Taking a <100m L/S Hedge-fund Analyst job?
About six months ago, I had a fortunate opportunity to spend a day with a portfolio manager running a small hedge fund, along with his quantitative analyst. He shared his personal number with me and encouraged me to reach out whenever I’m in London, where he’s based.
We connected well on a personal level; they were both friendly and down-to-earth. However, I initially hesitated to ask for an interview due to concerns about the firm being a one-man operation, as I sensed it had only one or two employees.
Now, I’m reconsidering, especially since the firm has recently expanded its team and posted new positions. It seems the fund is ramping up, benefiting from significant inflows, and has been operating since 2015, indicating some level of stability and experience (the PM previously worked at MAN Group).
Given my long-term goal of working in investment management and my interest in investment analysis—especially since I currently find my Tech M&A analyst role unchallenging—I’m tempted to pursue this opportunity. During our day together, we had an engaging discussion about the semiconductor industry and hyperscalers, topics I’m passionate about and can contribute to meaningfully.
Do you think it’s worth exploring this opportunity, or is it too risky?
Operating since 2015 but still 100mm AUM? That sounds like they haven’t been doing well at all, unless he is just managing his own personal capital in which case he really needs to outperform for you to get a good payout.
It’s likely too risky and I’d suggest going to a scaled seat to get your training right and have some credibility before going to subscale funds (and I only say this because this one is 100mm.. certain subscale seats at the edge of breaking out are great seats but rare to find). Unless you come in day 1 as a partner, joining a fund like this as a junior has limited upside. Sure, the experience might be great as you’re at ground zero but the potential drawbacks outweigh the upside in a seat like this.
I joined a subscale fund (thought not as small as this) that almost successfully scaled until it blew up one year. I managed to get out to a seat at an extremely well known fund but it was an uphill battle as people doubted the training I had received at the fund and transferability of those skills as a junior.
Consider other options first but as much as experience matters on the buyside, brand name + training will go a long way in your 20s (assume you’re in 20s since you mentioned you’re an analyst) and buy you a lot of credibility to come in as a senior for “riskier” roles if you choose to pursue them in the future. The EV of this path is likely multiples higher than joining this subscale fund as your first buyside seat.
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