Move from IB Tech to Hedge Fund Tech Roles
I’ve been in a tech analyst role in a Tier 1 IB for over two years and have been recently looking at the option of transitioning on to a hedge fund (Citadel / JS), mainly due to the potential for higher comp and less cap on bonuses - curious to hear peoples opinions on tech roles in HF and how they differ from IB tech roles, in terms of work-life balance, the complexity of the work as well as the overall approach towards and view of tech roles in HF (hoping they’re viewed as less of a cost-center compared to IB). Also welcome any other experience or viewpoints you’d like to share on the topic.
Comp will be higher but you'll still be a second-class citizen to the quants and PMs.
At HFs, probably. At Jane Street (it’s a prop shop OP) probably not.
Agreed. Prop shops are better environments for SWEs as trading infrastructure and implementation performance and latency is more critical than for many HF strategies.
Thanks for the reply guys - I’d ideally want to apply to a place which has a similar reputation / brand rep to Tier 1 banks, offers similar job security and has international offices - my guess is Jane Street sounds like the best option here? Also curious as to whether non-compete clauses apply to junior tech workers at these firms? In terms of bonuses, would it be reasonable to expect 50-100% of the base (I heard this from a few recruiters but I take what they say with a pinch of salt)? I think that’s the limiting factor in IB, where bonuses for tech are usually 20-40% max.
Jane Street is a great option if you can get in. They only use OCaml though so bear that in mind. Other places to look at include: Citadel LLC / Citadel Securities, Hudson River Trading (HRT), Five Rings Capital, Jump Trading, Optiver, IMC, DRW, Two Sigma, D. E. Shaw, Akuna Capital. There are plenty more that I've missed out.
All of these places have international offices and have a good reputation in their industries. Job security is usually not going to be as good as at IBs though.
Depending on the company, non-compete may or may not apply to junior SWEs. Jane Street doesn't have non-competes AFAIK. Also, you can usually work at tech companies during your non-compete as they are not considered to be competitors.
In terms of bonuses, 50-100% of base is reasonable. Up to and above 300% of base is also not unheard of (but it obviously isn't common). However, your base salary doesn't increase at a lot of these places. So you might have a base salary of $150-200k forever with bonuses varying from $0 to $600k+ depending on individual performance and firm performance.
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