My Process for Getting a Hedge Fund Job

My thread from 2.5 years ago recently became active again and I have received numerous PMs asking about my process for getting a job at a hedge fund. This specific example is from when I was in college but it could be adapted for junior professionals.

My process was as follows:

  1. Decided what style of investing interested me (I had known this for 4+ years)

  2. Created a stock pitch that aligned with the type/strategy of investing I liked

  3. Used a few online resources to find all hedge funds in the U.S. (not going to provide links, you can easily find these with a google search or two)

  4. Researched each fund by going to their website or SEC IAPD and found their Part 2 Brochure and read it to find out what their strategy is, their AUM, and management/performance fees (i.e. 2&20).

  5. If their style of investing matched mine, I would try and find the email for the PM or Founder if it was a smaller fund.

  6. Looked to see if they had a careers section, if they did and had it an open position I would apply and reach out to the PM or person I thought would have the final say on who got hired.

  7. If they did not have a careers section or had no open positions listed I would cold email the PM something like the following: (you can adjust the first paragraph and experience section to reflect your own)

Mr./Mrs. ---,
My name is --- and I'm currently in my final semester at --- studying finance while pursuing a career in asset management.
I am reaching out to inquire about any current or future analyst/intern positions with your firm. I have experience in fundamental research / financial modeling and am confident I could add value to your team.

Please let me know if you have time to set up a quick 15-minute chat sometime this week or next to discuss more about your firm and my experience to date. I apologize if this is too forward, but I have attached my resume and a sample of my work for context.
Best,
---

8. Rinse and repeat. I would find ~10 firms/people to email every night. I would then schedule the emails to be sent in the morning and utilized a program that would track when my emails were opened.

If there is interest I could do a Q&A about my experience to date.

Best of luck!

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