Looking to break into HF... what offer do I take?

Have SA offers at both a T1 LO (think Fidelity, T. Rowe) and banking (an EB). Trying to think through the best path to break into a hedge fund seat - would think intellectually, the RA seat at an LO would be closest because of a similar responsibility, but HF world could view it as a clashing investment style. What would you recommend for someone looking to eventually move to a HF? And would that differ between SM and MM (imagine at an LO, you probably are pretty uncompetitive for an MM)? Thank you!

 

Depends on your timeline and preference. From what I have seen there are a good amount of data points for whatever reason of people going from EB to HF. That has taken place. That said, depending on the HF strategy, the LO AM may be a good skill set albeit there they generally don’t get performance fees so it’s more about the asset management fee. Generally when you see a young kid interested in HFs they like the big performance fee / promote which is like making a big commission check such as those made by EB bankers when closing deals. That said I think Alex Sacerdote at Whale Rock started on the LO side and eventually moved to starting his own HF. I think a helpful exercise would be figuring out when and what kind of HF you want to join, and then moving from there. If it’s just an exercise in trying to maximize how much money you can make, then there are many many ways to skin a cat and make money. 💰 💸💵💶💴🤑🤑🤑🤑💲🧧💳🪙

good luck!

 

Thank you so much for your response! Not necessarily in it for the money, per se - while that's obviously a big bonus, I think my bigger concern is whether that LO style of investing really aligns with what I want to do long-term. Know a lot of people tout the benefit of banking as keeping options open. Certainly interested in being in publics - do you think I can cross the side of LO to HF if I so desire?

 
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