- The biggest hedge funds are battling it out to attract and retain top talent and outperform peers.
- Business Insider has talked to elite hedge funds to get a peek into their recruiting processes.
- From internships to how they hire for tech, here’s what we know about getting a job at a hedge fund.
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The war for the best hedge fund talent cuts across all levels and positions. Firms like Citadel, Point72, D.E. Shaw, and Bridgewater are in constant competition for the best and brightest to help them gain an edge in the cutthroat investment industry.
These funds, which have grown into behemoths, are now contributing serious time and resources to recruit for internship and training programs that could better guarantee them a steady employee pipeline.
Eye-popping pay, prestige, challenging work environments, and the promise of working with some of the best investors in the industry means they have a pretty attractive proposition to offer.
Internships at quant fund D.E. Shaw can pay up to $22,000. Entry-level analysts and software engineers get paid above 6 figures a year. Portfolio managers with winning strategies can take home millions.
Business Insider has talked to some of the biggest hedge fund managers about how they attract talent, as well as ways to join their ranks and be successful at their firms. Here’s everything we know.
Internships and fellowships
The opaque and secretive world of hedge funds might not necessarily be an obvious choice for many college graduates. Massive money managers are launching new programs to change that and attract young, diverse wunderkinder at earlier stages than before.
Citadel’s Johnna Shields with Justin Luo of the Citadel Associate Program.
Citadel
Internships have also become huge talent pipelines for some of the biggest multi-strategy hedge funds in the industry, which employ armies of traders and engineers. Programs are uber-competitive and harder to get into than many top Ivy League schools.
Analyst and investment training programs
Typically, hedge funds acquire their investment talent after a few years of working at an investment bank. Increasingly though, the industry’s top players are paying graduates to train through intensive programs that can lead to joining investment teams straight after college.
Even the way up-and-coming portfolio managers cut their teeth has evolved.
Tech jobs and training programs
Quant shops have long been battling it out with the finance industry and top tech companies for top technologists. Engineers and algorithm developers are key to helping researchers, data scientists, and traders develop cutting-edge investment strategies and platforms.
