How do non competes work at a multi-manager like MLP/Citadel/P72/BAM, etc?
- Do everyone who leave get non-competes or do they selectively choose the individuals who get non-competes?
- If you're let go, would you get a non-compete?
- In the exit interview, will they try to find out where you are going before deciding whether or non to enforce a compete? How do you navigate around this? (ie: I want to go to a tech company or go to school or travel for 2y, but want to get paid)
Are you a quant or a discretionary analyst/PM? I can only speak to the former, and my understanding is that quant non-competes are much more aggressively enforced.
The way it works is: you sign an agreement when you first join granting them the option to enforce a non-compete when you leave, and often waive some of your ability to fight it legally by agreeing to resolve disputes through arbitration. Everyone signs this, with basically no exceptions. When you leave, there is technically some discretion around how much of the non-compete to enforce, but in most cases you should expect to serve the whole thing.
Getting fired is usually an exception to the above. Unless you have been there for a long time or have learned something very valuable about their process, it's pretty difficult and not worth it to enforce a long non-compete (>=1year) if you are terminated. So they will usually let you off the hook with a reduced term, maybe 6 months, if you are let go shortly after joining. That being said, I have seen people get screwed here, so I wouldn't make any hard decisions assuming this will be the case.
Sometimes, but in general you will just get paid either way. I have heard some places are starting to discount garden leave comp if you get another job, as many people have abused the tech company loophole to double-dip in recent years. In general though it doesn't matter what you tell them.