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3rd year mid-sized HF quant vs junior BB structurer (seek multi-asset PM long term)

Joined
6/10/11
Messages
33
Points
18
Hello Quantnet,

You are my trusted forum for career advice. I've been given a rather unique situation and would like some direction.

Currently, I'm in my 3rd year in a 0.5b boutique hedge fund. It is my first job out of college and I knew then I wanted to go to quant trading. In a few words, I'll say things are stable, quite lucrative but quiet, little networking and no formal training. As with most boutique HFs, the PM would task me to create a strat with an overall theme. Then in a month, in isolation, I'll have to read 10 academic papers, download the data, code and backtest. Environment is friendly, fun and of love.

My estimates would say by year end, the following is likely - My salary cracks US$120k, I got 2mil allocation to my strats, my colleagues like me more. BUT ... I probably stay trading spot FX and not be exposed to other assets, which tbh, I want to be. I'm not sure what the PM will say when I go up to him and say, I don't have banking strats experience, but I got this options straddle strategy. Can we change our fund mandate?

Now, I just got an offer for a juniour FX and Commodities structurer offer at a sub top 5 BB. (Not GS, MS or JPM). There'll be less programming, less quant skills but you get to thoroughly know and create the products. I know for sure that my product knowledge will increase, obviously, but salary has less upside. And I'm a step away from the market. Though I sense that the switch from structuring to trading is natural.

I actually would like a period of 2 years just familiarizing myself with options ONLY if it's valuable for running multi-asset portfolio. (Megafunds PMs can chime in?)

Should I go? My end goal is to be a PM running a portfolio of half a billion. BB will give me product knowledge and create the following path - small HF -> Structuring (2y) -> BB strats (3y) -> PM at megafund trading a whole range of products. (Yippie!)

Staying in my HF could pave a track record of increasing AUM, starting with a modest 2mil. :(

Sincerely Yours,
Phil
 
You want to run a quant HF strategy that trades exotics? You don't really need structuring / BB quant experience to effectively trade vanillas.
 
That's what I figured. I guess I'm placing a little too much value on what I'll learning in the structuring role which I can't reading the books.

But yeah ... I want to evolve to a quant whose strategies combine underlying and options. Right now, I'm mixing currency and equity markets though. :)
 
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