The hedge fund industry is arguably doing better in Europe than in the USA, and better still in Asia. In an article entitled “Hedge-fund Mania Hits Asia”, BusinessWeek reports: “From Tokyo to Singapore, hedge funds are as hot as Thai chili peppers.” Jim Rogers, co-founder of the Quantum Fund, says: “I am told a new hedge fund is being set up in Asia every other day.” So after last week’s report of strong hiring at European and American hedge funds, it is appropriate to consider the hiring picture in Asia.
Matthew Hoyle International (MHI) is a financial recruiting firm with offices in the UK, the Netherlands and Hong Kong. It’s a boutique-style firm, with a small-feel, personal touch and strong flow of mid- to senior-level positions in Europe and Asia. Hedge Fund Search Digest publishes a steady run of its prop trading jobs, portfolio manager jobs, and quant jobs in Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul and elsewhere. Earlier this year we asked for Matthew’s views on the Asian hedge fund industry, especially from the point of view of candidates in Europe and the USA. In a nutshell: the Asian industry is very robust, but mobility at a global level is not easy even for very talented candidates.
On industry growth:
“More hedge funds are moving into Asia, particularly from Europe. We see special situations, distressed funds and funds involved heavily in private deals as being especially aggressive in 2008. We also expect the Asian convertible space to remain particularly attractive.”
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This opportunity to run the show (from the IT perspective) at an NYC hedge fund is a pure tech role. Experience in financial technologies and institutions is always helpful for this kind of position, but sometimes not essential. First and foremost, the employer is looking for a strong hardware / software / network professional. A hedge fund job like this often gives the opportunity to work with the best technologies available.
Work in a small midtown hedge fund (25 people) directly with the CFO and Director of Operations. Hands-on IT Manager is needed to manage network operations, telecommunications and design / implementation of the application infrastructure for the firm. Candidate will be required to manage hands-on all aspects of hedge fund operations, with focus on the following areas:
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Growth of the hedge fund industry in 2008 from the point of view of AUM is still an open question, but as far as jobs go, there is no doubt that we’re in a boom period. The financial press continues to report widely on the migration of talent from banks to hedge funds, and on the readiness of hedge funds with capital at hand to create room in their organizations. Hedgeweek, citing Bloomberg, writes: “More than 45 traders, bankers, analysts and other executives have left major investment banks this year to join hedge funds and private equity firms … not including people who have left to start their own companies.” The emphasis here should lie with “major investment banks” — the number 45 estimates hedge fund hires from just a few companies alone — and that was one month ago. Hedgeweek sums up: “The time is right. Hedge fund managers have never had it better in terms of having access to the best available talent to boost their business.” The thought applies equally well to intra-industry moves by hedgies at an underperforming fund.
Two other London papers, the Times (”Traders head for hedge funds“) and the Financial Times (”Hedge funds hit troubled banks with a hiring binge“), report the same story, and binge really does appears to be the right word for it. FT reports several prominent lift-outs of entire teams from hard-hit banks. A manager of one large London hedge fund remarks: “You can get whomever you want.” It’s not just Europe either. TheDeal.com has “noticed an uptick in the volume of jobs posted in the hedge fund sector” in New York and Connecticut to its job board (just one of hundreds of sources of hedge fund jobs covered by Hedge Fund Search Digest). A recruiter quoted by the Times: “My job at the moment is to take people out of banks.”
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