Hey everyone,
I got invited to interview with Passport Capital in San Francisco. Anyone heard of them? It is my first hedge fund interview, so not really sure what to expect.
Thank you for your help
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Yes, I've heard of them, good fund as far as I know - I don't know their performance specifics. They agree with me as far as energy strategy (or, I agree with them?) lol.
Passport Capital is a great shop! I would go in there with some solid investment ideas to discuss. They poured into the Materials sector over Q4, so I would definitely look into those names and the catalysts behind their buys.
Are they interviewing for internships already? I know a couple of guys that applied to the below internships but haven't heard anything yet: http://hedgetracker.jobthread.com/
Solid firm but I've heard Burbank runs it like a little kingdom
What position are you interviewing for?
Call with Passport Capital Director, HELP! (Originally Posted: 11/13/2012)
So I reached out to a Passport Director asking for some learning and advice. He's asked me to call him up sometime. What questions should I be asking?
That's awesome! Congrats - I am personally a huge fan of John Burbank. He has some interesting thoughts on the market; an interview is posted here http://www.marketfolly.com/2012/10/john-burbank-says-go-long-high-quali… I find his position especially interesting given high dividend stocks are at 30+ year highs as a percent of the S&P 500 .
You definitely want to ask him about his background, his thoughts on the industry, etc.
The Fiscal Cliff is the elephant in the room for most investment managers at the moment, and gives him a chance to express his own macro views. You could also ask him to elaborate on how he thinks about QE, and whether he agrees with Einhorn/Klarman.
I would stick to high level topics - I wouldn't be going through their 13f and asking about specific positions. Maybe ask what they prioritize in a potential investments - for instance, how does a company's competitive position affect their opinion? Would they generally prefer to buy an industry leader or a quickly growing small cap?
prepare your knowledge of the markets and what they do. Ask questions about how they got there, how to position yourself, what pitfalls to avoid.... Don't waste his time with stuff you can research or ask about general market opinions because you are not a journalist. You reached out to him for advice and learning so do exactly that.
Prepare stories to tell about your interest in the field and don't fucking bullshit him if you don't know something.
Okay, the call went borderline pathetic. I'm currently based in India, I don't have any US education, so I wasn't seeking employment or anything, and I made that clear to him in my email, to start with. The tone of our email exchange had nothing to do with the markets, it was more about career goals and education, so naturally, the call went on similar lines.
My questions to him were more focused on what I should be doing to break in. He said the industry headcount is certainly not going up, and even if it does, there are enough laid off folks with relevant experience. He also stressed on the schools they hire from - UCB, Stan, and some other elite schools on the East Coast. Also, he said that I seemed to be behaving 'too desperate'. This was my first experience with cold mailing/cold calling/networking, so I guess I'll learn with time....
All in all, a little bummed, disappointed and demotivated.
Yikes! Sorry to hear that it was a flop. Yeah if the guy says upfront that you're behaving "too desperate" then it did not go well.
Passport is an awesome fund. Long-short equity but with a macro focus so in my opinion more interesting than the likes of baupost or greenlight. I think they hire mostly hbs and stanford gsb people.
Yeah, but he was from a non target. I had absolutely NO experience cold mailing/cold calling/networking. I went on LinkedIn and endorsed him for all his skills. I think that gave him that impression.
Just curious, how much would he be making?
He probably thought he was doing you a favor by taking the time to speak and letting you know the impression your cold emails left. Most people wouldn't even respond, so incorporate his feedback into your future networking and try to learn from it.
Passport has had layoffs this year and a couple notably bad calls (net short most of this year, VVUS) so that could color his perspective a bit. But his comments on the industry were generally accurate - not sure why you'd want him to sugarcoat it or find it demotivating to be told that it's not easy to land a position.
For what it's worth, l/s with a macro overlay does sound awesome, but in practice Burbank is known for overruling the fundamental work of his analysts based on his macro views. Not so fun.
I have very little idea of the nitty gritties of what's going on. I am sitting here in Delhi, India.
I was aware of Passport's layoffs though. I wouldn't want him to sugarcoat, but it is definitely disappointing when you're rudely woken up from your fantasy wet dream.
Anyone heard of Passport Capital? (Originally Posted: 10/05/2009)
Hey,
Anyone heard of Passport Capital? Is it a good place to work? Good brand name?
Would my exit opps into other hedge funds or b-school be good from this fund?
Thanks.
i know an alum who works there..apparently it is a good place to work, pay well, great SF weather. IMO b schools always value hedge fund experience as long as you have some achievements to talk about in your essays..as far as other hedge funds, it depends what exactly you do at passport.
Yes, I would be on the investing side assisting with research and any other analysis, maintaining comps, building models, primary research etc.
I probably won't be getting direct 'idea-generating' experience in the short-term, but hopefully that's the track I'd end up on if everything went well.
Do those skills seem transferable?
Its a very good place to work. I first heard of them through their India Strategy, I've met a couple of people that work there. Good brand name and good exit opps to other hedge funds.
That's good to know.
I'm hoping I stay here for a long time... but no one can predict the future.
bump
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