What majors do hedge funds hire?
What education is required to become a hedge fund manager? Many hedge fund employers require employees to receive a bachelor's degree in finance or a related specialty like accounting or economics. Some hiring managers may require a master's in business administration as well.
When preparing for a career in a hedge fund, consider earning your bachelor's degree in math, accounting, finance, investment banking, economics or business. You can also benefit from taking courses in financial math, global investment strategy, emerging markets, psychology and consumer behavior.
Hedge funds want people who are technically proficient and who demonstrate strong “fit” and passion for the markets because firms and teams are far smaller than in investment banking.
Undergrad: The Ivy League schools (HYP and UPenn (Wharton) more than the others), NYU (Stern), U Michigan (Ross), UC Berkeley (Haas), Notre Dame (Mendoza), Georgetown (McDonough), Northwestern, Duke, UVA (McIntire), Stanford, MIT, UChicago, and arguably the top liberal arts colleges (Williams, Amherst, etc.).
- University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA • Private. In-State Tuition. ...
- Northwestern University. Evanston, IL • Private. In-State Tuition. ...
- University of Southern California. Los Angeles, CA • Private. In-State Tuition. ...
- SUNY at Binghamton. Vestal, NY • Private. ...
- Villanova University.
If you're a day trader, it will be extremely difficult to win hedge fund jobs because trading a small amount of your own money is very, very different from taking positions worth millions or tens of millions.
The BLS suggests that majors such as finance, accounting, economics, or business administration will give candidates the best chance to work in financial management.
Hedge fund portfolio managers and analysts
“I'm right and I'm all over the details”… D & C personalities dominate hedge funds. Is are wonderful idea generators, but often get shaken out over the life of an investment as the market moves. S types tend to get runover in the hedge fund world.
On the negative side, the hours are still long and stressful (though better than investment banking hours), job security can be low, and your exit opportunities will be limited.
Hedge funds are widely regarded as offering significant earning potential. Junior level employees are able to achieve salaries upwards of $500k in some places, and the best fund managers can see their net worth ultimately reach nine or even ten figures.
Do hedge funds hire out of undergrad?
The large hedge funds didn't do much recruiting at the undergraduate level, and it was difficult to contact smaller/startup funds. But just as private equity funds have been moving to recruit interns and Analysts out of undergrad, so too have hedge funds been targeting younger candidates.
Yes, GPA matters! Bulge bracket banks and almost all other investment banks will look at your GPA when applying for a job and you should include it in your resume. Typically banks screen resumes based on GPA and will often remove anyone below 3.5.
Overall, the consensus is that hedge funds will continue to grow but will adapt to lower fees, greater use of technology, and increased access to retail investors.
There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer, but degrees in finance, economics, or quantitative fields are commonly sought after for hedge fund roles.
While working in equity research or in investment banking is typically the clearest path to working at a hedge fund, it is not impossible to start working at a hedge fund right after undergrad.
U.S. hedge funds are established primarily in Delaware because Delaware offers the most advanced business friendly law in the United States. In fact, Delaware's business friendly environment is attractive to companies across the globe, not just hedge funds. Governing law matters.
The day for hedge fund managers is very long and full of stressful hours. The end of the market day doesn't necessarily mean that they are done for the day. Many hedge fund managers run positions in overnight markets so they will need to monitor those trades, often late into the night.
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.
Is it hard to get hired at Citadel? Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at Citadel as 46.3% positive with a difficulty rating score of 3.30 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty).
However, because hedge funds are typically much higher-risk portfolios that are more actively traded, they require close monitoring and a greater amount of day-to-day hands-on management and decision-making regarding investments.
Why are hedge fund managers so rich?
Hedge fund managers typically earn above-average compensation, often from a two-and-twenty fee structure. Hedge fund managers typically specialize in a particular investment strategy that they then use to power their fund portfolio's mandate for profits.
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.
Hedge funds are generally more aggressive, riskier, and more exclusive than mutual funds. Their managers have freer rein to invest in a wide variety of assets and to use bolder strategies in pursuit of higher profits, and are rewarded with much higher fees than mutual funds charge.
The hierarchy for a hedge fund includes being a junior analyst/research associate, analyst, senior analyst/sector head, and portfolio manager.
A hedge fund manager focuses on achieving absolute returns by finding as many profit opportunities as possible that are immune to market gyrations—in industry lingo, generating alpha (returns uncorrelated to market performance) rather than beta.
