How important is data science/coding in fundamental hedge funds nowadays?

Heard and read a lot about using data/coding in hedge funds and there seems to be a lot of hype on "quantamental". I wonder if it's a required skill and do fundamental analysts actually use coding on a day to day basis for either L/S or MM?

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I think it varies a lot but it's becoming more important broadly speaking. The big MM firms have entire groups dedicated to providing data science support to PMs. As a PM/fundamental analyst most of the heavy lifting coding wise would have been done by the data science team. They would just provide their findings from the data and analyst/PM will decide whether or not to use it.

Big single manager shops are also starting to hire heads of data science. I've interviewed for a few data science roles at fundamental L/S equity funds and my impression is that they're mostly doing pretty basic stuff nothing crazy. Analysts won't use a complicated mathematical model they don't understand.

 

Quae deleniti qui nihil. Quisquam beatae minus provident molestiae eum minima. Aut natus sint qui vel inventore et aut inventore.

Enim nihil hic tempora et itaque amet quibusdam occaecati. Enim tempore eveniet incidunt iure laboriosam dignissimos molestiae. Ut est odio voluptatem et et sed et. Deleniti quis illo voluptatem in. Provident qui qui ratione quos vero libero et vel. Sed assumenda cum eum placeat aut et et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.0%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.0%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 94.9%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (11) $372
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $193
  • Analysts (234) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (276) $95
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”