So I have an assessment for an internship...

Hey everyone.

So after my not so extensive efforts cold emailing hedge funds for an internship, I have a reply from one of them that seems rather promising. I forwarded my resume along with a brief intro as to my name and where I'm studying (Ivy League, mediocre GPA, strong ECs).

An associate analyst responded that they would send me a test 'based on interpreting financial statements', and that it would take 2 hours to complete.

So my question is, what exactly would a hedge fund send an undergrad? Beyond basic financial ratios, I don't really have extensive knowledge in financial statement analysis.

Could anybody provide any advice as to what they might possibly send me? And how to prepare?

Thank you!

4 Comments
 
Best Response

Hey, I currently intern at a HF. This post reminds me of something similar I was assigned during my interview process. However the analyst just asked me to be prepared to deal with financial statements and have a sound understanding of how they work and what they're used for. Turns out I was given the financials of (insert random F500 company) and expected to create a DCF valuation. So my two cents are be prepared for anything. Google is your best resource, any questions you'll most likely have about the statements will be easily answered through a google search. Google was my savior it can be yours too.

 

Also as too how you can prepare, I'd recommend pulling the 10-k of a random company (usually $5 bn in market cap+ ). And familiarizing yourself with it. Knowing the difference b/w an IS , BS , CF and what each of those statements is used for. Also YouTube has a lot of guides (free) on how to analyze a 10-k or other financial statements. Hope all goes well cheers!

P.S: (you can pull company financials from the SEC website but bamsec or morning star give you a better rundown) just in case you didn't know.

 

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