What hours do hedge fund traders work?
Hedge fund analysts typically work between 60 and 70 hours a week. Working on the weekend is not common but it certainly does happen from time to time.
The work hours for hedge fund traders can vary, and the industry is known for its demanding schedule. On average, hedge fund traders often work long hours, ranging from 50 to 80 hours per week. The specific workload can depend on the fund's strategy, market conditions, and individual firm policies.
Reality: High Stress and Potentially Constant Long Work Hours. Depending on the type of fund, you could work long hours especially when you are just starting. There is a reason why people say at hedge funds your first 6 months is like “drinking from a fire hose.” The role is unlike investment banking or private equity.
Hedge funds do not employ day trading as a routine. But, they can use it to take advantage of short-term market fluctuations and changes. Day trading is a high-risk strategy, and it is not suitable for everyone.
But working hours are not as hectic as of investment banking professionals. But, of course, that does not mean that hedge fund managers enjoy 4 hours per day of work. Nope. Their working hours revolve around 12 hours a day, and they rarely need to stay at night to work on important deals.
The 2 and 20 is a hedge fund compensation structure consisting of a management fee and a performance fee. 2% represents a management fee which is applied to the total assets under management. A 20% performance fee is charged on the profits that the hedge fund generates, beyond a specified minimum threshold.
Hedge funds are actively managed by professional managers who buy and sell certain investments with the stated aim of exceeding the returns of the markets, or some sector or index of the markets. Hedge funds aim for the greatest possible returns and take the greatest risks while trying to achieve them.
But since hedge funds invest in highly liquid financial assets, redemptions tend to be much easier. Risk: All else being equal, hedge funds are probably riskier because they do not control the assets they trade, and it's very difficult to beat, or even match, the performance of the public markets.
Hedge funds employ some of the best-paid business professionals anywhere, but landing your first job in the industry is no cakewalk. Building a hedge fund career takes determination, networking stamina, and a fierce competitive streak. Here are some steps to help get you to that interview and then land that job.
Junior analyst: $100K approx, split more or less evenly between a base salary and a bonus. Hedge fund analyst: $150K-$200K, with bonuses typically bringing the salary above $500K in a good year. Senior analyst: $1 million approximately, with most of this being the bonus.
How much do hedge fund traders make?
| Annual Salary | Hourly Wage | |
|---|---|---|
| Top Earners | $143,500 | $69 |
| 75th Percentile | $96,500 | $46 |
| Average | $88,726 | $43 |
| 25th Percentile | $58,500 | $28 |
The salaries of Hedge Fund Traders in The US range from $6,115 to $1,014,545 with a median salary of $51,991. Most of Hedge Fund Trader make between $43,503 to $55,576.
A classic Buffett quote indicates that he is no fan of day trading: “If you aren't willing to own a stock for 10 years, don't even think about owning it for 10 minutes.” This emphasis on holding a position for the long term means a very low level of trading activity.
On the downside, hedge funds can be demanding and high-pressure environments. Interns and analysts often work long hours and may be required to work weekends. Additionally, the compensation is often lower than at other financial institutions.
BlackRock manages US$38bn across a broad range of hedge fund strategies. With over 20 years of proven experience, the depth and breadth of our platform has evolved into a comprehensive toolkit of 30+ strategies.
Bridgewater Associates
Westport, Conn. Westport, Conn. In 1975, Bridgewater Associates was founded by Ray Dalio in his Manhattan apartment. Today Bridgewater is the largest hedge fund in the world and Dalio has a personal fortune of approximately $19 billion.
Most hedge and private equity funds target a net IRR of 15% for their investors (after fees). This provides their investors with a meaningful premium over historical average stock market returns of 8%.
According to BarclayHedge, the average hedge fund generated net annualized returns of 7.2% with a Sharpe ratio of 0.86 and market correlation of 0.9 over the last five years through 2021.
The bare minimum to get noticed is $100 million, but realistically it's more like $250 million+, and ideally more like $500 million – $1 billion. You have no chance of accomplishing that unless you have deep connections to potential Limited Partners and a great track record over many years at an existing fund.
Successful hedge fund managers routinely pocket millions of dollars in total compensation, with the top fund managers earning paychecks in the billions of US dollars[1]. This doesn't include how much they personally stand to benefit from their own investments in the funds they manage.
Do hedge funds beat the S&P 500?
Data from an article by The American Enterprise Institute charted the average hedge fund's performance from 2011 to 2020. Over that stretch, the typical hedge fund underperformed the S&P 500 every single year. Again, there will be an occasional manager who outperforms, but rarely does it last long.
A hedge fund trader needs to have a variety of skills, including research and code various trading strategies, automate trade allocation and reconciliation procedures, maintain dialogues with sell side and buy side analysts, and coordinate with analysts to provide investment recommendations.
On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes and admitted to operating the largest Ponzi scheme in history. On June 29, 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed, with restitution of $170 billion. He died in prison in 2021.
Who Is the Richest Hedge Fund Manager? Ken Griffin of Citadel is both the richest hedge fund manager and the highest paid. In 2022, he earned $41. billion, and by the beginning of 2023 his net worth was estimated at $35 billion.
It's hard to say. Hedge funds hire overwhelmingly from banks sales and trading schemes, and few run their own graduate training schemes for people just leaving university. However, hedge fund graduate jobs and internships do exist (you're about to get a list of them), but expect them to be ferociously competitive.
