Quant: 2B HF vs Sales&Trading at Goldman Sachs

I graduated with a math phd one year ago, after graduation I worked as a derivative pricing quant at a 2B+ AUM hedge fund at Chicago.
Now My friend at GS refer me to a associate-level position at Sales&Trading department at Goldman Sachs (NYC), the position is regarding HFT. I got the interview directly with the quant head at GS.

What is the pros/cons between these two positions?

Thanks a lot for all advices!

 

Is this part of GSAM or S&T?

GSAM, probably go for it, but you could do better with a DE Shaw, Kepos, Citadel, or 2Sig. Not to mention Jump or Getco- both local firms to you.

S&T, I really don't know. I don't know how well your current fund is doing, and I don't know exactly what kind of job this is. GS is one of the smarter banks, but wall street has never understood quants quite as well as Chicago does.

 
Best Response
IlliniProgrammer:

Is this part of GSAM or S&T?

GSAM, probably go for it, but you could do better with a DE Shaw, Kepos, Citadel, or 2Sig. Not to mention Jump or Getco- both local firms to you.

S&T, I really don't know. I don't know how well your current fund is doing, and I don't know exactly what kind of job this is. GS is one of the smarter banks, but wall street has never understood quants quite as well as Chicago does.

I second everything Mr. IlliniProgrammer says. I would also add one more company - Teza Technologies. In fact, I know someone who used to work at Goldman's high frequency trading desk, got tired of it and is now making a killing at Teza.

 

Teza is also a great firm. I think I would also throw Blander into the same list.

I would also argue that TMG probably ought to be on the list of firms ahead of GS S&T, if not GSAM. They've managed to lure a couple guys from DE Shaw and GSAM. However it's a little more debatable, especially when people remember them as an arcade shop from 5-10 years ago.

 
Thanks guys! Could you guys explain a little bit more about GSAM? I thought it was more like a mutual fund as compared to Citadel or SAC.

Pretty sure GSAM is an "all of the above" sort of place but I don't know all of the details. I know they hire a lot of Finance PhDs and MFEs and that the work is similar. Admittedly I guess with firms like AQR going all AM, there is a large and growing gray area between HF and AM.

Some friends told me that in terms of long-term career development, no quant would jump from a HF to BB, is that true?

Usually doesn't happen but not always the case. I don't think you'd see someone jump from DE Shaw to GS S&T. At a smaller fund, for a recent hire, maybe. There are worse names to have on your resume than Goldman Sachs. (Then again I said that about Lehman when I joined them in 2007)

And do you guys think HFT is the best career choice for a quant?
I have no idea. Maybe you can find out and tell us.
 

Quaerat aut id sed eaque aspernatur voluptas quo. Laudantium veniam in dolores quis est corporis nisi.

Assumenda minima non distinctio ea ut. Repudiandae vitae delectus nobis quod delectus esse molestias.

Sapiente libero sit rerum ex distinctio nemo quasi. Ratione aspernatur quis doloremque molestiae aut ab voluptatum. Et rerum ut eius. Harum harum optio repellat sequi quibusdam sint earum voluptas. Dolores explicabo eaque facere praesentium corporis. Facilis sint assumenda et at laudantium placeat id illum. Eum incidunt ut delectus id qui ullam consectetur.

Delectus sunt explicabo est voluptas quis animi consequatur et. Perspiciatis suscipit soluta eum deserunt repellat at et. Beatae delectus voluptates magni minus nihil. Dolor dolor corporis recusandae assumenda a. Aliquam provident in voluptatibus a officiis voluptatem.

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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
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
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”