How to prepare yourself for possible entrance into a hedge fund company? Even though you work for a hedge fund, then how could you do your research/analysis to attract your boss? The three parts are directly copied from others, but they show us the real scenario in hedge fund industry. The topic of getting hired at a hedge fund directly out of undergraduate compels many students. The response to the question: "Is it possible to get hired at a hedge fund directly out of undergraduate?" typically goes along the lines of "it's a shot in the dark, but yes [insert cliche explanation]". I hope through this post, I can offer undergraduate students more specific insight into the process of how it can be done through sharing my own personal experience, as well as provide a beacon of hope to those desiring a hedge fund job directly out of undergraduate. To start-off, let me tell you a little about my background. I am a 22 year old who recently completed his undergraduate degree who dedicates the majority of my time and effort to researching and finding compelling investment ideas because I simply love doing so. Not too long ago, during my sophomore year, I was a frat boy who focused his time and attention on partying. The summer going into my junior year I read The Intelligent Investor merely out of boredom. A light turned on in my head afterwards. In the semesters to follow, I went down an aggressive path of self-education, reading countless value investing and finance books and applying that knowledge in the theses I published on Seeking Alpha and my personal website. During this time, I sacrificed my social life and school came second. I knew I wanted to work at a hedge fund out of undergraduate but I was aware I do not fit the mold of what hedge funds look for. I went to a non-target school in the Southeast, had an okay GPA, never completed an internship and didn't have a single connection in the industry. But screw it, YOLO, right?! Despite all of the adversity, I managed to obtain a position as a part-time analyst for a value-oriented long-short equity hedge fund based in New York ran by two Columbia grads, a job I started while still completing my last semester as an undergrad not too long ago. I also garnered a lot of attention from other hedge funds during my application process. Here are the individual steps of the process I followed that enabled me to get my foot into the door and ultimately get a job. The first step is gathering a list of funds that you personally feel can fit into. To do this, ask yourself, what is my personal investment strategy? Value? Growth? Macro? I've focused the majority of my learning efforts in teaching myself the fundamentals of value investing, so I gathered a list of 25 small value funds to cold call. Establishing the list was fairly easy as all I did was compile a list of funds/fund managers referenced in the many books I read or those who pitched at investor conferences. At this point, I didn't know, or care, whether these funds hired or not. The second step is creating leverage for yourself. Why do hedge funds almost exclusively hire individuals with years of IB experience? Because funds know they understand and can apply the fundamentals, eliminating the cost of training and minimizing risk on their part. For me, I've never even done an internship at an IB, but that didn't really matter because I was able to showcase the same knowledge and skillset sought after in seasoned IB professionals. How did I do that? I had a compelling cover letter, resume, as well as two research notes on both the long-side and short-side that demonstrated my ability to finding alpha-generating ideas. Let's begin with the cover letter. My friend Tom Beevers, a former PM at Newton Investment Management and current CEO of Stockviews.com, told me a fund manager will be most interested in three things: 1. Does this candidate have the drive and passion necessary to help me? Will he spend his days endlessly searching out great ideas that I can put into my fund? 2. Has he shown a keen interest in investment and does he have a willingness to learn? Would he fit with my personal investment philosophy? 3. Is he smart? I had a generic cover letter template that answered all those questions. I then personalized my cover letter template for the type of fund manager and his/her philosophy. This tells them you've made the effort to understand their philosophy and flatters them at the same time, and allows you to pitch your skills as being complementary to their fund/process. Also, avoid convoluted or cliched business terms as small fund managers tend to value straightforwardness. Lastly, emphasize your passion and your interest. For me, I wrote articles for Seeking Alpha, incorporated an investment research firm my junior year of college, and was a member of my school's investment club. Here is a link to my SA Profile: http://seekingalpha.com/author/david-tristan-liu Here is a link to my firm's website: