What do you mean when you say "lifestyle". Do you mean lifestyle at work? Lifestyle in general? How big of a HF are we talking about here?

Interviews should center around your analytical abilities, sector/industry knowledge (if the fund hires sector specific analysts), modelling competency, pitching stocks, why you want to work for the fund, general fit questions, etc.

 

Hours & overall quality of life. Put it this way, I am currently an M&A banker working 80-100 hrs per week. I am intelligent enough to understand pay, type of work, general environment depends on a lot of factors. But in general, are people working 7 to 7 and no weekends? In general, is there a lot of travel?

I know a lot about PE, but know far less about life and day to day of HF professionals. Very curious, and just started to get up to speed.

 
Best Response

I interviewed at a small (~$400mm aum) long/short hf for a pot MBA position last week. I can address your questions for this particular fund, but it's very hard to speak in generalities about hf's.

Interview: The only technical direct question I got was "how do you calculate FCF?", and they asked me the more generic "if I gave you a week to research a company and make an investment recommendation how would you approach it?". Other than that it was all fit/background questions.

Lifestyle: They are in the office by 630 every morning, since it's a west coast firm, but they leave by 5 most evenings and rarely work weekends. They travel 1-2 times per month while doing there due diligence on potential investments.

Sorry I can't give you much detail here. I'd like to hear some from people in the industry, and I'm sure the answers will vary a lot.

 
But in general, are people working 7 to 7 and no weekends?

7 to 7 with no weekends is a good ballpark number. This number can fluctuate depending on market conditions, but you will definately have the time and flexibility to have a life and family. We have guys that will leave early to coach their kids, play intramural sports, etc. Some guys will come in the office earlier so they can leave by 5:30pm.

In general, is there a lot of travel?

Depends on the due diligence philosphy of the fund. Generally speaking, you'll probably hit the road 2-3 times per quarter to meet management and attend various conference.

 

OK, then for those already at funds, when it comes to an interview, what are the biggest hurdles you think I would have to overcome?

My brief background:

1) Class '05 Associate in M&A at BB in NY (ranked highest in '05 class) 2) Wharton MBA, Top 30 Undergrad 3) Finance side at start-up prior to B-school (corp dev, strategy and day-to-day ops).

 

Dolorem hic qui esse. Voluptatum sapiente blanditiis officia. Est consequatur quo nihil. Eum alias ut nulla. Et eaque ut voluptatem dolores fugit iste ipsum ullam.

Voluptatum rem ex facere earum et ea suscipit. Repudiandae perferendis maiores at earum. Error quia quia dolorem accusantium. Soluta qui et voluptatem laborum similique. Et eum cupiditate dolore veniam labore molestiae. Nostrum provident rerum fuga similique. Velit reiciendis quia dignissimos exercitationem placeat praesentium culpa error.

Quod maxime voluptas praesentium distinctio quas ducimus. Dignissimos omnis autem qui architecto animi. Exercitationem aliquam et facilis molestiae.

Corrupti totam quia eum. Eveniet et aut assumenda ex voluptatem ut. Inventore nemo quae eos magni officia possimus. A tempore amet facilis natus asperiores corrupti totam error. Alias tempora nobis voluptatem qui eaque aut repudiandae dicta.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 98.9%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.9%
  • Magnetar Capital 96.8%
  • Citadel Investment Group 95.8%
  • AQR Capital Management 94.7%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 98.9%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.8%
  • Blackstone Group 96.8%
  • Two Sigma Investments 95.7%
  • Citadel Investment Group 94.6%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 97.9%
  • D.E. Shaw 96.9%
  • Citadel Investment Group 95.8%
  • Magnetar Capital 94.8%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (23) $474
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (6) $322
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (24) $287
  • Manager (4) $282
  • Engineer/Quant (71) $274
  • 2nd Year Associate (30) $251
  • 1st Year Associate (73) $190
  • Analysts (225) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (22) $131
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (249) $85
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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”