Hello, Today is my first day as being a member of Wall Street Oasis and this is my first post.
I was quite fortunate to enter the buy-side immediately after graduating undergrad. The company I worked for had 6 mutual-funds and while we were small we had great success initially. I worked my way up from a junior analyst position to an actual equity analyst. I also became a CFA Level 2 Candidate within this time.
The past year has been incredibly difficult for the funds. As many of you know, the actively managed fund space has seen dramatic fund outflows. To add a cherry to that, we specialized in small caps which have been especially hit.
Last Friday, I was laid off from my position. I was the youngest person at the firm by the tune of 6 years and the last person to be hired in research. We had recently hired a senior analyst. I believe it was me or him and him being a full charter holder was the nail in the coffin given how low the companies resources have become.
I was also planning on leaving the position given many conflicts I had with the companies infrastructure, I think they beat me to the punch.
I was wondering if any of you have recently been laid-off or left a buy-side to position? I would love to learn your experiences, how you handled it, how quickly it took you to find a new position, etc.
I would like to remain on the buy-side. There are really only 3 respectable mutual funds in my area and chances of receiving a position from the others is slim so I am open to moving. I am also open to moving to the hedge fund area or even opening up my aperture further to the sell-side.
As many of you on the buy-side know, if you have been in the business you receive TONS of contacts especially sell-side sales people. My plan of attack to start is assess the opportunities in my region via my sell-side friends and also touch base with management teams from companies I have met that I'm also close to.
Thank you for any input.
I have nothing to contribute beyond your proposed plan of attack, but, it sounds like you're keeping a level head - best wishes my friend
Sorry to hear that. It is def getting tough out there... I think my firm is not far behind in terms of rolling out layoffs. Assets just continue to steadily bleed off to the passive guys which is a problem.
I think it's probably tough to be too geographically constrained in buyside recruiting. There are so few shops with so few open seats at any given time, that I think you need to expand your scope to at least an entire coast (e.g. West coast / East coast). That should give you +/- 5-10 decently large firms and 20+ smaller boutique type shops to look at. Have you spoken to a headhunter? Might be helpful especially if you are considering jumping to HF side.
It's so true about the predominance of ETFs/indexing, it's starting to make huge dents in fund flows for us mutual fund guys. That's what making me learn more towards hedge funds, the clientele is more on board with the process and you don't see such significant shifts when advisors change allocations. I also believe there is far more opportunities open in this space.
From what I've heard HF are more inclined to use headhunter as compared to mutual funds. It's still overall a very slim chance of being recruited.
At this point, I am willing to move to find a perfect fit. I'm trying to keep the end goal in mind.
The skill set between a MF and HF is very similar, I will have to get up to speed on option mechanics/credit arbitrage but it's overall a very similar job.
Thanks for the input guys, I will keep you posted on what my sell side buds say is open.
Use headhunters but few hedge funds would hire mutual fund kids, especially in this climate. The street is full of ex-hedge fund guys and even they are having trouble getting jobs right now. Entire funds are shut down at the moment.
Do you really think so? The skill set is nearly identical minus a few things. The fund business is certainly going through tough times but I think this is a bit of an exaggeration. I even had a very nice offer while I was at my previous job.
Given the number of highly experienced L/S analysts on the street you're just likely to be at a competitive disadvantage even getting interviews, not to talk of securing actual jobs. That being said, all you have to do is secure and interview then its an open playing field
I know a few ex HF people that gave up after ~6 months and went to the sellside (though that side isn't having a blast now either)
Are you near a major market? Join your local CFA society and start going to events and networking. That might be something to add onto your current plan that could help a lot.
Yes, I'm a member of my local CFA society. I will certainly start attending local events. Good suggestion.
No problem. I'd pound the LinkedIn pavement as well so to speak. Good luck with the hustle.
Don't have much to add but I'd start studying for CFA Level 2, make sure you stay on top of the markets, run your PA i.e. do everything you would have been doing at your job..
That's the plan. I'm gonna finish up two write-ups soon with all relevant model work.
I'm also going to bite the bullet and go ahead and pay for L2.
I thought I'd continue this discussion to keep everyone updated on my progress, especially if someone finds themselves in a similar position.
I've met with a few of my equity sales buddies and things are beginning to look out. I am looking to join a smaller HF ($50-$300MM AUM) with a tight team. A very acknowledged equity sales buddy of mine today mentioned there are actually many opportunities available in my city fitting this, especially with the value tilt I carry. Many senior analysts have branched off from the larger institutions (Westwood/Surveyor/Jana/etc) to become PMs and create their own funds recently. These guys are looking for mid-level analysts like myself instead of more senior guys.
He cited a few openings currently as well as many more that will be open after this earnings season. What I found interesting is he said to not completely rule out possibly getting on board with a Maverick/Surveyor. As long as I am able to pass the modeling tests I should be fine considering my experience.
Also, I was laid off really because of what I covered. I have a heavy emphasis on IT (mostly hardware/OTN Comm). Our PMs were older guys who have always been overweight industrials/cyclicals so they simply could not abstract any value from what I would speak about. My buddy said there is nice demand for IT analysts currently and this should really help me. My previous deterrent is now my strength.
I expect this to last maybe 4 months but I bet you I will be in a significantly better position then than I was at my previous job by this time.
For newcomers trying to get to the buy-side, make as many equity sales friends as you can. They are by and large the best way to get into and advance in the buy-side. I cannot stress this enough.
Hi,
That's pretty good. Congrats. I just sent you a PM. When you have a moment, can you pls take a look. thx.
Just sent you a reply.
That's great to hear. As a newcomer in the industry, was wondering if you could give any advice on strengthening relationships with the equity sales people.
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