http://www.metalogiccapital.com/ For my resume, I used WSO's resume service. It's a good service and I recommend it to all. Next, perhaps the most important component of your cold call package are the research notes. Well written reports will enable differentiation. Prepare two research notes, one idea on the long side another on the short side. An actionable idea is preferred, but an old idea that worked out well is fine. If possible, find industry professionals to proofread. I was lucky to have a great friend and mentor in Tom Beevers. Here is a link to Tom's blog on what fund managers look for in research notes. http://blog.stockviews.com/2014/07/10/5-qualities-... Here are the links to the two notes I sent as part of my application. Long Idea: http://metalogiccapital.com/uploads/VCRevisedLongI... Short Idea: http://metalogiccapital.com/uploads/YODShortIdeaFi... After sending off my application to my list of funds, the interviews began rolling in the next couple of days (yes, days! smaller funds tend to respond quickly.) Out of the 25 funds I applied to, I interviewed with 4 (not bad). The first question most commonly asked pertains to your background. Then comes the question they ALL ask: "What are you currently looking at in markets?" I just pitched them a special situation idea I just so happened to be working on. Finally, they end the conversation with: "Let's keep in touch", implying to continue finding ideas and sending them those ideas. 2 of the funds requested I do specific tasks to gauge my abilities. One asked me to do an aptitude test, which I bombed...never heard from them since lol. The other, the one I currently work for, asked me to do a 5 page write-up of a company they assigned. I think I did fairly well considering I got a job! As a side note, during this period, I found a greater appreciation for value investors after some fund managers who weren't hiring took time from their busy days to reach out to me and complement my theses and/or offer advice, something I hold dear to my heart. I had an excellent 30-minute phone conversation with one manager about value investing. Others responded to my emails with suggestions on how to improve my theses and simple words of encouragement. One even sent me a well written two page email offering advice and resources including an article written by Whitney Tilson of Kase Capital on how to break into the industry. Here is the link: http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2003/foth030122.htm While the process is fairly straightforward, don't expect a job if your knowledge of investing only encompasses what you learned in school. For me, the means to the end were the result of long nights spent learning investing, economic, finance and business fundamentals that they don't teach you in school and applying the knowledge in my analysis. During your journey, adversity is a given seeing how the hedge fund industry is arguably the most competitive industry full of Ivy-League educated individuals. One fund told me not to get my hopes up as I was the first undergrad they've reached out to and hiring me was a long shot due to my lack of experience on paper. The PM that hired me told me he worked part-time for 9-months at the fund after completing his MBA at Columbia before getting hired full time. So, I will continue working hard and learn until I can get hired full time. Ultimately, through this post, I hope to give students interested in working at a hedge funds both inspiration and valuable insight into the hedge fund job application process from the point of view of an individual who doesn't quite fit the mold, but somehow still got his foot into the door. Please come to me with any questions. As of Feb 1, 2015, I was no longer working at the NYC based HF mentioned in the post as the portfolio manager couldn't offer me a full time position. Nevertheless, I left on good terms with him and my experience working there was a tremendous resume and cover letter booster. I sent a second wave of applications (using the same process) to 40 or so funds and received compelling offers from 3 in less than 2 weeks. Thus, as of mid-February, I'm currently in the process of evaluating my new offers and will most likely become a research analyst at a $300M+ hedge fund based in California. I'll keep you guys updated. PS: Thanks for all your kind words throughout this thread! reference: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/my-guide-on-how-to-get-a-hedge-fund-job-out-of-undergrad Breaking Into Money Management Is money management right for you? In response to frequent emails asking how to break into the business, fund manager Whitney Tilson offers reading materials and job-seeking advice. It's not an easy field to crack, but if you're committed and tenacious, you may catch a money manager's eye. The most common email I get from readers goes something like this: "I recently graduated college and would someday like to manage money. I