What do you mean when you say "lifestyle". Do you mean lifestyle at work? Lifestyle in general? How big of a HF are we talking about here?

Interviews should center around your analytical abilities, sector/industry knowledge (if the fund hires sector specific analysts), modelling competency, pitching stocks, why you want to work for the fund, general fit questions, etc.

 

Hours & overall quality of life. Put it this way, I am currently an M&A banker working 80-100 hrs per week. I am intelligent enough to understand pay, type of work, general environment depends on a lot of factors. But in general, are people working 7 to 7 and no weekends? In general, is there a lot of travel?

I know a lot about PE, but know far less about life and day to day of HF professionals. Very curious, and just started to get up to speed.

 
Best Response

I interviewed at a small (~$400mm aum) long/short hf for a pot MBA position last week. I can address your questions for this particular fund, but it's very hard to speak in generalities about hf's.

Interview: The only technical direct question I got was "how do you calculate FCF?", and they asked me the more generic "if I gave you a week to research a company and make an investment recommendation how would you approach it?". Other than that it was all fit/background questions.

Lifestyle: They are in the office by 630 every morning, since it's a west coast firm, but they leave by 5 most evenings and rarely work weekends. They travel 1-2 times per month while doing there due diligence on potential investments.

Sorry I can't give you much detail here. I'd like to hear some from people in the industry, and I'm sure the answers will vary a lot.

 
But in general, are people working 7 to 7 and no weekends?

7 to 7 with no weekends is a good ballpark number. This number can fluctuate depending on market conditions, but you will definately have the time and flexibility to have a life and family. We have guys that will leave early to coach their kids, play intramural sports, etc. Some guys will come in the office earlier so they can leave by 5:30pm.

In general, is there a lot of travel?

Depends on the due diligence philosphy of the fund. Generally speaking, you'll probably hit the road 2-3 times per quarter to meet management and attend various conference.

 

OK, then for those already at funds, when it comes to an interview, what are the biggest hurdles you think I would have to overcome?

My brief background:

1) Class '05 Associate in M&A at BB in NY (ranked highest in '05 class) 2) Wharton MBA, Top 30 Undergrad 3) Finance side at start-up prior to B-school (corp dev, strategy and day-to-day ops).

 

Sint aut minus quae perspiciatis. Asperiores ut ducimus autem. Beatae labore et consequuntur ducimus iusto consectetur maxime beatae. Occaecati quia molestiae rerum quam labore ut aut. Nemo sint et saepe omnis et omnis accusamus. Iste pariatur aut voluptatem magni eum ipsam voluptatem.

Ullam enim porro iure magnam ab commodi. Non sunt esse quasi necessitatibus voluptatibus aspernatur. Fugit voluptatibus voluptatem reiciendis ratione eum. Adipisci distinctio omnis ea nihil sunt inventore.

Magni dolorem itaque veniam sit assumenda aperiam dolores. Enim perferendis libero voluptatem dolorem eos dolorem ut.

Aliquam in deleniti laudantium nulla recusandae pariatur sequi. Placeat sit delectus mollitia voluptas qui numquam vero. Id nam est totam et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 2024 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (23) $474
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (6) $322
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (25) $287
  • Manager (4) $282
  • Engineer/Quant (71) $274
  • 2nd Year Associate (30) $251
  • 1st Year Associate (73) $190
  • Analysts (227) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (23) $131
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (253) $90
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
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”