Can You Write Your Way into a Hedge Fund Job?

People of diverse backgrounds have found a home in the hedge fund industry – lawyers, computer scientists, investment bankers and public accountants, to cite a few. According to the 2017 Hedge Fund Compensation Report, the previous professional backgrounds of about 14 percent of hedge fund professionals are lumped into an amorphous category termed “other”, which may well include the writing profession.

Are You Joking?

In a recent survey conducted by Kurtosys Systems Inc., a leading provider of fund marketing systems,  it was disclosed that almost two-thirds of asset managers regard content marketing as their single most effective marketing tool. It follows that professional writers must be engaged to supply this content. Of course, asset management is a broad category, of which hedge funds are but one component. Nonetheless, the importance of content to hedge fund marketing should not be underestimated.

Late to the Party

Hedge funds were among the last to adopt a client-facing web presence, in part due to regulatory prohibitions. However, the hedge fund industry can benefit from not having pioneered this marketing segment, and come away from the experience with far fewer arrows in its back.

As the digital revolution matures, hedge funds have learned that simply having a website is not enough. Engaging content is a critical factor that ensures visitors to a website return repeatedly. After all, there isn’t much point in creating a website that fails to attract visitors and, once visited, doesn’t provide them with an incentive to return. Hedge funds are very tuned-in to return on investment (ROI) so this is a point that will not be lost on our industry.

A lucid content strategy is essential to winning new clients and retaining existing ones. Countless studies have demonstrated that companies with high-quality content marketing generate increased traffic, boost engagement, produce more leads and drive higher conversion rates than many other marketing strategies. This is no less true with hedge funds.

What about Hedge Fund Jobs?

Hedge funds are on track to achieve 11 straight months of positive gains. This fact alone is encouraging to hedge fund job seekers. More to the point, hedge fund opportunities are available to individuals whose background and experience may, at first blush, seem unsuitable to the industry. However, the hedge fund industry is always innovating and with innovation comes change. These changes are opening up new opportunities of which this is but one example.

Similarly, opportunities arose in the field of mathematics as hedge funds explored technology-based algorithmic modeling in quantitative hedge fund strategies.  Computer science took on new significance for hedge funds as they began to pursue automation and artificial intelligence, and, as we’ve just read, hedge funds have more recently opened the door to the writing profession.

How soon will hedge funds be demanding the services of SEO professionals, proofreaders, editors and social media experts? Hedge funds have survived through innovation and this invariably creates opportunities in the hedge fund industry for people with the most unlikely professional and educational backgrounds. Regardless of profession, if one keeps his ear to the ground, he may hear a hedge fund opportunity calling.

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