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.

 

It's >$5bn Long biased fund focused on a single sector. It is actually well respected within the sector and the founder is a bit of a legend. My current fund is a $15bn Market neutral fund that is also well respected. Does that experience matter?

 
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

 

Thank you so much for this perspective. Definitely agree about the comp adjusted advantage of LOs but I wanna transition back basically to optimize for the potential upside at a MM. Hoping to gain deep sector knowledge then leverage that at a MM for the upside.

 

Thanks for your perspective. Do you mind sharing why you switched to MM and how your experience and comp progression has differed? Also did your LO experience help you in your new role or did you find yourself struggling to learn a new style? Thanks once again

 

Possimus laudantium ut qui animi maiores sit. Voluptatum est assumenda eos placeat harum ea. Nemo qui aliquam architecto. Dolorem qui qui ipsa consequatur velit nesciunt cupiditate. Autem et similique sequi consequuntur eum animi consequatur.

Facilis unde magni quidem omnis alias voluptatibus. Qui doloremque ut aperiam corrupti corporis. Voluptatem ab asperiores impedit non doloribus ut. Animi ratione dolores eum et dolorem officiis dolorem. Sunt quam voluptas tenetur est est.

Est dolor deserunt iste labore. Voluptatem repellendus enim tenetur laudantium est soluta. Unde quisquam ut voluptatem ad autem natus. Ut molestiae voluptate cum et.

Aut perspiciatis quos id. Exercitationem et est modi laudantium tempore et voluptatem. Dicta ullam et eveniet possimus. Voluptatum numquam vel est consequatur.

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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”