19 Comments
 

phuski

No base is not an enforceable non-compete. Consult a lawyer for legal advice ofcourse. 

Unfortunately not true, and I speak from personal experience. I worked at a HFT that had a 2 year *unpaid* non-compete and I signed it thinking it would be unenforceable and/or the company would surely negotiate something more reasonable when I left. But nope, when I quit, my lawyer confirmed it really is enforceable (or at least enforceable enough that they filed multiple lawsuits over it and won some of them). Turns out this company even enforced that unpaid 2 year non-compete on some of my coworkers who were fired without cause (not just quit). In my case, when I left, I had a little bit of leverage and eventually got them to agree to a 6 months *unpaid* to a another quant finance shop (that really was not realistically a competitor).  To this day, I think 6 months unpaid to go to a non-HFT competitor seems unreasonable, but at least it was much better than the 2 year they were pushing for.

  Definitely do not sign an unpaid non-compete. It is enforceable in many states. 

 

Question about signing one of these out of undergrad. My HF has a one year non compete even as a new grad. How common / uncommon is this for top funds? Seems kinda concerning to me. Heard Bridgewater’s is also super long. 

 
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