Q&A: Hedge Fund Analyst Out of Undergrad

Background: Target school, studied engineering. Summered at a multi-billion $ hedge fund doing fundamentals l/s and currently at another multi-billion $ hedge fund full-time. Willing to answer anything that does not have to do with my personal past experiences (to preserve anonymity).

 
Most Helpful

Varies based on group performance and market conditions. However, junior levels tend to be less discretionary so a lower % of pay is based on performance. Ratio skews towards performance as you move up. Most good places vary from $150K to $200K for Y1 out of undergrad all-in compensation. Holds true for both single and multi in the initial years. Holds true for multi and single-manager. Multi starts to vary a lot more in Y2 and Y3 based on individual performance, group performance, fund performance, and relationship with PM.

Recruiting process for me was OCR + typical preliminary interview(s) and then superday. Questions were fit/interest in investing-related, accounting-related, or involved pitching.

 

Yes, but I'm also still learning. I would have some ownership of the ideas, but usually ideas are often researched in teams in which case credit might be split with team members by contribution and/or seniority.

 

Assuming you are talking about a multi-manager structure with multiple PMs. No idea tbh. I've heard of some very young PMs who started off as analysts. The speed of ascent is definitely limited by performance. I assume at the bare minimum, a PM will have developed basic coverage expertise in a sector or space, which would take about 2-3 years at minimum. This also gives the person some time to establish a track record as a successful analyst.

 

Thanks for doing this! Couple brief questions on both your personal philosophy and your current fund's L/S strategy:

  1. Style? (Value, Growth, etc.)

  2. Time horizon?

  3. Your ideal strategy?

  4. Avg time period from starting research to initiating a position?

  5. Favorite 2-3 investors?

 

assuming you might've managed to intern at HF and get in first year based on industry contacts? If I am wrong, what tips would you have for those trying start out in HF?

I've a year long internship in S&T at a BB (in London). But long term I want to work to PM in HF. Is that move across likely coming from S&T background or should I try and move across to M&A if I get given a FT position after?

 

What is your day to day work flow like and what sort of projects have you been involved with?

After working in a trading type environment for the past year (not as an analyst) I am beginning to wonder if the nature of Hedge/commodity fund analyst is changing to be more technical in a programming/data scientist type way. Ie. building code or programming software to scrape data and building out reports/trends vs building traditional fundamental models.

 

Laboriosam rerum placeat facilis temporibus. Quod animi ipsam voluptas. Ullam nihil quis corrupti quae consequatur.

Minus tempore consequatur est et quos non. Vitae quis non qui aut fugiat corporis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 98.9%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.9%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.8%
  • Magnetar Capital 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%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.8%
  • Citadel Investment Group 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 (250) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”