HF Equity L/S — Trader to Research
I received an offer to join a single-manager l/s equity fund as a junior trader out of undergrad. Ultimately, I’d like to be a researcher. I recognize a pivot from an equity trader to research is difficult as there is little transfer of skillset but still want to ask for a feasible roadmap for this switch.
I do have internship experience with IB/PE and research at a macro hedge fund. I know that an easier path would be recruiting from IB/PE to HF research but this trader role is the only offer I have on hand.
Would I be able to position myself as an equities trader with fundamental research skills for a switch into research later down the road?
I’ve definitely seen it happen before. Being in the right environment helps (re: culture, understanding the firm, etc), and starting as a junior makes the move much easier than trying to switch a few years in.
You’re right that the skill set isn’t very transferable. Aside from the ability to walk over to a recruiter’s desk and introduce yourself, you don’t really get much of an advantage past CV stage. You’ll still have to go through the same process as a cold applicant, at least at the larger MMs. My read on it is also if you don't make the cut to transfer internally early on you will be very pigeonholed in execution and it will be next to impossible to exit to an IP role.
That said, if you have the option to do IB/PE/ER, the pipeline is more straightforward IMO. Still, as mentioned, I’ve seen people make the move successfully.
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