A recent Forbes article discusses how much control the quants are now wielding in the stock market.The article states that 70% of all equity volume is driven by computer models and that these models continue to trigger surges in buy or sell orders. Some 30% of all trades are being done in dark pools — alternative trading systems (also known as the upstairs market). Given the hidden nature of this activity, ordinary investors are fighting with one arm tied behind their back and should beware.

Nine or more weeks of vacation, and none at all, both seem surprising. Four weeks comes up as the most common allotment, three weeks in a not-distant second place, and five and two weeks with close-to-equal frequency.

Over two hundred hedge fund professionals reported on their vacation in Hedge Fund Search Digest’s 2007 Compensation Survey.

We spoke with Kevin Collins of April International about his firm’s work in Asia and his approach to recruiting. This is the first part of a two-part interview.

Tell us about your office.

We have eight people, and we work days and into the night. We work until usually 11 pm or midnight, because we have a Hong Kong and Tokyo business.

It’s a round-the-clock job.

I’m in from 11 in the morning until 5:00 or 5:30. Then I go home and have dinner with my wife, then come back at 8:00, and then I work until 11, sometimes 12.

But I’ve left here at 4:30 a.m., too, depending on what’s going on. Close a deal, do some dealing in Tokyo time. Time is relative — irrelevant, actually. It doesn’t mean anything in this global economy.

What’s the background of your international reach?

Maybe 15 years ago, Salomon Brothers asked us to find a Japanese-speaking accountant. We went out to dinner, came back, called all the American and British firms in Tokyo — that is, once we figured out how to dial a phone — and we asked if they knew anybody. Next thing you know they started calling us back saying, “We have positions we need help filling. Could you help us?” That was Japan.

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“For job seekers, it’s critical to gather as much information as possible about prospective employers. As the data demonstrates, compensation is an area of concern for 75% of the respondents. As a result of the findings, compensation programs should be closely scrutinized before deciding to make any new job commitment.”

From the HFSD 2007 Hedge Fund Compensation Survey

Founded three years ago, Sailfish Capital had no trouble raising cash on the basis of its managers’ strong reputations. Six months ago, the Stamford-based, credit-focused fund was worth $2 billion. The last half-year has been an almost-steady decline, and co-founder Mark Fishman confirms the fund is shutting down. Read the NYT case study.

In Hedge Fund Search Digest’s 2007 Compensation Survey, individuals representing over 200 firms reported work/life balance on a scale of 1 to 5. The resulting chart certainly thought-provoking.

“Poor” is the least common response; “Average” is the most common by far. More people reported “Better than Average” than “Less than Average”. In fact, postive responses (4 or 5) outnumber negative responses (1 or 2) by a factor of two. On the whole, response is positive - but not overwhelmingly. As many people responded “Not Poor but Less than Average” (2) as responded “Excellent” (5), and positive responses are at parity with “Average” (3).

An article in the Wall Street Journal today discusses how an old Hedge Fund strategy is back in favor. The Global Macro strategy is bets on economic trends in interest rates, global currencies and other instruments. Traders using the strategy have been winning big now that volatility has returned to the global market and interest rates are no longer rising in unison.

The article mentions plenty of hedge fund players (Clarium Capital Management, GLG Partners, Tudor Investment) and seems to focus most its attention on Alan Howard’s Brevan Howard Asset Management, LLP. Scoring a 25% gain in 2007, this London based fund hit it big again in January with a 10% gain. This macro-oriented fund has exploded in size becoming one of the largest hedge funds in the world according to the article.

A new guide to making a hedge fund career from major financial recruiter Glocap shouldn’t be overlooked ($45 plus shipping). Adam Zoia, founder and Managing Partner, and Aaron Finkel, VP and Head of Publications, collaborated on Getting a Job in Hedge Funds: An Inside Look at How Funds Hire. Click through to read the table of contents and a sample from the first chapter.

“Over the past few years, the popularity of hedge funds has spawned many new firms. A myriad of small funds are battling it out for survival while the larger, more established funds continue to absorb the majority of new money. As over 71% of respondents work for groups with 10 professionals or less, the data better represents the small fund scenario, although the inclusion of large funds does skew averages somewhat. The larger firms have a big advantage in the down years. Their stability based on management fees allows them to pay aggressively at all levels in the firm while they wait out the low periods. The small firms depend heavily on the fund performance to pay bonuses at a level that keeps the attention of top team members. Some highlights from the firm profile include:

* Average fund size was $764 million.
* Median fund size was $170 million.
* 14% of the respondents worked for funds with over a billion dollars in assets.
* 30% of the respondents worked for funds with less than $100 million in assets.
* 71% said they work for groups with 10 or fewer professionals and 18 % of stated their firm has more than 500 professionals.”

From the HFSD 2007 Hedge Fund Compensation Survey

With debt markets tight and an average loss of 1.8% among all hedge funds in January, it will be “surprising if we don’t see a lot of hedge funds close down at some point this year,” according to one fund-of-funds managing director quoted in the Financial Times. Firms managing multiple funds may discontinue one or more of their offerings, and increasing layoffs seem likely. Read the story.