Hi guys. I was wondering what the general consensus is on going to a buy side firm (mid sized multi strat HF) straight from undergrad vs. going sell side for S&T or IB. Do the pros outweighs the cons (particularly in the scope of networking)? I am a junior at a semi-target.
Thanks.
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It's generally not worth doing unless it's a well recognized brand name
why tf did i get MS??
I just started at a fund that has no mentions on WSO but the hours, people, and pay are all great. More in depth mentorship than IB or a pod shop as the investment team is small. If your goal is to work at a hedge fund, why do IB>>PE>>MBA>>Hedge Fund if you have the opportunity to join after undergrad?
HF straight out of undergrad is a great option if you know what you want and have very strong technicals/understanding of the public markets. It's also advised that you either go to a shop that has a decent junior analyst training program or is well-known and recognized brand name. If you join a smaller less established firm then there are chances that there would be less of a training program, which makes it harder. Likewise, job security at hedge funds is quite unstable meaning that if your pod has a bad quarter or if you do not produce the results required then they will simply just fire you (there's a reason why people joke about Citadel having a revolving door policy). You essentially have to be willing to take on the risk and stress that comes with a buy-side role. Plus the reason why many hedge funds recruit out of IB/PE/ER is because those people have already been trained and can hit the floor running at full-speed. It's also definitely way more difficult to recruit/network for hedge fund roles simply because there's such little positions available for out of college grads (the ones I can think of would be Marshall Wace, Citadel, MLP, and AQR).
Best advice I would have for you would be to network/ask around anyone who you know that works at a HF and get a sense of how their day is like. I would not solely focus just on hedge fund recruiting but also IB and ER or even credit research/trading roles.
I think this is right, but there are also some roles out there at lesser-known single-managers that would be worth taking over a top bank. If you really want to invest full-time and like the people, it can be worth going somewhere with a bit less name recognition. That's especially true if you have interned there and have a great read on the culture
Oh definitely. I think the issue with lesser-known single-managers is that not much info is usually available on them, making it more difficult to make an informed decision unless you've interned there or know someone who's currently working there. Likewise, the key thing here is that the fund must also be somewhat stable. Typically, if you're a junior at a smaller fund then you're one of the first people to get cut if the fund has a downturn period. I would say the upside for smaller funds is that you usually get more exposure to the senior people, which is great cause you can learn more but also develop greater responsibilities quicker.
The main big names that hire from undergrad for fundamental long/short are Marshall Wace, Citadel, Millennium, P72, DE Shaw, maybe Bridgewater, and I think Maverick as well?
Probably wouldn’t want to start my career at a pod shop for job stability reasons so best bet would be at Marshall Wace, DE Shaw or Maverick. Even then, idk if any of those are good…
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