would like to now, but no one will trust some 22-year-old kid, understandably. Could you offer me some advice on this and what you have learned since you began managing money full-time?" I'm not surprised by these emails, as a lot of people are looking for jobs right now, and the money management industry is very attractive. But it's not right for everyone, and breaking into the business is extremely difficult. Is money management right for you? My first response to potential job seekers is consider whether this industry is a good fit for you. Many people get into this business for the wrong reasons: They want to get rich quickly, trading stocks and watching the minute-to-minute gyrations of the market; they get a rush from making big bets in the hope of making a big score; or they want to prove they're smarter than the market. These are not only the wrong motivations, but they're likely to lead to disaster. Instead, those most likely to succeed are patient and disciplined, highly intelligent and good with numbers, simultaneously confident and independent, yet also humble. They make decisions based on analysis, not emotion, and, most importantly, they are businesspeople who enjoy learning and thinking about companies and industries. Teaching yourself Before applying for any job, you should make every effort to learn as much as possible on your own. When it comes to money management, it will likely take months of reading and studying before you're ready to apply for a job. What should you know? Let's start with the basics: You should be intimately familiar with all of the following terms (these suggestions also apply to those who simply want to become better investors): revenues, costs of goods sold, gross margin, SG&A, operating margin, net (profit) margin, earnings per share, pro forma earnings, option expense, dilution, share repurchase, IPO, secondary offering, free cash flow, float, depreciation, amortization, capital expenditure, equity, assets, liabilities, shareholder's equity, receivables, inventories, goodwill, leverage, lease obligations, tangible book value, debt-to-equity ratio, cash conversion cycle, return on equity, assets and invested capital, market capitalization, enterprise value, price-to-earnings book and sales ratios, EBITDA, NOPAT, EVA, GAAP, burn rate, and many others. There are numerous textbooks and websites covering all of these terms, including the Fool's Investing Basics Center. Next, every investor should be familiar with this body of literature: Ben Graham's The Intelligent Investor and Warren Buffett's annual letters, available for free on Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK.A) website or in a more organized format in The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America. After reading these books, you should be able to discuss margin of safety, Munger's mental models (see his speech here), theSuperinvestors of Graham and Doddsville, castles and moats, and many other terms. Finally, there's day-to-day reading: The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, andBusinessWeek. At a recent Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Charlie Munger said, "I don't think you can be a really good investor over a broad range without doing a massive amount of reading. I think both Warren and I learn more from the great business magazines than we do anywhere else." Other good publications and websites (aside from Fool.com, of course) are The New York Times Business section, Barron's, ValueInvestorsClub.com, TheStreet.com/RealMoney, and Outstanding Investor Digest (a bit pricey, but Buffett once said, "Anyone interested in investing who doesn't subscribe is making a big mistake."). Keeping up with current business news will allow you to give thoughtful answers (there are no "right" answers) to questions such as: Should Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) pay a dividend? Should options be expensed? What are your thoughts on the steel tariffs? Is there a housing bubble? Why have Costco (Nasdaq: COST) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) been so successful? Beyond all of this reading, there are other ways to teach yourself valuable skills. Buffett suggested: You might think about picking out five or 10 companies where you feel quite familiar with their products, but not necessarily so familiar with their financials.... Then get lots of annual reports and all of the articles that have been written on those companies for five or 10 years.... Just sort of immerse yourself. And when you get all through, ask yourself, 'What do I not know that I need to know?' Many years ago, I would go around and talk to competitors and employees.... I just kept asking questions... It's an investigative process -- a journalistic process. And in the end, you want to write the story.... .Some companies are easy to write stories about, and other companies are much tougher to write stories about. We try to look for the ones that