Hedge Fund getting acquired?
Hey guys - hoping to get some opinions and advice as I am in a bit of a pickle, with anonymity for obvious reasons. I'm currently a junior analyst at a single manager HF in Chicago and I recently learned that the founder/PM has sold the fund to a large multi-manager (think Bessemer/Capital Group type). I've recommended some stocks in the past but a large majority of my work is modeling and DD, without "owning" the names outright. Although I'm told I'll get the opportunity to interview for the acquiring fund, I'm suspicious that they might see my current title - Jr Analyst - and be biased against taking me on. In addition, if I end up losing this job, it would be the 2nd fund I have left in ~2 years (prev fund laid off all the jrs bc of performance) - not a great track record for a recent college grad.
Any thoughts on what I should be telling recruiters when they ask me why I am looking to leave so early? Or thoughts on how I should handle the interview with the larger manager? Also curious as to possible lateral moves... these last two experiences in HFs have got me worried about whether I can stomach the career volatility tbh, feel free to call me soft.
I am hoping to talk with my PM soon and might have more details after that.
There will always be career volatility, its a performance based business so you need to be ready for this. A recruiter is not going to ding you for looking at another position when your firm is being acquired and you may not have a job. You need to show the new firm you aren't redundant and have examples ready of names you worked on, otherwise what value are you to bring on.
If I were a recruiter, and I knew of this through the grapevine, I'd think you're a wet blanket if you weren't out there checking your options and showing initiative instead of just "letting whatever happen to you". If you haven't already figured it out OP, the HF world isn't exactly the size of an ocean like generic CPAs or MSCE engineers in the F1000 world. Recruiters keep an ear to the ground about what happens in their local market, so just be up front about what's happen(ed/ing). Don't shuck any blame on previous employers, but come at it from the angle of "even though they laid off the jr's, I was picked up quickly because of my experience and body of work I bring to the table." /ramble
Edit to add: mp11932's response was dead on. This entire world of HF/IB/PE/VC/AM/S&T/etc is all meritocracy. That means you're always going to have to face down some form of volatility (now who wants to make up a personal/professional VIX to sell to LinkedIn and recruiters?).
Thanks guys, this is super helpful. Had my fill of feeling sorry for myself so time to start the war plans. Just curious, if you were me - how would you address the knock of not having P&L risk? I know alot of HFs run super lean and everyone is expected to be in the book. Thinking of addressing it head-on and saying "but I can do it bc xyz"... but exaggerating is always also an option.
I'm glad we could help. Also glad to hear you're not playing pity party anymore too. As for coming up with some PnL figures, do NOT fake it. It can and will be sniffed out by anyone who's been around for a while. Not having your own book as a jr is only a knock if you want it to be or let it be. Instead talk up those ER projects you worked on and prepare cogent answers for both the accepted ideas and the rejected ones and what you learned from it. Feel free to harp on the positive outcomes that got the PM a better entry/exit on a symbol, industry space events like M&A activity that helped reweigh portfolio risks, etc. I'm sure you already can read FACE statements, but learn some more about the SEC/SEDAR/FINRA rules and regs so you can add that extra flair to your DD projects. Do you want to actually make trades? If so, chat it up about how you want your licenses so you can uncap your career. On top of that, do you have a paper account? It may not be real cash, but it can show real diligence and risk management. You have a lot of ways to flaunt yourself, show value and how you want to build future value. 'So do it man.
Edit: if you do want to ask questions RE the SEC/SEDAR note above, you can always PM me too
Sounds like OakStreet Capital. Saw it in the news.
Edit: nevermind read it's a HF not an RE firm
Also may be in similar position as PM/founder informed me around 2 weeks ago that he's cutting fund staff and possibly closing down the fund by March of next year (which is why I've been a bit more active on WSO than I usually am).
Edit: oops I replied to this comment
Sorry to hear that man. Tough world out there for small funds as investors seem to be shifting allocations to megafunds bc they can control vol through manager selection too... but working at a pod shop as a jr was not fun from my experience bc they are very short-term trading oriented and high churn. Best of luck to you.
As mentioned do not at all fake/exaggerate P&L. That is the #1 annoyance. Beyond that you are 2 years out of school and have 2 years experience doing basically everything except “P&L” ownership. Anyone who looks down on this is a moron, basically we have someone do not need to spend $$$ training, wont expect a high salary/guarantee and is still “raw” enough to train our way. That is as close to a free option you can find in this industry. The reason those funds change/closed is not in your control. So do not feel down, what is in your control as I explained is you are still raw/cheap and for sure worth the larger fund or someone else to take a chance on.
Others have more specific advice here, but will just chime in here that 2 job changes out of your hands in a volatile industry during a volatile time (assuming your first exit was around early covid) is not really an issue.
I get a lot of (unsolicited) resumes. It's pretty common to see people change jobs every couple years, on average. Many of those are after a year, so I say that it's totally understandable as long its not performance related.
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