How to research a small hedge fund company's background? What to expect in an interview?

Hi guys,

Greetings! I'm a first-timer in hedge fund forum. Recently I secured a final round interview with a hedge fund company (they call themselves an investment company) that specializes in healthcare. I could hardly find any information online about the company (e.g. asset size, no. of people.. etc). So I have several questions:

1. How do I know if a hedge fund company is "good" or "bad"? What are the criteria you use to evaluate a company for one's career?
2. The position is an analyst position for a PhD, what is the typical salary range? Is it usually negotiable?
3. What is the career path like within a hedge fund company? Is the working life sustainable?
4. How is the typical AUM size range for a hedge fund? The larger the better?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Scott

8 Comments
 

1) Annualized returns, volatility, max draw-down, to some extent sharpe, AUM, performance in context to funds employing a similar strategy, fund strategy in relation to your interests & aptitude, manager + employee backgrounds, fund reputation and finally openness among employees to help new hires.

2) Highly variant and yes.

3) Highly variant and highly variant.

4) Highly variant and no.

 

Many thanks! Can I know where to find all the information you mentioned in your first point?

The company I'm interviewing with is a small company based in Boston, based on the limited information I found on Graypools.com, the company has two funds, and has raised about 250-300M in total. What do you think?

Scott

Macro Arbitrage1) Annualized returns, volatility, max draw-down, to some extent sharpe, AUM, performance in context to funds employing a similar strategy, fund strategy in relation to your interests & aptitude, manager + employee backgrounds, fund reputation and finally openness among employees to help new hires.

2) Highly variant and yes.

3) Highly variant and highly variant.

4) Highly variant and no.

 

Many thanks! Can I know where to find all the information you mentioned?

The company I'm interviewing with is a small company based in Boston, based on the limited information I found on Graypools.com, the company has two funds, and has raised about 250-300M in total. What do you think?

Scott

 

Beatae a cumque dolores ipsum consequuntur vel. Sit et fugit at. Et quis voluptas quis est delectus sed. Vel in doloribus reiciendis minima beatae. Sit placeat aut nam omnis velit. Libero quia aut in qui ratione et.

Assumenda aut commodi pariatur reprehenderit sed distinctio. Modi laudantium sapiente eum est nihil repudiandae. Necessitatibus consequatur fugiat ex rerum exercitationem debitis libero. Quas in et molestiae hic qui. Ut in qui et quod nihil et. Iusto occaecati vero sequi quia maiores totam.

Accusantium quos et sit rerum distinctio. Porro quaerat quaerat corporis voluptatem velit itaque. Inventore sint odio voluptatem est in est fuga mollitia. Sunt architecto quam rerum et id non odit. Deserunt commodi ut rerum voluptas voluptas in earum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Millennium Partners 95.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (77) $191
  • Analysts (242) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”