HF Analyst Question

Hi everyone, please disregard current title. For context, I have around one year of experience in MMPE. I recently interviewed with a hedge fund in L/S fundamental equities (a pod shop - not one of the major names) and was fortunate to receive an offer.

I have a call scheduled with the PM tomorrow to discuss the details, and I’d really appreciate advice from the community, especially from those with experience in the industry, on what questions would be important to ask at this stage.

Some of the questions I currently have in mind are:

  • How much AUM is the PM managing?
  • How is bonus typically structured for first-years?
  • What does the PM’s historical track record look like?

I am seriously considering this offer, as I want to move to a role that is closer to markets. However, at the same time from reading the forums, I understand that there are some nuances which I may not be familiar with. If you were a prospective analyst in this position, what questions would you make sure to ask or clarify with your potential PM?

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Well some of this ideally can be asked before after closing the offer, but off top of my head, what I'd like to hear:
 

  • Confirm track record; how did he get to this seat? New PM promote from sub-PM? Been running as PM for a while? Has the process and strategy been the same for the most part? What has changed and why?
  • Work structure:
    • Does he like analysts to see PnL everyday, week, month, quarter, etc.
    • Delineation of responsibilities? Model monkey?
    • How often do you meet? New idea velocity? Coverage size # of names?
    • How is the decision making process structured?
    • What work format does he prefer?
    • (ask him to explain the ideal analyst in what they do / accomplish for him)
    • What kind of communication style does he prefer? How often, how formal vs. in-formal, etc.?
  • Compensation and growth philosophy?
    • What does success look like in this position longer term?
    • How does he like to structure compensation? Discretionary vs. formulaic, etc.? What is he planning for 1st year vs. next years + how does that change over time?
    • What does responsibility growth look like over time? Does he want someone to grow into managing a sub-book?
  • Has he had other analysts?
    • What has happened to them?
    • Why have others left or not left?
    • Has he managed multiple people before? What did he find worked badly vs. what worked well?
    • (find his other analysts / colleagues - if possible, and talk to them...)
 

Thank you for all the questions!! I managed to get clear answers to most of them - except regarding the bonus structure. Just wanted to check if it is typical for junior analyst bonuses to be discretionary, or are they usually tied to a percentage of P&L?

 

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