Transferring from MF PE to HF post MBA

Hi all,

I'm currently a second year associate at a large, MF PE fund in London. I will be matriculating into a top MBA program (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton) this fall and intending to transfer into a HF position in the US. I am European by nationality but would like to pursue a long-term career across the ocean. I would like to ask if this transition is common in the US and which funds tend to be open to hiring post-MBA PE associates.

Just some quick info on my background if anyone's interested. -Graduated from Oxbridge, worked in an IBD gig at an elite boutique in London for 2 years. Lateral to MF PE afterwards. -First Class Honours, GMAT: 750. -Reason for the switch: transaction-oriented environment can become hard to deal with at times, with my works revolving a lot on the details. Have been here for almost 2 years but closed only a few deals, with a large number falling out from under. I have been investing in the public markets from my personal account for 5 years now and have found to actually enjoy that process much better.

Thanks!

5 Comments
 

Attended one of H/S/W. It is fairly easy to make the switch to HF post business school with PE experience pre-MBA. Tons of HF's recruited on-campus and love to hire experienced students who have already undergone training to think as an investor in PE. I'd suggest you reach out to the career management office and ask for recruiting advice / stats.

 

A lot of the biggest / most prestigious hedge funds (Viking, Paulson, Lone Pine, D.E. Shaw, Citadel, etc) recruit from top b-schools for both summer internships and post-MBA analyst spots. Pre-MBA PE types tend to be fairly popular among this set of large fundamentals-focused hedge funds.

Firms will recruit for the summer internship, but there will be full time opportunities even if you don't summer

 

You have pretty much the perfect profile for recruiting at fundamental L/S funds. Its all a form of filtering. Top undergrad - top banking group - MF - PE - HSW is a continuous filtering process. Its pretty much assured that at that point you have the requisite finance knowledge, hard working, function well in teams etc etc. Each fund likes to think they have their own ideological bent and they can combine their perspective with an existing skillset. It is a remarkably uniform way of thinking for an industry that prides itself on being contrarian, but probably the most efficient way to hire analysts.

This is a little outdated but still very helpful.

https://www.slideshare.net/AnthonyKeizner/2015-mba-guide-to-hedge-fund-…

 
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