Hedge Fund Interview

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lxwarr30

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I’ve networked myself into an opportunity for an entry level finance interview at a HF in Stamford. I’ve interviewed with Big 4 before, but never with a bank/finance company. How different will this interview be? Are the questions pretty standard? Do you have any suggestions on the best way to prepare?
 
HF is a meaningless term. What is more important is what their investment style is. Informing us of that will give you better responses.
 
Wiki informs me (their website has no info) they have four different portfolios with distinct mandates. Also mentions they deal in PE and emerging markets. I think they do a little bit of everything, which doesn’t help much.
 
It’s pretty hard to say, because the interviews can be very different between funds. I’ve worked at a HF for 3 years now and wouldn’t be excited about interviewing for the same job somewhere else, because a different firm might have a totally different take on what is important in a candidate. We focus primarily on fit, critical thinking skills, and accounting, as well as test candidates on specific companies we provide them. Other firms may ask obnoxious brain teasers (we don’t) or obscure quantitative questions – I’m not sure how you can really prepare for that.
 
Job is for entry level-finance. Honestly, I’ve applied through a friend and he got me the interview. It was very basic minimal description. He mentioned he would tell me more and prep me, but I want to start as soon as possible.
Viceroy - How did you get owned? What types of questions, so I can be prepared to answer them.
 
Having worked at two different hedge funds and interviewed at many more I can say that no two of the interviews have been the same or even similar. Same can be said for interviewing candidates for the funds I worked for, depending on the position the interviews were quite different.
If you were to describe the position or the description of it we might be able to provide more insight.
 
I once interviewed for a hedge fund that wanted my SAT scores from 10 years ago. That was red flag #1.
But like others said, it can swing any possible way. Try to get the inside scoop on the culture, if it’s an elitist culture, prepare to have your a** handed to you
 
Bromion,
For the brain teasers, I got all kinds of those on my interviews out of grad school. I ended up buying a book on Wall Street interview questions because of it. I still have difficulty with some of the Bayesian probability questions that were asked almost exactly at like five different firms.
 
That’s a good idea, I’ve never heard of that book. I think it depends on what level you are trying to come in at and so on. The brain teasers seem to be more for junior or recent grad levels (including post-grad). At the experienced level, I think people want you to tell them how to make money. That’s pretty much all we ask – how would you look at this company, what is the stock likely to do, and why do you believe that. Forget about brain teasers though, basic questions seem to stump most candidates.
 
lxwarr30 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Job is for entry level-finance. Honestly, I’ve
> applied through a friend and he got me the
> interview. It was very basic minimal description.
> He mentioned he would tell me more and prep me,
> but I want to start as soon as possible.
>
> Viceroy - How did you get owned? What types of
> questions, so I can be prepared to answer them.
Damn it, made a long post for you but I somehow deleted it.
My experience, in a nutshell :
- unexpected stuff
- questions about basic financial statements and valuations, but asked in a twisted way. You MUST be good with the basics and really understand them
- mental arithmetics under pressure
- “case study” with no paper or calculator
Imagine it as them going shopping for a fast computer, not a database. I don’t think HFs are interested in guys who know everything. Rather, they want very sharp guys who can think quick under pressure.
That’s my experience, but it may not apply to your case, as we don’t know anything about what they do.
Go in there with a clear mind, expect weird stuff (not the plain-vanilla big4 interviews).
Good luck and tell us how it went !
 
jmh530 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Bromion,
> For the brain teasers, I got all kinds of those on
> my interviews out of grad school. I ended up
> buying a book on Wall Street interview questions
> because of it. I still have difficulty with some
> of the Bayesian probability questions that were
> asked almost exactly at like five different firms.
“Heard on the Street”? Oldie but goodie:
http://www.amazon.com/Heard-Street-Quantitative-Questions-Interviews/dp/...
 
Ok, if anyone is still following this thread. I found out more information about the position. This is not for an analyst position, it’s not even operations really, it’s in payroll, but it’s at a premiere hedge fund. I’m going to go because I think the experience is valuable and depending on the pay I’d consider, but I wonder is this really a step in the right direction?
So to paraphrase: How valuable is getting your foot in the door? Something I sometimes think when I read posts is that it’s not always the name of the company, but the type of work that you were doing there. Is this correct?
Do you think it’s possible for someone to go from payroll to a real entry level analyst position? This fund has 110 portfolio managers so I imagine there will be a lot of opportunity to meet with people and make connections.
 
I would rather work for a $50MM no-name hedge fund in an analytical front office role than work for SAC, Paulson, Soros, RenTech, etc… in a BO role. Yes the name would look prestigious, but as you said people are going to care more about what you did in your role. The name can only go so far and you run the risk of pigeon holing yourself.
Honestly your chances would be low. I would not jump into the position for the sole purpose of trying to leverage it into a research/PM role.
 
Finally got the people to e-mail me the actual job description. Here it is. The HF is actually one of the ones names above. I basically know I would not be able to jump in FO here, but would BO experience at those companies give you an leverage to go FO at a smaller fund?
Assist and prepare payroll Entries for Semi-Monthly/Monthly domestic and international payrolls
Partner with Human Resource department to ensure coordination of information between the Human Resource and Payroll departments.
Partner with third-parties to ensure accurate and timely payrolls.
Reconcile payroll and prepare general ledger posting
Act as contact person for internal and external audit of payroll records, systems and procedures
Maintain relationships with internal and external auditors regarding payroll and payroll tax issues as necessary to accomplish the organization’s payroll processing objectives
Assist in the preparation management reporting for salary and other compensation expenses
assist in the administration of 401(k) plan payroll entries– manage input of deductions and loans – review reconciliation with 401(k) plan provider.
Assist with international payroll process and providers
 
lxwarr30 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> This is not for an analyst position, it’s not even
> operations really, it’s in payroll, but it’s at a
> premiere hedge fund. I’m going to go because I
> think the experience is valuable and depending on
> the pay I’d consider, but I wonder is this really
> a step in the right direction?
What are you doing now? If you’re currently a lumberjack in British Columbia, getting closer to the action is an improvement.
> So to paraphrase: How valuable is getting your
> foot in the door? Something I sometimes think when
> I read posts is that it’s not always the name of
> the company, but the type of work that you were
> doing there. Is this correct?
Type of work is most important, yes. Would you hire someone from SAC HR to manage your portfolio? Me neither.
> Do you think it’s possible for someone to go from
> payroll to a real entry level analyst position?
> This fund has 110 portfolio managers so I imagine
> there will be a lot of opportunity to meet with
> people and make connections.
Chances are very slim, < 1%. You’d have a better shot at less-established shop.
 
What are you doing now? Do you think you could get something FO at a smaller shop? How many years out of school are you? Is there any chance you can lay again on your network as say “thanks but I’ll take something in the FO please?”
 
if they call themselves a “hedge fund” be weary. hedge fund just means someone betting on an investment strategy. nothing more.
 
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