HF frequent interview questions?

Does anyone have a good idea of potential interview questions which would be typical for a long / short global multi asset firm?

Looking around I have seen obvious questions are if you have $xyz to invest what would you invest in? Are there any others? Are technical's from IB / PE relevant to the interview process as they are somewhat linked in company valuations? But I can also see them being of less importance maybe derivative strategies are more important?

5 Comments
 

not my area of expertise...but i've heard of L/S HFs ask for a few different specific L/S ideas...and they ask you to drill down and walk thru your analysis from top to bottom. This will demonstrate your expertise (or lack thereof) in a variety of subject areas.

just google it...you're welcome
 
Most Helpful
  • Top investment idea (one to two long ideas, one short). Know one long idea really well, i.e. valuation methodology, comps/peers, what the market is missing, what the competitive advantage is, whether that's sustainable. How they make money and how they can expand margins. Is it cyclical (i.e. dependent on an uptick in real estate or manufacturing) or recession resistant (if so, defend that). What are the major risks. What is/are the catalyst(s).
  • Your investment style (who you model your investment process after)
  • Ideas that have worked and that haven't worked (if applicable) in past jobs
  • If you're in IB then walk through several deals that you were involved in
  • What are your favorite investment books/what do you read to stay on top of the markets (Manual of Ideas, ValueWalk, etc.)
  • What is your idea generation process - what sectors you specialize in, what type of investor you are.

Technicals from IB/PE aren't super relevant. They may ask you to walk through a DCF or some technical about EBITDA / FCF / ROIC / ROCE calculations but I would be more surprised than not if they do, assuming you have the experience to inherently understand those calculations. They may ask you your valuation methodology in the private markets and the extent to which you know how that transfers/doesn't transfer to the public markets. Perhaps if you have deal experience they'll want to know more about how you determined a valuation for that deal. Be very honest about what you know and what you don't know, they're going to be interviewing you to evaluate whether you are someone who BS's or sticks to what they know.

Know a lot about the fund - what their strategy is, what their latest 13f holdings are, how long they've been around.

Good luck

 

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