are easy. Finally, I highly recommend attending the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. There is no better investment education than listening to two of the greatest investors ever answer questions for six hours. All you have to do is buy one Berkshire B (NYSE: BRK.B) share and book a flight to Omaha, Neb., on the first Saturday in May. (For Munger's two- to three-hour solo act, the Wesco (AMEX: WSC) annual meeting is always the following Wednesday in Pasadena, Calif.) Actually finding a job Once you're prepared, develop a list of firms to approach. There are countless good private money management firms -- the best way to find them is to read a lot and don't hesitate to email people. As for the best mutual funds or fund families, I suggest considering (in no particular order): Longleaf (about which Zeke Ashton wrote), Clipper, Bill Miller and Bob Hagstrom's funds at Legg Mason (NYSE: LM), Oakmark, Olstein, Fairholme, Sequoia, Third Avenue, Dodge & Cox, Oak Value, and Tweedy Browne. For further information, check out the Fool's Mutual Fund Center. You can be certain that all of the top firms are deluged with resumes, so you need to distinguish yourself from the crowd. First, never write to the human resources department -- send your letter directly to a portfolio manager and include three things: 1) A one-page cover letter. Try something like this: Dear Mr. Nygren, I am a college senior with a passionate interest in investing. I have been a great admirer of yours [flattery gets you everywhere] since I first read about you inOutstanding Investor Digest [how many college seniors have even heard of OID, much less read it?], and I now make it a point to check Oakmark's website regularly to read your letters to investors and other materials [more flattery, but don't overdo it -- and be prepared to show that you really read it and you know Oakmark's largest positions]. I am writing in the hope that you can offer me some brief career advice, and perhaps you have an opening in your organization for an eager and hard-working young analyst... Then mention the attached resume and investment idea, and say you'll call his office to follow up. 2) A one-page resume. This is least important. If you can't show direct investing experience, at least try to show strong analytical and quantitative skills. 3) A write-up of your single favorite investment idea at that time (or at the very least, an old write-up of an idea that's done well). Resumes are a dime a dozen, but well-researched, well-written, insightful investment ideas are rare and valuable. Try to tailor your investment idea to your audience (e.g., don't send a micro-cap stock idea to a large fund). For examples of many good write-ups, check out ValueInvestorsClub.com -- you can sign in as a guest and access all but last month's ideas. I know many outstanding value investors are members and suggest becoming a member. It looks good on a resume, and I know people have gotten jobs through VIC connections. Good luck! reference:http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2003/foth030122.htm Guidance for Analysts StockViews is a platform that connects sophisticated professional investors with a network of leading independent analysts. Institutional investors pay a subscription fee to access the platform, and we pass on 80% of that fee to the analysts via the “Research Pool”. This document will provide you with everything you need to get started at StockViews. It explains how to publish research notes, how your performance will be measured, and how compensation is determined. Please read it thoroughly before you initiate on any stocks. If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your dedicated StockViews Executive who was assigned to you when you were initially accepted for analyst track. StockViews research sets a new standard in the quality and value of sell-side research. Therefore we place a huge amount of emphasis on the framework, process and presentation that supports every research note accepted for publication on our platform. This guidance should be read in combination with the following documents:
Coverage for each stock begins with an Initiation Note. Select “Write Research” from your Dashboard or from the Research Library page and complete the relevant stock and rating from the drop-down. You have the following choice of ratings:
Your benchmark will have been assigned to you when you were accepted to analyst track based on your expected stock coverage. If you believe your benchmark is not appropriate please contact your executive prior to publishing your first report. Once your first report has been published you will not be able to change your benchmark. Having selected the stock and rating, you may now complete the body of the note. In preparing your note you should reference the following documents in order to maximize the chances of your note being accepted:
