Undergrad straight to HF viable?

I know the typical career track to HFs involves a stint in banking, but I want to hear from anybody who did it straight out of undergrad. What type of background did you have & any advice to someone trying to do it?

A little background on me: I'm a rising junior, currently have around a year of full-time banking experience (full-time summer/30-35hrs a week during the school year) in one particular coverage group. I am joining the same coverage group at a much bigger bank after my summer stint. I plan on working both semesters into my Junior SA internship. I am shooting for the same coverage group for my junior SA, and hopefully at a BB. After that, I am interested in recruiting for l/s equity hedge funds that cover the space I am familiar with. I feel like I have a good understanding of the industry I cover, and over the next year I think I'll have some deep domain experience and knowledge.

Do you think I could make the skip, and go straight to a HF?

21 Comments
 

Of course it is doable, I am familiar with people going from non-IB/PE/HF backgrounds straight into a FT offer at a boutique-MM HFs. It depends on your connections, the strengths of said connections, your network, and GPA. If you are from a target or a semi I think with a decent GPA you'll have a good shot, but saying more than that is hard to speculate (fund size, top choice on coverage group, work-life bal. etc.). Good luck

 

I started my career 1 year ago as the first analyst at a deep value micro cap equity HF that started in 2012 from a PM who came from a mega fund.... I have absolutely no regrets in doing so. Straight out of undergrad

 
"Pizz" I started my career 1 year ago as the first analyst at a deep value micro cap equity HF that started in 2012 from a PM who came from a mega fund.... I have absolutely no regrets in doing so. Straight out of undergrad

Harvard or wharton for UG?

 

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