Is a Hedge Fund Job Right for You?

A good hedge fund job requires that you have strong nerves, great insight and the ability to multitask complex positions simultaneously. It can be a lucrative but challenging job as the typical hedge fund job entails purchasing a long position and a secondary short position in related securities, to offset price fluctuations and market swings.

Hedge Funds Brief Overview

Most hedge fund companies vary in their overall size, ranging from just a handful of employees to into the hundreds. Many of the smaller hedge funds are run very much like a small business, with a corporate culture that is typically driven by the CEO, owner and/or hedge fund manager.

The hedge fund manage is typically in charge of the entire operation and may have in many cases started the fund as well. They manage these processes:

Managing the Portfolio and Accounting Operations

Hiring/Firing Hedge Fund Personnel

Making final Trade Decisions

Monitoring Portfolio Risk

Hedge Fund Job Opportunities

The individual contributor roles may swing widely from one hedge fund job to another – as in investment banking, an individual who started out as a regular trader will in many cases have a similar position in a hedge fund.

In a smaller hedge fund your hedge fund job may have different responsibilities which is typically driven by the size of the actual fund. At a small fund, the traders will be involved with the operations of the trade. In a larger hedge fund there will usually be a an assigned operations person or even department that takes care of these functions.

Working at a hedge fund job is not like working at an investment bank or even a mutual fund. The vast majority of hedge funds don’t have a large human resources, marketing or operations staff. Many of these tasks are handled by the actual hedge fund manager. As a result, the manager is usually very busy and the hedge fund employees are expected to pick up the slack and even assist with interviewing new employees, working on marketing projects and even helping out in an operations capacity when need be.

Would a Hedge Fund Job be Right for You?

Because most hedge funds are very dynamic companies and can be very lucrative for the employees competition can be extremely fierce for these types of jobs. An MBA may or may not be beneficial to have when applying for a hedge fund job – as many managers prefer to hire people with a demonstrated track record, or that have been referred to the hiring manager by someone in the firm.

In most cases to be qualified for a hedge fund job you should have experience in either investment banking, private equity, accounting, consulting or some type of M&A deal experience in a corporate environment.

When weighing your chances for a hedge fund job remember to focus on what value you are able to bring to the table for the hedge fund’s analysis and decision making processes. Case in point, do you have industry knowledge, a network of contacts in a specific industry, capital structuring experience, strategic analysis or modeling skills, etc.? Since competition can be very strong, you must provide the firm with a skill set that is strong and the more diversified the better.