Financial Modeling and ValuationEvery research note must be accompanied by a financial model. As a minimum, this model must include a forecast of the income statement and balance sheet for 2 years forward and a DCF valuation. The Financial Model Template provides the required format and the basic mechanics for your model. The mechanics are broadly based on the McKinsey valuation methodology, and these mechanics may be adapted where the analysis requires it. A step-by-step guide to building your model is provided on the first sheet of the template. When your model is complete ensure that it is saved in the correct format and that it is accessible by anybody with the link. The relevant sections from the income statement, balance sheet and DCF should be copied and pasted into the “Valuation” section of your note. Additionally, you should provide a link to your model at the end of your valuation section. Exclusivity All research notes you publish on the StockViews platform must be exclusive to StockViews and you will be asked to certify this when you publish. You are not permitted to distribute your research note (or any substantially similar note) through any other platform or medium. Failure to comply with these terms will result in your permanent removal from the platform. Approval Process Once you submit your note it will be reviewed by the StockViews Investment Committee within the next 24 hours. On reaching a decision the Investment Committee will provide you with an overall rating and a scorecard. The StockViews Investment Committee comprises a number of experienced investment professionals. Each note will be scored according to 16 data points across 4 categories (Depth of Research, Scope of Research, Explanation of Thesis and Value of Research). The scoring mechanism is detailed on the Analyst Scorecard, and you should use this scorecard to self-assess your research prior to submission. A total rating of 4* or more from the committee will be considered “Institutional Grade” and will be made visible on our platform to relevant StockViews clients. After reading your note, clients will be requested to provide an additional rating. You are required to maintain an average rating above 3.8* to ensure the research remains visible to our clients. The Investment Committee will also determine the classification of your article based on the type of the note and the depth of analysis. There are three possible classifications:
Performance Measurement The performance of each rating is measured from the date of submission. If a note is submitted prior to the relevant market close, then the closing price for that day is used as the initiation price. If a note is submitted after the market close, then the next day’s closing price will be used. Until the rating is priced the article will display the initiation price as PENDING. The initiation price will be completed automatically by the StockViews system to ensure integrity of performance measurement. As soon as an initiation price is established, the ongoing performance of your rating will be measured versus the performance of your benchmark. Your rating continues to be measured until such time as you change your rating. You can reiterate your rating at any time without affecting your performance. See the example in the box here, which shows how it works in practice: Example 1: Say Verizon shares rise by 5% while your benchmark rises by 2% If you have a OUTPERFORM rating on Verizon, you accrue performance of +3% (5%-2%) If you have a UNDERPERFORM rating on Verizon, you accrue performance of -3% (-5%+2%) If you have a NEUTRAL rating, you accrue zero performance Example 2: Let's say Exxon share price falls by 4% while your benchmark rises by 2% If you have a OUTPERFORM rating on Exxon, you accrue performance of -6% (-4%-2%) If you have a UNDERPERFORM rating on Exxon, you accrue performance of +6% (4%+2%) If you have a NEUTRAL rating, you accrue zero performance Note: Performance of stocks is measured on a Total Shareholder Return basis (i.e. dividends received are accounted for as if they have been reinvested in the stock). After a rating has been held for more than one year, the performance of your rating will be annualized. To track the performance of your ratings you can go to My Profile at any time and select the “Stock Views” tab. For each stock we show the absolute performance of the stock, as well as the relative performance. At the top of the page you can see the “Average Performance” which is an average of the relative performance of all your ratings. For the purposes of calculating your average performance we will exclude any rating associated with a microcap stock(under $50m) since most institutional investors are unable to invest in these stocks. Publishing Updates Once you have issued an initiation note and it has been accepted by the investment committee, the stock is officially under your coverage. You are encouraged to publish updates on the stock at least once per quarter, and where relevant, to