Hi all,
For all the experienced hedge fund analysts out there, what was your experience like regarding moving from one hedge fund to another in terms of the interview process? Haven't seen much content on WSO regarding the topic.
As some background I did 1 year in ibanking and have 2 years of HF experience as a sector analyst (covering multiple sectors) and spend a lot of my time on idea generation and have what I think is a solid track record given my experience/age. Not actively looking for a new fund but staying opportunistic and want to be prepared if a great opportunity came along.
The only hedge fund interview I've had was when I was in investment banking interviewing for my current hedge fund and other funds. However, I'm guessing the questions you'll get as an experienced analyst are completely different versus when you are trying to break in to the hedge fund world.
Specifically, what questions did you all get as an experienced HF analyst? Does the PM focus on walking through your investment rationale and ideas you've contributed as an analyst? Did you get a modeling test (or is that not relevant for an experienced analyst)? Case study? Were you expected to pitch ideas outside your coverage universe/current fund holdings?
I imagine that you are spending most of the interview discussing how you think as an investor and the ideas you've contributed to your current/past funds - is that a fair assumption?
I greatly appreciate any commentary/help!
Curious as well
I've interviewed experienced analysts for the fund I work at. The main difference vs. interviewing a sell-side research analyst or someone from IB is that I would expect the stock pitches to be a lot crisper, to have a better understanding of the risks of an idea and to have a better developed variant perception on a company as to what your analysis points to that either means earnings/cash flow are going to exceed expectations and/or the multiple will re-rate.
I'd expect modelling tests - we did this simply to check if their approach was similar or adaptable to our own and as a test of how they thought about a stock. We typically set them a stock out of left field with mostly poor analyst coverage so they could not 'cheat with sell-side help' on the model and the underlying assumptions just to judge their thought process. We would typically pick a stock outside of their coverage universe for this test for obvious reasons.
Every fund is different - some have rounds and rounds of interviews to decide. I've heard of 20+ interviews which just seems immensely frustrating as a candidate. I'm almost convinced that some funds use it as an easy way of fleshing out new ideas.
Hope that helps. Feel free to DM me for specifics.
Awesome, thanks.
Yeah I would say it is heavily focused on talking through ideas in depth, your investment philosophy, why you want to make a switch, and case studies. All much more in depth and intense than someone coming out of banking would receive.
Switching HF strategy - seeking advice (Originally Posted: 08/16/2017)
Hi:
First of all, as a silent reader I have to say that this forum is a very helpful tool.
I am writing here to please ask for your opinion. After 3 years on the sell-side (IBD) I moved on to a large hedge fund to invest in equities. I have been doing the same strategy for 3 years, but want to change the direction at this point and work in a more fundamental strategy with a medium-term positioning vs the current short-term trading. Needless to say fundamental investing requires (deep) knowledge about industries and companies which I need to build and improve. I should add that I do not work in NYC, so there are fewer opps. Plus I am 'reporting' to a senior PM who is not good in what he does and simply exploits analysts.
Basically, after 6 years of working my *&$ off I finally want to do what I enjoy most: fundamental investing and working with investors I can learn from.
Potential solutions: - Stay where I am at and interview away. Con's: few open positions, current role barely gives me free time to prepare and I am tired of working with an incompetent PM. - Quit after bonus to prepare for new role. Con's: less leverage for new role (money-wise and higher barrier to get into processes), PM can give bad review if new shop reaches out.
Appreciate the thoughts from you guys in the industry.
If you interview without a job, people like me who are interviewing you will assume you were asked to leave. In addition, looking for a job is difficult and takes a tremendous amount of time. If you are 10 months in with no prospects, you will begin to feel the strain financially and emotionally which naturally leads to bad decision making. Lastly, we are very late cycle. If the economy does turn, then funds will shut down hiring and you will be out of a job for a long time -- even if you hate your PM and can't stand work, at least you will have a seat and a regular paycheck to tide you over.
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