L/S funds: Alpha long/short vs pair trade pitches

Hi!

Wanted to get an idea from those who have gone through the process of applying to L/S funds. My background is in PE and thought the best fit (most transferable skills) is to apply to funds that take longer term investment holding period & fundamental analysis approach (similar to tiger cub style). I am planning to apply to TMT roles (mostly growth funds I guess).

When you were interviewing, did you prepare alpha long & alpha short or did you prepare more sophisticated pitches like pair trade etc? If you prepare the latter as well, is it recommended to prepare such pitches to impress the interviewers or just avoid it completely so as not to over complicate the interview? I have limited experience in interviewing with HF and various strategies eg pair trade so wanted to get your insights on the best way to approach this.

Thank you all in advance!! :)

1 Comments
 

Optio ab eum praesentium. Itaque praesentium in est eveniet quia eos molestiae. Rerum minima optio ipsam. Ut nisi ut aspernatur et aut qui sint.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • Millennium Partners 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Blackstone Group 96.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 95.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.1%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.2%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.3%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $192
  • Analysts (240) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (28) $146
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”