I've got two questions, i'm going to ask them sequentially to save the owners of this website on bandwidth..
#1. Alright this might sound like a dumb question but do all these hedge funds have high water marks built into their offering docs? Are there hedge funds that don't have them? I know it's easy to just shut down if you don't cover the mark the very next yr. Not getting paid is a pretty good incentive to walk. Which is a bad thing, but a reality nonetheless.
What about just coming out ahead every year and not losing your LP's any money, is that too much to ask? Is it naïve to think that you could get LP's to agree to that?
#2. My second question revolves around career.
For better or for worse, I started working on the Street real early on in life. I started at Lehman Bros at 17yrs old cold calling 500 calls a day on two Rolm phones and weekends till 9pm, from coast to coast, I took the 7 a week after I turned 18yrs old and hustled opening accounts for senior brokers. In a period of 11yrs I worked a total of 3 firms. I went from a VP, SVP, Associate Director, Managing Director.. Anyhow, I kept my nose clean with my U4 and left the biz after I clashed with mgmt about my picking my own stocks all the time and the firm not covering them, and I also started to realize being on the broker train was going nowhere cuz all these firms were the same, not to mention the price of trades & margins were being squeezed thanks to the Internet, and finally, I didn't want to see myself like all those old guys putzing around without a clue. I also felt I had options because of my age. I'm not married and don't have kids, and being in my late 20's when I quit was an advantage.
Needless to say, I never went to college. People just assumed I did. Only the HR lady & my boss(es) knew the deal.
Well today I am in college. I went back to school and I'll be attending a top 3 business school. I know that Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, UBS and Credit Suisse recruit on campus for IB jobs. One of my friends got a job in M&A w/Credit Suisse last yr. I could probably get a job with one of them OR use my degree towards doing what I liked doing best which was stock picking.
During my time off, I paid my lawyers alotta lettuce to make offering docs and all the other paperwork that goes along with a brand new hedge fund a few yrs ago and took the series 65 exam too. I know this is only one part of a whole puzzle, but now with a business degree from a top b-school, it adds to credibility on your offering docs when you're out marketing a fund..am I right?
What would you do? A career in M&A or taking a huge risk and run a hedge fund? (My personal trading performance is good, I haven't had much time to focus on it like I used to due to school, but I know how to trade/long/short/options and take losses when I have to..and of course my 11yrs experience trading for others.)
The drawbacks I see in the hedge fund biz is market saturation, too many mgrs chasing the same margins, unless you go big, you might as well forget about it. You'll need at least a good $50-$100mm in LP assets to survive and pay your bills. But when it's good it's better than great. I can see that.
The drawbacks I see in the M&A job would be long ass hours working like a mule and getting paid about the same as I was when I was a broker, unless of course I become some division head and get into a bonus pool. Am I right? Although I do enjoy working with clients and learning all about their biz, etc.
Ultimately it's my call, I know that, but I'd like to hear some advice. Maybe cover some angles I haven't.
I know I could go either way, or maybe neither.
#1. Alright this might sound like a dumb question but do all these hedge funds have high water marks built into their offering docs? Are there hedge funds that don't have them? I know it's easy to just shut down if you don't cover the mark the very next yr. Not getting paid is a pretty good incentive to walk. Which is a bad thing, but a reality nonetheless.
What about just coming out ahead every year and not losing your LP's any money, is that too much to ask? Is it naïve to think that you could get LP's to agree to that?
#2. My second question revolves around career.
For better or for worse, I started working on the Street real early on in life. I started at Lehman Bros at 17yrs old cold calling 500 calls a day on two Rolm phones and weekends till 9pm, from coast to coast, I took the 7 a week after I turned 18yrs old and hustled opening accounts for senior brokers. In a period of 11yrs I worked a total of 3 firms. I went from a VP, SVP, Associate Director, Managing Director.. Anyhow, I kept my nose clean with my U4 and left the biz after I clashed with mgmt about my picking my own stocks all the time and the firm not covering them, and I also started to realize being on the broker train was going nowhere cuz all these firms were the same, not to mention the price of trades & margins were being squeezed thanks to the Internet, and finally, I didn't want to see myself like all those old guys putzing around without a clue. I also felt I had options because of my age. I'm not married and don't have kids, and being in my late 20's when I quit was an advantage.
Needless to say, I never went to college. People just assumed I did. Only the HR lady & my boss(es) knew the deal.
Well today I am in college. I went back to school and I'll be attending a top 3 business school. I know that Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, UBS and Credit Suisse recruit on campus for IB jobs. One of my friends got a job in M&A w/Credit Suisse last yr. I could probably get a job with one of them OR use my degree towards doing what I liked doing best which was stock picking.
During my time off, I paid my lawyers alotta lettuce to make offering docs and all the other paperwork that goes along with a brand new hedge fund a few yrs ago and took the series 65 exam too. I know this is only one part of a whole puzzle, but now with a business degree from a top b-school, it adds to credibility on your offering docs when you're out marketing a fund..am I right?
What would you do? A career in M&A or taking a huge risk and run a hedge fund? (My personal trading performance is good, I haven't had much time to focus on it like I used to due to school, but I know how to trade/long/short/options and take losses when I have to..and of course my 11yrs experience trading for others.)
The drawbacks I see in the hedge fund biz is market saturation, too many mgrs chasing the same margins, unless you go big, you might as well forget about it. You'll need at least a good $50-$100mm in LP assets to survive and pay your bills. But when it's good it's better than great. I can see that.
The drawbacks I see in the M&A job would be long ass hours working like a mule and getting paid about the same as I was when I was a broker, unless of course I become some division head and get into a bonus pool. Am I right? Although I do enjoy working with clients and learning all about their biz, etc.
Ultimately it's my call, I know that, but I'd like to hear some advice. Maybe cover some angles I haven't.
I know I could go either way, or maybe neither.