Undergrad Hedge Fund Programs

De shaw >weiss>CAP/P72(some other poster was downvoting it on another thread but probably still ok)/ bridgewater(different and weird but they promote fast if you are "their type")>baly/mlp(ubs not great)> others(walleye, Verizon are tier 2 pods)>kempner(rotational)>pimco(basically like working at your university endowment fund).

I thought rokos did mostly quant. No impression of the others.

I know DE shaw has bad return offer rate, so Weiss might be above.

De shaw >weiss>CAP/P72(some other poster was downvoting it on another thread but probably still ok)/ bridgewater(different and weird but they promote fast if you are "their type")>baly/mlp(ubs not great)> others(walleye, Verizon are tier 2 pods)>kempner(rotational)>pimco(basically like working at your university endowment fund).

I thought rokos did mostly quant. No impression of the others.

I know DE shaw has bad return offer rate, so Weiss might be above.

CAP and P72 have the most developed/structured training programs. Essentially produce a junior analyst who’s familiar with firm infra + able to ramp rapidly.

MLP program is ok. UBS research isn’t great training vs academy/CAP but if you’re under good analysts for your two rotations you may pick up some good habits/approaches. More chilled out at least. Some of the pods hiring at MLP from this program are very good from what I’ve seen (Passaic etc)

Any credit programs other than DK?

MLP is moving away from UBS towards CAP/Academy style program. They have an incoming 2027 SA class for this program.

I really wish Dartmouth College would loosen ties with the cult that is Bridgewater Associates.

Dartmouth has so many great firms where alumni are founders or higher-ups, such as TPG, Lone Pine, BDT & MSD, Thoma Bravo, and Apollo, etc. IMO, we should be working on strengthening our relationships with them and cut any and all ties with Bridgewater.

Bridgewater is a cult that will permanently alter your career, and I know so many of my Big Green alumni who were tricked into going there and wish they did the 2+2 path instead.

If you have an offer from an EB / BB / buyside, or even an MM IBD you can use as a lateral platform, take it and never even think about Bridgewater. Please.

on the public equity side,

Weiss is garbage. Weiss LS dudes are weird af and most importantly dont think they know what they are even saying.

De shaw i have no info but dont think their equity ls team is really known on the street.

avoid BW. i have a few friends who used to work there and its a dust shop that used to run off its back of retard scamdalio who teaches econ 101 and acts like some guru. its an aum game for these clowns now. culture is obv psychotic if you can find a few articles.

In general, the best pods at MMs are really the best teams to join and are the best seats hands down. SM is dying and there is a clear reason why because the best pods at MM are eating their lunch. A lot of undergrads dont know and will not know this until they really work at HFs, but the good ppl at pods are 1) just way smarter on their sectors (its really apparent when you talk to them), 2) know how to tactically trade better than SMs (trust me its really diff), 3) have better payouts due to formulaic payout system. Pod style investing isnt for everyone but there is a good reason behind capital flow shift towards MMs. cant say this for every team but for TMT and Healthcare, Cit and MLP are the best imo

CAP / P72 - legacy pod grad programs, best training and average outcome from this program the best because they can teach anyone l/s investing.

Weiss - doesn’t do l/s investing but interesting convert / marb strategies as well as other weird things. yeah not traditional but their returns are great, and it’s probably a great product for LPs.

DESCO - highest comp at the start by alot and smaller team within long/short but right tail lower than being profitable  risk taking analyst / PM at C / P. Maybe not a bad place to start before moving over to pod. Sort of like a “SM” kind of model with sector heads, etc. 

BW - don’t go.

MLP / Baly - new programs but have heard good things about MLP specifically as good teams are willing to hire out of grad program and not as competitive candidates as u find in CAP / P. 

Regardless, seems like best outcomes in my network (I’m only 2 years out of school) have been from people who find SM seats out of 2 + 2 or just banking. Maybe not tiger cub funds, as those aren’t a good deal anymore, but smaller funds that are growing can get a lot of upside and pod is a grind. 500m+ / head fund that’s growing. Also you get to compete with banking / PE talent, and pod grad programs have drained all of the good talent out of those pipelines today.