Looking for Advice: Path to Hedge Funds

I'm an incoming Freshman at Stanford, where I'm planning on majoring in Economics and Mathematics. Over the summer, I'll be working an on-site, paid internship at a large asset manager (> $1 trillion AUM), where I'll be rotating between the firm's quant and trading teams.

I've done research on the flagship student-led funds at Stanford and am planning to recruit for those when the cycles begin accepting applications. I'm also thinking about doing Economics research during the school year, maybe in a subfield like Industrial Organization, Game Theory, or Econometrics.

I'm looking for advice on what kinds of extracurricular engagements and internships students typically seek out to land roles in top hedge funds like Citadel, Point72, or Balyasny after undergrad. Any help would be appreciated!

5 Comments
 

There’s no set path for this, I would start working on pitches. 

 

You are doing all the right things — keep it up. Kudla Fund seems to have great success with recruitment, but it really boils down to a case by case basis. They will take whoever fits the specific profile they are looking for at a specific moment, highly difficult to optimize for it. Just be passionate, keep a good gpa, and work hard

 

You go to Stanford and already have an impressive internship before starting college, which means you have the brains. I would focus on becoming a personable candidate and someone known on campus (especially in school investment clubs). Try to speak to and build a strong relationship with as many upperclassman as possible. Beyond that, it would be about staying on top of the recruitment cycle.

 

Alot of school investment clubs are BS. If you’ve read a handful of 10ks you will know far more than you’ll learn there. If it’s a one pitch or so per semester type of thing I wouldn’t waste your time. You’ll be handholding ppl who are just trying to pad their resumes and have no interest in public mkts.

 

Voluptatum assumenda quis illo quis eos non. Laudantium est qui sed incidunt possimus ut et. Omnis quidem numquam vel velit.

Praesentium sed iste non ut soluta ipsum odio. Eaque accusantium consequuntur velit officia. Veritatis accusantium sint sit veritatis et. Soluta sequi adipisci autem id illum qui in laudantium.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Hedge Fund

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

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $355
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (77) $193
  • Analysts (235) $177
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (277) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
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...”