comment on earnings releases and important events for the stock. Analysts Rankings As a new analyst to StockViews, you will start with the title of 'Associate', and your profile will not be visible to StockViews clients. To attain the 'Analyst' title you must publish at least one note that achieves a score of 4* or more from the StockViews Investment Committee (“Institutional Grade”). The 'Analyst' title is closely controlled and represents those who are consistently contributing institutional grade research. Only analysts are eligible for recurring payments and payments for alpha generation (see, below section). To maintain the title, you must have an average score of 3.8* or more across all your research. If it falls below this level you will return to the 'Associate' level and will no longer be visible to our clients nor eligible for compensation. Each 'Analyst' is required to publish at least one short note every 60 days to maintain their title. If this requirement is not met, the analyst will be considered inactive and will revert to the 'Associate' title. As an 'Analyst' you will also be eligible for support from our Investment Committee. You will be assigned a dedicated executive who will be available to read draft reports and help with questions on matters of security analysis. Analyst Compensation Compensation at StockViews takes two forms:
Alpha Score As an analyst you will be measured on the cumulative performance of your ratings against your designated benchmark. Your Alpha Score represents the confidence we place in your ability to generate alpha from your ratings consistently over time. Your score comprises of a number of different factors, as follows:
Your alpha score is expressed as a number that varies between a range from 0 to 100 and we will only start to measure your alpha after you have established a cumulative track record of over 1 year. We use an algorithm to determine your alpha score based on the four factors above. As mentioned above, the length of track record is a highly important factor in measuring your alpha. Examples of alpha scores are provided in the box below: Example 1 Analyst A has generated an average outperformance of +6% as a result of 8 ratings over 18 months. The performance of the individual ratings vary from -12% to +20%. Analyst A’s alpha score is calculated as +5 Example 2 Analyst B has generated an average outperformance of +5% as a result of 10 ratings over 3 years. The performance of the individual ratings vary from -4% to +10%. Analyst B’s alpha score is calculated at +20 Example 3 Analyst C has generated an average outperformance of +4% as a result of 18 ratings over 6 years. The performance of the individual ratings vary from +1% to +6%. Analyst C’s alpha score is calculated at +65 An alpha bonus is paid to those with the Analyst title at the end of every calendar quarter. It is paid as an multiple of your alpha score. This amount varies according to the value of our subscription fees and can be found by referring to the Compensation Panel. Your Alpha Score is not visible to clients, but instead we display “Alpha Percentile” which indicates where your Alpha Score sits relative to the entire network. You can view this Alpha Percentile at the top of your profile page. Research on Demand As you grow your reputation on StockViews, you will have the opportunity to bid for custom research projects. When a client requests a custom piece of research, we will select between 3 to 5 analysts whose expertise is a close match for the project in question. The higher your research rating on the platform, the more likely it is you will be selected. These projects may be related to a single stock, a sector or a theme. If selected you may then bid on the project at a price of your choosing. As set out in the tender document you should provide a brief description of your expertise as it relates to the project and the expected time to completion. The client will then review each bid before selecting one to take forward. On delivery of the project, and on condition that the client is satisfied with the standard of the report, you will receive credit on your account for the project. The client will usually have an exclusivity period on the report of 30 days (if the exclusivity period is different to the 30 days you will be notified in the tender document). On expiration of the exclusivity period the article will automatically be published on the StockViews platform, at which point the Investment Committee will provide a rating. The article will not be eligible for the “Upfront Payment”, but will be eligible for the “Recurring Payment”. The note will remain exclusive to StockViews. reference:https://www.stockviews.com/analyst_guidance A typical day for a hedge fund analyst
