HF Industry Comparison: 2008 vs Now
This is a question for the “old-timers” out there: obviously these are brutal markets that are tough to find a seat in - is there a parallel to 2008? I.e. do seats and jobs start coming back after this?
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The issue was cyclical back then. It is secular now.
Adding to the above: overcrowding, little differentiation, changes in technology, and increased regulation are some long-term issues facing HFs today
I'm not even sure your assessment of the *current* market is accurate. You speak about brutal market, yet a ton of HFs (Tiger/tech types, every MM) are having their best year in a decade. Meanwhile the market has been going higher every day for 8 months straight and we are back at all-time highs. Yes, March was tough, but that was ages ago in this business.
It's never easy getting into the HF business, but the job market is alive and well as far as I can tell.
I got into industry in 2009 but after taking a year off in 2008 after the GFC (had a couple of offers go away as fund's were hit with redemptions or teams were blown out).
I'd say back then there was a much healthier selection of single managers. Today it seems like outside the growthy Tiger Cubs, a lot of the bigger value funds have gotten hit (Greenlight etc.). I also think there was a healthier backdrop for new managers (GFC non withstanding) to have a go at it. Today it seems like most of the money is flowing into multi managers.
I'd also say say being a generalist was easier then than today. Shorting was easier/paid off vs today.
To one of the replies earlier in the thread: issues today at structural, back then it was just regular economic cycle.
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