I have had a long interest in foundations and one of the major headhunters I work with reps most foundations.
My headhunter made sure I was invited to interview as we've shot the shit about foundations many times.
However, this role is for a public securities and fixed income investment associate. I have been recruiting for PE & VC. I know literally nothing about public securities and fixed income. I didn't even know what the yield curve was until this weekend.
Should I tell the headhunter, or should I just wing it and hope it works out?
if you tell your recruiter, you look like a hack and will likely not get any more referrals from them if you prove to be unreliable. Unless you're confident you're going to look like a baboon I would suggest you study up and give it the old college try. Not sure how much time you have left but perhaps you can defer the interview a day or two by saying you have a conflict.
You cannot back out, it would damage your relationship with the recruiter
I've been in your situation before, what I learned is if I felt unprepared for an interview it was usually a sign I didn't care.
Earlier in my career I was pushed into some interviews by recruiters for some back office roles and I knew I didn't care. I actually canceled one on interview with a recruiter in the morning because I was going to have to go across the city to get their, and I didn't want the role (he kinda just signed me up). Recruiter got heated, said he would never work with me again. After networking on my own into ER, same recruiter calls me every quarter asking how its going and when I'm ready to move.
Read Swensen's book now.
Try to get a general idea of how they run their portfolio, team backgrounds, and culture. Also, figure out what the foundation does as a whole, not just the investment team.
No need to make the recruiter look like an idiot
To echo what StaphyBone said, definitely don't make the recruiter look like an idiot.
My prior advice was more of a going forward type thing, you made your bed now, have to sleep it in. Just try your best and learn as much as you can between now and the interview
Thanks, I actually am reading it as we speak. I've read all about the foundation's sponsored projects / grants, etc. I'm also reading some recent research on some new capital allocation strategies that might be good to talk about to show that I'm staying current?
The only thing I'm having trouble with is figuring out how they run their portfolio currently. Do you have any suggestions where to find that?
Ask ASAP during interview. It’s an associate level role, not CIO. You’re not expected to know it and it’s quite likely that every institution has its own way to approach asset allocation.
you might find some managers in their 990 etc. from there you can gather what type of managers they partner with.
BlueWing posted a few good AMA's about the E&F space.
You could check out https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/ or https://www.ai-cio.com/ for any articles
Can you reschedule for 2 weeks later?
Also - as an associate I don't think you will need to a strong view on portfolio construction (thats what the PM is for). I think having a strong grasp of the products you are covering is more important.
Additionally, if you were an M&A guy, stress that you know corporate valuation / credit analysis better than interest rate analysis but you are trying to improve. Might even be a good question to ask: "How do you think about duration and interest rate risk in the portfolio?"
Lastly, for every buyside interview I would have at least one idea thought through but don't have a good enough sense on the products you are covering here (IG or Non-IG debt? Equities?)
I can't unfortunately, I'm scheduled for the end of the week. I came from consulting so I have due diligence experience on private investments and this is a hedge fund cap allocation role so totally new to me.
Suggestions appreciated though but can you elaborate on what you mean by the one idea? One idea of what?
Also appreciate the recommended question, will do my homework there and ask based on what I do and don't learn before then.
An investment idea.
You'll be analyzing and recommending investments from what I gather based on OP. You should be able to demonstrate that you have thought about different opportunities in the market.
EDIT: If you have been recruiting for PE & VC how do you know nothing about public securities? Surely you have been following certain industries / trends / investment ideas. Just apply them to the public markets.
Why did the HH present you for this opportunity if you’ve been targeting something completely different? Is the HH reputable or just fishing for fees?
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