Hedge fund Internship from a CS Background
Hey everyone! I'm a college sophomore, studying computer science, with an interest in finance. I have heard not-so-good things about summer analyst positions at banks and believe that I could 1) learn the most at a hedge fund 2) be more engaged and do more meaningful work at a hedge fund.
The problem is, I have no formal training in finance. I follow the news, read books that interest me, and invest (small amounts) when I see an opportunity ('event driven', up 15% this academic year not that it means much). I've dabbled in some algorithmic trading, which was a great learning experience (taught me to read charts/lead to me reading a book on technical analysis). I can do data analysis in python as well.
What I have going for me is that I attend a top 10 school and have a perfect GPA. Still-this is not much given my lack of experience and formal training, as well as the understandable lack of enthusiasm for interns at hedge funds. I see my best bet as helping with automating technical analysis at a hedge fund. I recently saw a post on here about hedge funds becoming 'quant-lite' so that was a good sign.
Here are the options I have considered: -Cold call hedge funds, asking for internship -Look at some stock deeply and write a blog post on my thoughts (would need to set up a more official looking blog) on it -do a broad technical analysis of multiple stocks in an industry using python, sending results to some hedge funds (would they even look at them?) -Apply for summer analyst positions at big banks-wait till I have more experience to seek out a hedge fund
Any thoughts on my situation from those of you who are more experienced (or in the same position)?
Go for a position at a BB, you want the structured training so you don't look like a lost sheep in a hedge fund.
You should really consider what you want to do. The hedge fund / banking experience is not all it is hyped up to be.
I second @Trenttyy"
As some who went the BB - HF route - I can tell you that you're expected to hit the ground running. Despite my experience in banking I still felt a little bit lost in my first two weeks. This is where the banking rigor and training comes into play
I don't have anything to lose, so I will apply to BBs and email my resume to some hedge funds. What do you learn at a bank that you can't self study? If there are any books you would recommend to 'hit the ground running,' what are they?
Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions By Joshua Rosenbaum, Joshua Pearl, Joseph R. Perella
^this would be a nice start
These would be appropriate for someone shooting for a fundamental investing role. My impression from reading the OP is that he's looking for a position as a quant.
Do whatever you feel will benefit you more in the long run. Working for a bank definitely has its perks. At a fund, you wont get any training. I, for one, am a huge advocate of "learning by doing", but a bank will provide you with training.
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