I’ve received two quant offers Offer 1: senior analyst at a pod of the quant arm of a top multi-manager hedge fund (millennium/point72/balyasny etc.)
Offer 2: senior (VP/director) role at a centralized quant hedge fund (DEShaw/TwoSigma/AQR etc.)
I’m torn between choosing one of the two.
- The base compensation is more or less same (20% less in the second offer).
- The guaranteed bonus for the first year is much higher (3X) in the second offer
- Overall total guaranteed first year compensation will be higher at second (1.5x)
- The first opportunity provides much higher potential for upside based on PnL of the pod
- Also IMO the first provides a better path to becoming a PM, but I might be wrong
- The second fund seemed very academic and it seemed like the upside will be capped but there will be more job security
- The second offer also provides an opportunity for a leadership/managerial role if all goes well
Personally I’m inclined more towards the second opportunity. Did anyone go through similar dilemma? What did you guys end up choosing eventually? What’s your opinion about each of this opportunities? Do you have a framework to evaluate such things?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights to help you evaluate your two offers:
Offer 1: Senior Analyst at a Pod of a Top Multi-Manager Hedge Fund
Offer 2: Senior Role at a Centralized Quant Hedge Fund
Framework to Evaluate the Offers
Compensation:
Career Growth:
Job Security:
Work Environment:
Personal Preferences:
Personal Inclination
Community Insights
By considering these factors, you can make a more informed decision that aligns with your career aspirations and personal preferences.
Sources: Received offers from all three MBB firms and don't know what to do, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/hedge-fund/quant-hedge-fund-career-progression?customgpt=1, DE Shaw vs Two Sigma vs Citadel Offer Advice, MIT vs. Princeton vs. Yale undergrad for quant hedge fund, Deciding on quantitive majors/career path?
Bump
Do you have a % payout in the pod? If not then at the end it’s still discretionary and a risk is your beta to P&L might not be as good as you’d want or capped.
Most probably I won’t get percentage payout from pod PnL (can try to negotiate, but mostly the answer is going to be no). I don’t know about beta with pod PnL, but I’d expect it to be low based on my discussion with them. What do you think is a better offer?
As described, I would also take the second offer. However, there’s often room for negotiation. Having two offers is strong position, and with their interest in you validated by another firm, they might well reconsider their initial offer. So if you are going to turn them down, I’d be ready to answer or tell them what would need to change in their offer for you to accept.
Do your due diligence on the pod PM - if a good PM with tenured track (e.g. not a new buildout) could be a better seat. With no context would take the SM offer
The PM seems to be a decent person based on my interactions with him. He has been running the pod for 5+ years, so seems like the book is stable. How do I evaluate in such scenario? Does the learning happening in a pod of building end-to-end pipeline compensate for the career risk I’d be taking there? Is upside truly capped at quant SM? Since the SM is more of a collaborative setup, I’m hoping to learn more there, but would be limited to my own domain.
I would not leave money on the table to take the MM though. If they really want you, then I’d try to at least get them to match. Given you seem to be mid level there is typically a very wide range of comp possible.
As an outsider perspective the SM sounds like the much lower beta move. I would imagine you could get a similar MM offer after working at the SM manager role for several years
How about the other way around? Which transition will have plenty of opportunities in future, MM to SM or SM to MM (in the context of above offers)?
My guess is SM to MM will be easier of the two, so you’ll have more optionally and higher pay. I think it’s an easy decision with no other info
Sounds like you're in an awesome spot so I'm genuinely curious. How did you get to the spot you're at? College degree? Job path since college? etc.
I had EE/CS for bachelors and spent 5 years later in industry as QR
SM would have higher degree of safety? And how would the bonuses be from 2nd year onwards? Similar to 1st year ? Sounds like 2nd option is better - esp your guranteed bonus is 3x.
MM will give a carve out from PnL of my signals based on how they perform second year onwards. SM is fully discretionary second year onwards
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