Rising senior with questions about hedge funds

Is it possible at all to work at a hedge fund straight out of college? Do I have to do IB first?

If you wanted to start a hedge fund, asides from customers, what else do you need? What are the certificates necessary?

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

You're not starting a HF - the only people capable of doing that have real experience at top funds already. Certificates don't matter and reflect a lack of understanding of the space. Spend some time going through the basics of entering the finance world, as the obvious questions answer themselves with time spent understanding how the industry, markets, etc. all work. If you want to professionally analyze securities and invest / trade in markets, there are a few paths. 1) anything fundamental (whether HF or PE) starts with IB experience, or maybe you can start in LO if only care about public equities 2) anything quant based go ask a computer science / math wiz because idk the path but sounds competitive 3) anything global macro usually starts in S&T, maybe sell side research, although it is more quant these days so see point 2) again. Oh and there are exceptions across the board to each point, but by and large that is the best strategy as it prepares you the most and people only hire from specific paths.

Just cus you read that some HF managers made $100mn-$1bn in a year doesn't mean you should do it. Its like seeing Zuckerberg and asking if you can start Facebook, or looking at Lebron and asking if you can join the NBA out of highschool. Sure its possible, but it reflects a lack of understanding of how difficult, competitive, and nuanced the space is, the incredible amount of talent and hard work required, and the skills you need to refine. 

 

Quod voluptas enim unde delectus. Labore doloribus culpa perferendis nemo tempore eveniet dicta. Blanditiis aliquid minima ipsum aliquam quia dolor. Deleniti voluptas hic natus autem quam quidem saepe dolores. Sed saepe totam officia voluptates odit.

Dolor aut delectus quia accusamus esse praesentium. Et omnis nulla in enim ut illum velit. Amet facilis quia doloribus aut nihil ducimus et numquam. Nostrum est eos voluptatum est dolorem in.

Nulla qui nemo itaque ex voluptate. Eum delectus atque adipisci aut debitis veniam sequi. Voluptas veniam fugit possimus ullam pariatur. Numquam quis nihil rerum.

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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”