Help on where I should go in my career !
Currently have 4 offers which I can't decide on.
Background studying physics at top uni in the UK with Olympiad experience and have run my own trading account for last 3 years with both systematic and discretionary strategies, having made a FX algo which has made very good returns and a discretionary L/S portfolio where I have significantly beaten S&P over the years (yes I know this is a lot less impressive when I'm only investing a small trading account).
I have offers for S&T at top BB (GS,MS,JP), Prop trading in commodities group, systematic trading at hedge fund and then L/S equities at a top hedge fund
I liked all the people I interviewed and then had subsequent calls with, so just deciding on which group I get on the most with isn't really helping me.
I wasn't really even considering S&T as I want to end up buy side at some point in my career but people have been saying that it is important to understand how banks work and if they are trying to screw you over on a trade and having the brand name and large cohort is never a negative.
The prop trading is what I initially drifted towards as quickest time to my own book if I perform and the employees tell me that they just have a load of funds at the moment, to the extent majority of senior people are not even close to their risk limits. Firm was historically pretty fundamental though and is trying to transition into quant, so not sure about how they would perform in 5 years time.
Systematic trading is at a good name but is traditionally L/S equities and they are trying to build out their quant trading which I can't tell if it is either a good thing, in that if I perform lots of chances to progress or if they are going to lack structure and personal. Also still think they would want me to work on some execution algos for them which isn't what I want to do in long term.
L/S equities is at a really good fund, problem is I have done some discretionary investing and know much basic models and ways to see value in the market but I just find it boring reading 10Ks and 10Qs all day trying to figure out who is beating earnings this quarter(I don't know if when I actually get into the industry and have to produce more in-depth research it will become more 'scientifical'). However, my mates have said I'm loosing my mind if I don't accept it as probably as 'prestigues' as it gets and I think I would fit into the culture more I'm very much into sports and a lot of the guys there enjoy them also.
If you have got this far thank you for your time and any suggestions on where the industry is heading, how you might decide and suggestions on where to go would be highly appreciated!!
(Also if anyone has any experience in HFT space would love to hear about your time in the industry as didn't really think I would enjoy the job as I believed it was just all coding and loosing into the microstructures of the exchanges but beginning to think I very much misunderstood the industry)
Hey Intern in PropTrad, I'm here because nobody responded to this thread after a few days...maybe one of these resources will help you:
More suggestions...
Hope that helps.
What kind of l/s HF? Aum , Style etc
Was one of the big ones think Man Group, Citadel, Millennium, Wellington. Which is why I am strongly considering it.
Man Group isn't a top L/S fund. Not nearly as respected in this space compared to the main names relative to their macro/quant stuff.
Citadel is legit for a grad but has 0 job security and you're practicing market neutral short-term investing which limits options to other funds - this is changing though but something to consider. Millenium is the same type of fund but has worse grad training and is more cutthroat - I'd avoid Millenium this early in your career
Wellington is an asset manager, not an L/S HF. They might manage an independent L/S fund but I don't know what your offer is for.
1) Avoid L/S; the way you're describing it suggests you're not that interested in the area which is vital to thrive in the space.
2) Avoid S&T; you have more interesting offers with more upside.
It's between prop and systematic; depends a lot on the firms.
Its not that I'm not interested in L/S its just I believe that you can gain more of an edge in the public markets by analysing what you believe peoples behaviour and actions will be, rather than just making a ton of models (this might sound very foolish and maybe it is considering I'm still very young and I could do with some large trades go against me). But I'm aware that's very unrealistic investment approach from a very large and reputable hedge fund. How much of you day is just sitting and thinking about the market and how you will gain an edge compared to using models to find ideas?
We do both; management meetings and the like make up a lot of our approach as does trying to figure out what the market thinks about a specific name... alt data (and I can't stress enough how obscure some of the data is) makes up a lot of the groundwork for a thesis; the models just help with figuring out how all of this filters down into key metrics like margins and costs or w/e. This then helps with coming up with a valuation.
Models definitely don't find ideas or provide an edge, they're just an accounting framework to see how the actual thesis relates to company financials and pricing/valuation.
I'm still pretty certain that L/S probably isn't the best fit for you given how you're talking about it; its definitely a space where creativity is absolutely essential to carve out alpha but a lot of the work is still monotonous: due diligence, going through 10-Ks, modeling etc. You have to find the big picture stuff alongside the micro aspects of the work compelling to do well in this scene in my opinion.
Perfect! Thank you for your input.
Repellendus placeat sapiente aut magnam rerum perspiciatis praesentium velit. Omnis voluptates pariatur omnis enim. Qui necessitatibus eligendi nulla eum exercitationem.
Eius iusto corporis magnam est autem error. Assumenda excepturi eos dolore animi asperiores aut sit. Tenetur corporis occaecati labore culpa quo voluptas corporis. Sapiente sit velit debitis nostrum quia. Incidunt cumque ut provident itaque itaque natus quod. Dolores eius sint nostrum libero maxime quo laborum.
Consequuntur quo nesciunt corporis fuga ullam aperiam quia. Reprehenderit dolor rerum recusandae fugit quia eaque tempora. Ut esse nihil cum cum omnis. Reprehenderit est est ad quos. Quaerat dolorem unde aut quibusdam quo quidem amet.
Dignissimos ut vitae iusto sunt. Pariatur occaecati rerum hic repellat. Officiis qui nobis repellat ex numquam est. In beatae ratione labore reiciendis odio.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...