both s&t and er has shortlisted me for s&t :")
just curious on how big the difference is in your opinion? worth it to try and recruit again for er for graduate roles?
i haven't done s&t in my life so cannot comment on the dif b/w the two but if you are hellbent on doing l/s then re-recruiting to er will definitely be more preferable. s&t would be much better for macro and I don't think it is bad at all. You still can go from s&t to l/s but i think the switch will have to be relatively quick because the longer you stay in s&t the harder it will be for you to convincingly answer "why are you switching"
Modern S&T desks are not good preparation for L/S at all. In the past, this was okay when banks were allowed to prop trade their own money. After Dodd Frank, these desks have become glorified execution traders for the most part, with some discretionary functions still available when it comes to market making and OTC products. Even for those, you are performing basically zero fundamental analysis so there is no world where your skillset is suitable for any type of equities or credit investing. That’s why the exits are typically in macro instead.
If you are not getting looks for ER internships but are dead set on L/S, you have three choices. 1) Suck it up and do IB. You are not different than everyone else and if you don’t go through the hazing, you won’t be able to get that better job. You simply cannot take the easy way out at an early age and expect to get a better outcome to go into L/S. Just facts of life. 2) Take the S&T role and try to pivot into ER during your analyst stint. I’ve seen this happen a handful of times but it will take effort on your part and some luck. 3) Reconsider whether L/S is a good fit for you. If at age 19, when you have the most working capacity basically ever in your life and you are unwilling to work “IB hours,” I find it hard to believe that at age 27 you will be motivated enough to work just shy of IB hours and perform well enough at a hedge fund. Just destined for a poor result there imo
thanks for insight, time to make sure my EB interview goes well
thanks for insight, time to make sure my EB interview goes well
Credit desks (HY, EM, Loans, Distressed) are doable both trading / desk analyst side to get to L/S credit.
Grad programs don’t require 1 year of experience. MLP/Citadel/P72 have structured ones for L/S, apply to them
Stupid to take this alternate side door with a much lower probability of success with the reasoning of “well I don’t want to work that hard in IB.” These programs are very difficult to get into and after two years of S&T, OP would have zero advantage throughout the process.
Where did you get 2 years of S&T experience from. I thought OP was an undergrad.
Being allergic to hard work is a bad sign, but ultimately banking isn’t really going to build the skillset you need in the same way. I don’t think wanting to skip IB is a bad idea, if it’s for the right reasons.
Don’t overestimate how difficult these programs are to get into. I got offers from 2 of them last year and although they’re more competitive than ever, you’re really only competing with a few qualified candidates each time
I was also amused how he hasn't had a full time job in his life, is asking for super basic advice, but still confidently asserts "IB hours not worth it".
Would be more honest to admit you don't want to work hard. But then don't be surprised you're significantly hurting your chances of landing the HF job.
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You're just a student and I am sure you have no idea about what you want/not want to do. Why would you be so set on wanting to end up in Equity LS, and not Global Macro?(Especially in this macro eenvironment where 0 interest rate is history lol) I think the most important attitude for u now is you need to be open to exploring various career path.
Agree that S&T in equities are not really the good path for Equities L/S. You'll only end up as execution trader in the Equity LS pod. So for new grad level recruiting I believe trying hard to lateral through ER or IB is the optimal shot. If you really hate to do IB(I do think not wanting to do it is valid in a sense it only serves as bare minimum foundation for HF style investing, but not wanting to grind hard...Idk man) try hard with ir ER interviews. Even if you get an internship in S&T if you work networking you can get a grad offer at ER. I have seen this happen many times.
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