How easy is it to move from sell-side BB to buy-side HF for a quant?
As per the title, I would like to know how feasible it is for a quant who starts his career on the sell-side (say at a BB) to subsequently move to the buy-side, either to a hedge fund as a quant researcher or to a prop shop as a quant trader.
My particular situation is the following: I am due to graduate from a top PhD program in math in the next few months and I am currently exploring my possible career paths. My general understanding of the industry is that it is better to be a quant on the buy-side than on the sell-side, but unfortunately my background is not very relevant to what buy-side quants do (ML, stats, coding) while it's pretty solid for the sell-side (pricing, Ito calculus, PDE). Hence it will be much easier for me to be hired on the sell-side, while I doubt that I can make it to the buy-side with my current knowledge. So my question is: would spending 1-2 years on the sell-side (while working on the skills required for the buy-side in my free time) and then apply to buy-side positions be a good idea? Will I still stand a chance at top quant HFs or do they favor younger fresh grads?
Thanks a lot.
Its hard to specify how 'easy' it is, it is certainly doable (I have seen several such transitions). In general I think the whole 'buy-side/sell-side' divide is mainly a prestige/selectivity divide, but skills matter more for career trajectory. If you want to go to the buyside as some kind of signal quant researcher, better to start on the sell-side as some kind of related role (generating signals if possible, else publishing quant research, etc). On the other hand, if you do rates/macro/stock research at a bank (non-trading), your most natural progression would be to a similar role at a hedge fund- if you are lucky, you may be able to turn that into at risk taking role at a hedge fund in the same product. If you are a desk quant (pricing derivatives, etc), your main looks at hedge funds will probably be in a pricing role. In line with the guidelines above, I'd say use the above to get in the right area on the sell side, and then do a good job. The next step may be an internal transfer to a more 'desirable' seat, or to the buy-side, but all is made a ton easier if you do a good job and develop real skills.
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