Guidance on Recruiting for Top HF out of Top IB Group

I was wondering if anyone could offer guidance on the process of recruiting out of a top IB group for a top HF (Baupost, Viking, Tiger, Lone Pine, etc.) I was wondering what the best steps would be to prepare for the possibility of these interviews. Besides the standard reading list of the top 10-15 most recommended books that everyone throw around (Margin of Safety, You Can Be a Stock Market Genius, Quality of Earnings, etc....), what is the best way to prep -- are there specific websites you recommend reading through? Do I start trying to craft pitches?

I guess I've come to a point where I feel like there is so many different ways that I could spend my time, and I'm not sure what's the best use of time to maximize my odds. I'm basically looking for the most efficient way to become fluent enough in the world of investing so that I could hold my weight in an interview if given the opportunity down the line. I became interested in investing at a pretty late stage in college, so I feel like I have so much catching up to do with my peers who have been reading on this stuff since freshman year.

Also, is it more advisable to target recruiting for ME / UMM PE opportunities first? Ideally I would like to skip that step, but of course, if that is what would set me up with the best opportunities, I am definitely open to taking that route. I would rather go into PE if I could get a shot at several top HFs rather than just 1-2 out of IB during the recruiting process facilitated by headhunters.

19 Comments
 

if you are truly at a top group and went to a target, reach out to alums at those firms. Atleast a handful of them will be receptive. If you did not attend a target & are diversity, reach out to alums from the diversity programs like SEO. If you did not go to a target, are not diversity and still ended up at a top group, mad respect & I'm sure a grinder like you will find a way to beat the odds

 
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with your background and target HFs, I'd shoot for PE first. gives you more time to develop investing chops and mindset, and MF/UMM PE -> SM HF is a common move. however, you'd want to pick the PE shops with a good track record of HF placement and where you'd get good reps. H&F, Berkshire, etc. it should buy you time

to your point, hard to play catch up when your peers have been learning and getting reps during college when time was abundant. if you actually want to play catch up: you should pick a sector, learn it deeply, and find longs and shorts within that. read pitches to understand format and framework, so VIC, SumZero, etc. problem is I've seen some analysts jump into HFs only to find out their team sucks at coaching and mentoring, so they flame out. you have a pretty short window of 1-2 years before you're expected to understand how to generate P&L. hard to hit the ground running unless you've been deep in public markets for a while or find an HF opportunity that's meant to be more of a 2-3 year program

 

what are things to do in college? Besides reading and doing pitches with investment club off

 
  • follow professional investors. lurk on Twitter, watch interviews, listen to podcasts like Invest Like the Best
  • find 1-2 sectors or companies and go deep. read everything, follow quarterly earnings calls
  • create investment theses and trade your own account. most important thing is to actually invest and get your battle scars early. what college kids get wrong is spending too much time reading and not enough time actually investing; can speak from experience. becomes an exercise in navel gazing
 

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