London HF recruiting - from ER
Hey all,
Third year analyst here in a top 3 ranked II team from a BB bank in London and graduated from Oxbridge. Loved investing ever since i was a kid, super passionate about the markets and looking to move to the buyside, preferably SM HF as a generalist. Can anyone shed some light on how HF recruiting works here? Have not been getting as many HH reaching out on linkedin as i would have hoped, especially when i hear some of the US based analyst literally getting pelted with inbounds from HHs... Should I be reaching out to HHs directly and asking if they have suitable positions? Message HFs directly? Been feeling a bit discouraged given the lack of postings on linkedin/efinancial careers and even worse response rate when i apply - surprising as I thought my background would get me looks at least. Any help would be much appreciated.
Edit: Maybe to get the ball rolling I saw AKO post on linkedin for a short analyst
Citadel has an internal recruiting team and uses HHs as well, though obviously this is in the MM space
I raised this before. Here's the link: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/getting-to-a-good-sm-from-ss-er.
From dm conversations I've found that many HF jobs in London don't even go through HHs. Lots of inner circle hiring basically but others will be able to speak better on that than me.
Have you been on any calls with some of the SM HFs you’ve been wanting to work at? Would help if you’ve spoken to them or at least have a relationship with them already.
Apart from that, good luck. I don’t want to sound discouraging but it’s really very tough as there are practically no seats at the big SM funds. And when they do open up, you’re up against people already on the buyside - whether PE or HF. Maybe there aren’t many junior analysts at SM HFs already, but there are so many kids that do MM HF out of undergrad now and with 2-3 years experience, they’re still junior enough to move. Very different from someone with 5+ years. I’m only saying all of this to set the context of how shit the SM HF scene is in London and how competitive it can be at all levels. Would suggest you just reach out to headhunters, but I’m willing to bet that 99% of what you’ll hear is just Baly or Millennium.
Not great to hear for an aspiring SM hire haha. Thanks mate.
Sb'ed and thanks for the advice. Unfortunately mainly MM HFs given the analyst controls the communications and the sheer amount of teams. Kind of confirms my suspicions on the competition point given the lack of replies, but helpful to hear it from another source.
What are the top London SMs talked about here?
Talk to your sales guys. They know all the moves that are happening on the HF (client) side as they talk to these guys on a daily basis. When a SM is looking for a new analyst, one of the first ports of call is to hit up the prime brokers to see if they can recommend anyone. If you're a good analyst your sales guys will have no problem vouching for you. Also, sales guys have zero loyalty (to the bank) so don't worry about about them telling your boss or anything like that.
Thanks and SB'ed. On your point on sales having no loyalty , wouldn't they have a closer relationship with your analyst given how long they have been working together? Maybe the game plan is to ask other banks' sales people...
Just make a list of the HFs you want to join and find out who on your sales team covers them. Then, invite that guy/gal out for a few drinks/dinner in the Wharf/City one night and just mention that you want to move to the buy side at some stage and could they keep you in mind should they hear of an opening at one of those shops. The sales guy wants a good relationship with the client, so a client will be happy if they can avoid paying a HH (expensive) to source a new employee. Trust me, there is zero loyalty in this business and everyone knows and expects you to be looking out for yourself and your career.
Also, do the same with analysts at the funds you want to work at. Find out who the analysts are (easy using the PEOP function on Bloomberg) and start networking with people, inviting guys out for dinner/drinks 1 night a week and pretty soon you will know a group of guys on the inside who may vouch for you or let you know when an open seat comes up.
Most of what has been written here is correct. Very few seats in single manager land, Prime Brokers have a large bank of CVs they send to their clients on demand (MS, GS etc) and a lot of recruiting happens through referrals. Of processes going on through headhunters, I normally hear Blackwood being well respected both by funds and by candidates. London is also a bit odd in that some of the large HFs sit within the LOs...e.g. at Blackrock if you look at the Bloomberg article from this week. Those guys through % revenue shares of performance fees are getting paid more than SMs and even pods if they perform.
Where does Prime Brokerage get the CVs? Which LOs other than Blackrock have HFs in London?
I don’t know where PBs get the names but often - HH’s will just say they heard about you from someone else. No idea who that someone else is but I’m assuming it’s banks.
Wellington has a fair few HFs although I have no idea which, if any, operate from Europe.
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