IB An - HF?

I am an incoming FIG IB analyst at a top BB and I am considering going the HF route over PE as I am looking to be a contrarian and feel that PE may be oversaturated and too competitive.  Money is still flowing to public markets and in a less competitive space with respect to talent, one may be able to get a bigger slice of the pie. (correct me if i am wrong, I dont know much)  I am not some insane quant / math type,  but am intrigued by the idea of joining a financials pod at a MM.  Do the places like Citadel/ Millenium /P72 like to recruit kids directly out of IB ?  How should I go about preparing and what are these interviews like?  What about recruiting for a SM ? what are pros and cons?  would appreciate any thoughts on any of my questions.  Thanks!

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  1. If you think PE is too competitive, you won't last a week in an MMHF. You have to produce results to survive and thrive and show strong intellectual capacity if you want to join a top pod at C/M/P. Do not look at HF as an alternative to PE, you should pursue it because you think you can be the best at what you do.
  2. The shops you mentioned hire people straight of college now, so yes you can join after IB. Make sure you're joining a good team though.
 

what makes you think MMs' are not "too saturated and too competitive" lol

 

Do you love markets? There's an implicit love of the game most successful MM analysts have when it comes to dedicating your life to channel checks, third-party data obsession, factor exposure, consensus & bogeys and any incremental news/color influencing whether SSS is going to be +4% or +2%...

You can break in from IB, probably the most common route, but it does not look like have a good understanding of what the job actually entails if you think its less competitive. Unlike PE recruiting, this is entirely talent-based. Either you have talent and have a shot at doing well, or you don't.

 

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