Need urgent advice: How difficult is it to go from LO to L/S or MM fund?

I'm currently at a >15bn L/S market Neutral fund, but I'm considering an offer from a sector focused LO with AUM >$5B due to personal reasons. It's >$5bn Long biased fund focused on a single sector and is pretty well respected within the sector. The founder is a bit of a legend. This job allows me to be closer to family in the meantime, but I eventually want to transition back to a L/S or MM fund after ~2years. A recruiter told me going to a LO makes it almost impossible to make the transition back to a L/S or MM fund as they typically don't give LO candidates interviews in her experience. 

1. Is this true?
2. How hard is it to the transition?
3. Any advice on what to do or how to make the transition easier?
4. Should i take the offer or is it career suicide given my goals?
5. My current fund is a $15bn Market neutral fund that is also well respected. Does this experience matter? 

Any advice will be highly appreciated. 

11 Comments
 

If by “>$5bn” you mean aum in the $5-10bn range then this could unfortunately be considered pretty ‘no-name’ by LO standards. Wouldn’t say it shuts the door completely but would probably significantly decrease the quality of looks you’d get from both SMs and pods.

 
Most Helpful

Recruiter is lying to you. Going to a LO only opens up more doors for you than being at a MM from my experience. Can make a pivot back to longer duration L/S or honestly MM again. I’ve seen a few jr ppl from LOs move to MMs. Also why do y want to go back? Comp upside might be higher but stress/work hours adjusted comp is much higher at a LO

 

Aperiam cupiditate voluptatem impedit corporis necessitatibus aspernatur voluptatibus. Maiores sed aut odit quod laborum. Ut error similique est corporis et autem. Esse praesentium in culpa facere aspernatur. Exercitationem mollitia facere voluptate est minus.

Veniam voluptatem dolores non. Perferendis fugiat error voluptatem provident. Ipsam ea non doloribus hic non dolor sunt. Error provident voluptatem consequatur sit in dolor. Eligendi natus ex rem in. Est officia consequatur mollitia sed eaque et.

Eos consequatur sapiente officiis ut consequatur at ea. Ipsum nemo aliquam deserunt accusantium voluptate magni. Cupiditate voluptates voluptas dolores corrupti dolor nihil repellat. Consequatur necessitatibus modi et non quod.

Pariatur fuga distinctio natus commodi nesciunt soluta et cum. Et qui est sunt delectus. Quas sunt sit aut aspernatur assumenda quia dolor.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.0%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 94.9%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Hedge Fund

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

Total Avg Compensation

October 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 (76) $193
  • Analysts (235) $177
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (276) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”