There's really no such thing as a "typical day" - it is entirely dependent on, among a plethora of factors, the fund size ($10bn with plenty of manpower or a $100m fund with two analysts?), investment style (value vs. long/short), sector focus (utilities vs. tech), market conditions (is it 1999 or fall of 2008?), and your work ethics. Below is a rough draft of my schedule (please note that I'm in the Bay Area): 4:30-5:00am: Crawl out of bed, turn on my computer, and jump straight to NYT, WSJ, FT, and CNBC - occasionally they provide great inspiration. Finally, check for analyst upgrades and downgrades. Sounds like there isn't enough time? A perfunctory glance should suffice for industry veterans, especially if you've been covering a name every trading day for the past five years. Oh, and sort through 50 e-mails. Most will be junk, but pay particular attention to e-mails from your most-trusted sell-side analysts. I personally love Bernstein Research since the quality of their work tends to be miles ahead of the rest. 5:00-5:45am: Drive to the office. There's a surprising amount of traffic! 5:45-6:10am: Log in to my Bloomberg machines. Stick seven eggs into the egg cooker. Quickly research whatever caught my attention when I woke up and prepare for the investment committee meeting. This could mean reading a couple of analyst reports or news articles. 6:10-6:40am: Discuss overnight news with the CIO and portfolio managers, then plan the day out. Once the market is open, monitor price movements, as some of the biggest swings take place in the first 30min of the trading day. 6:40-7:30am: Scour the web for more news, articles, etc. In addition to the aforementioned news sources, Google News, Bloomberg, and Facebook can occasionally be helpful. 7:30-10:30am: Perform qualitative research on, say, PLNT by reading the IPO prospectus, the most recent 10-Q and earnings transcript, company presentation decks, CEO interviews, related news articles, company press releases, and analyst reports from JP Morgan and Bank of America. Since it's my job to figure out what the market has gotten wrong, I constantly pause and ask myself, "Is this logical?" The ideal scenario is if the answer is "No way, Jose" - this signals opportunity. 10:00-11:30am: Once the qualitative work is complete, I need to quantity everything by building/updating models. I generally download them from Goldman Sachs's or Morgan Stanley's web-sites... you wouldn't believe how dysfunctional some of the other sell-side models are. Identify the key drivers and input my own assumptions (the assumptions need to be well supported by facts). Once the three statements are done, I prefer to have a comprehensive valuation tool box with DCF, comps, multiples, historicals, etc. Naturally, conduct a sensitivity analysis to ensure a margin of safety. 11:30am-noon: Ring up a sell-side analyst, an industry expert, investor relations, or a friend. I need to verify my numbers and investment rationale from earlier. No room for error - my performance is black and white. Noon-1:00pm: Monitor the markets for price movements again. Recommend last-minute trades if necessary. If you're looking for plenty of liquidity, this is the time. 1:00-1:30pm: Lunch. Unless sell-side has provided catered food for the day, get the fourth sandwich (for the week) that you know is tasteless, overpriced, and probably unhealthy. 1:30-5:30pm: Check for after-market news. Jump on conference calls (if any). Read more analyst reports, industry reports, and/or SEC filings. Reading SEC filings is quite time-consuming. Once I'm "done", I'll read the competitors' reports and filings. 5:30-6:30pm: Gym. Attend a 1-hr spin class or do 30min of cardio plus some weight-lifting and crunches. 6:30-7:30pm: Drive home. Traffic is making my life miserable, but thank goodness I have classical music or Eminem playing in the background. 7:30-8:10pm: Order overpriced Chinese take-out and eat in front of my computer at home while watching CEO interviews or Game of Thrones. 8:15-8:45pm: Check e-mails and read the NYT, WSJ, CNBC, and FT (especially if there're macro risks). If time permits, read more SEC filings. 8:45-9:00pm: Shower, brush my teeth, and get ready for bed. 9:00-9:30pm: Get in bed. Read NYT on my iPhone. Lights out. I know plenty of analysts who're in the industry almost solely for the hefty compensation, and these tend to be the less dedicated ones. They are also the ones who will leave the office at 2:30pm on a week day, five minutes after the CIO has taken off. Some firms, particularly the long-term, value-oriented ones, are relatively lax in how much they demand from their analysts. The more intense ones, like SAC Capital, will slave you away (granted, nothing wrong with this). Hopefully this is of some help, but please keep in mind that the above is reflective solely of my hedge fund experience and should not be extrapolated to the broader hedge fund community. Note: I updated my answer on 9/17/2015 in part to reflect changes in my day-to-day. E.g. reduced reliance on CNBC.
1 Comment
|
AuthorThis is the place where I share my views on the financial sector. Archives
December 2030
Categories |