Junior analyst at small fixed income hedge fund
I've been working at a small fixed income hedge fund (~350m) for a few months now whilst I finish my undergraduate degree.
I'm not sure how I feel about the environment. It's a very small team, 2 funds (1 is closing and second just opening). They have 1 PM, 1 junior PM for the new fund. And then another guy and I job share the junior analyst role. Then they have a few ops/data people and independent advisors. They seems to be doing relatively well and have consistently made positive returns for over 10 years and are growing FUM. The only issue, I'm really bored! I've previously interned at a top tier BB in sales (s&t) and I came out thinking the job was super fun but sales is not a great place to start. I wanted to do something technical and thought I really scored getting this hedge fund role but now I'm not sure if I could work here full time. It's pretty lonely, everyone goes to lunch separately and they aren't very chatty.
I'm not sure whether to stay because I feel I'm getting awesome exposure to private debt, syndicated loans, credit etc that not many people have experience with. At the same time, I feel working in such a small team at my age (22) could get depressing/isolating. Does the work get more interesting? (I'm doing a lot of frustrating admin which feel wasn't my job description either). Will the team warm up a bit? What are your experiences with small hedge funds?
Thanks :)
me too..
you are so inexperienced that you are not really in a position to add value yet...it will take years before you get to that point. This is why young people should start their careers at a BB...they train you...and not just in the actual job...but in the socialization aspect of working in finance, which takes a while to understand.
eg...When to be social, and when to keep quiet and work in silence is a skill that only experience will teach.
This job sounds like a great opportunity, but you should expect it to take 3-4 years before you are trained enough to be able to add value.
I work at a small credit shop and a small long/short equity shop as well. I am not sure why but equity is just so much more interesting to me than credit. I am more than likely going to stick with equity long/short funds as a career path but am also interested in global macro shops. I think the biggest thing to consider is does management accommodate to your needs and provide an environment in which you can ultimately grow and become a better financier? What you are doing and who you are working with are equally important. A bad team can make you hate the industry.
The team is really friendly and much more humble than the people who worked at the BB I interned at. So it's sort of a double edged sword, BB was a more 'fun' environment but higher pressure and full of massive egos. Hedge fund is more boring but the team is very flexible, seems to want to help me grow, and are just way more genuine people.
It's so hard, I guess the position I have now is not stressful (probably because we're doing well) and that's a positive. People seem to want this lifestyle, but maybe i'm too young for it?
you are in a great opportunity...use it to learn...ask questions for research opportunities....do deep research (maybe you'll have to learn more math or programming in the process)...learn learn learn...that's your job right now.
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