PE vs HF junior Level

I’m a first year analyst, don’t want to give too many specifics, UMM/MF PE. I’ve gotten headhunter outreach about certain hedge funds that are recruiting SUPER early for summer 2024 starts (mostly Tiger cubs, large well known things you would have heard of). Obviously as someone who just hit the desk I have limited perspective on public vs private markets investing, but am generally interested in both. What are the pros/cons of engaging with the recruiters? What are the pros/cons of doing an HF for 2 years? What is typical pay for a first year HF analyst 2 years out of college at a decent sized Tiger cub? I’m really new to all this and would love some insight from other people who’ve made this choice. Do you think it’d be better to wait a year to do this? Would that meaningfully harm hedge fund ops? 

15 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Assuming that you receive the invitation to stay on as an associate, I don't see a ton of issue in waiting a year unless you feel like you need to leave in two years.  

The classic MF PE Analyst to HF seat is Blackstone which is typically a three year program.  I've also seen profiles of Silverlake kids going from 3-5 years out from starting as MF PE Analysts.  Also no harm in building relationships with the HF headhunters.   

Lastly from a more macro view it's probably not the worst idea if you are focused on more Tiger Cub style shops rather than event / distressed to see how some of these shops shake out in the next 12 months or so with their major capital losses. It'd be a shame to go through the process with a few funds and sign with a fund seeing major redemptions in 2023.  If you are interested in event / distressed this is probably a bit different because of the expected attractive opportunity set in the next few years.  

 

As someone who's recruiting for HF / got offers but decided to decline those early this year, I've read tons of comments on WSO about PE vs HF.

While my current firm is not as prestigious from a recruiting PoV, I think the following comment apply:

"If you need to think where you should go, you shouldn't go the HF route".

I've interviewed with this VP at this Tiger Cub (I think there's some marketing involved, not strictly a cub) fund. He did BB - > UMM/MF PE - > HF. I think he is that prototype where he nailed everything but doesn't really like anything he has done and then his HF career is now pretty terrible. The fund he works at has extremely high turnover because of how they treat junior talent and how they overwork themselves (they work 7 days a week, mandatory). Track record is mediocre and had 3 quarters down straight. 

No pay is competitive enough to tout that gig to anyone. 

 

It’s just going to depend on so many things. HF pay is a lot less standard than IB or PE. Most of your pay will come from bonus (which will depend on the funds performance), and “HF” is way too general (SM? MM? Size? Strategy? Quant? Etc). 

Any number you get here is going to be mostly random due to it being for a specific type of fund and seat. 

 

Et rerum nobis sit ut. Nihil deserunt adipisci repudiandae dolores temporibus quos atque. Ducimus rem accusamus cumque sit reiciendis omnis.

Voluptas saepe nam rerum culpa repudiandae sed aut ut. Ut nesciunt doloribus qui laudantium dolores repellendus.

Et voluptates debitis ipsum similique illum non. Corrupti quo neque eaque voluptas ducimus est consequuntur. Molestiae perspiciatis omnis minus corrupti ullam officiis et. Voluptas aut tempora autem consequatur eos laboriosam amet.

charts
Better Odds of Getting Into Hedge Fund With WSO
We help you land the role or you get free tuition.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Millennium Partners 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

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 (77) $191
  • Analysts (242) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • 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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”