Hedge Funds, I Banking, Ectetera

[YoungEconomist]

From time to time, someone will post questions about private sector job opportunities for PhD Economists. Recently, I was at a seminar where a woman talked about her experience as a Wall Street Quant upon receiving her PhD in Economics.

I found a couple links about Hedge Funds, and I thought some of you may be interested (the articles are fairly entertaining).

Hedge Funds -- New York Magazine

Hedge Fund Managers Get Richest Quickest


Are any of you planning on working in the finance industry upon receiving your PhD (or masters) in Economics? Have any of you worked in finance before, during, or after grad school? Basically, I'd just be interested in hearing any personal stories about work people have done, work you hope to do in the future, or even work of other people you've known related to the finance industry.

[moneyandcredit]

I'm planning on getting into the finance industry after my BA, and probably working on my MA in Econ at the same time, unless I go for my PhD in which case I'll likely devote the majority of my time to school.

Thanks for the links to the hedge-fund lifestyle articles. I know a guy who runs a money-management firm in Santa Monica, and he's pretty wealthy. Not nearly as wealthy as the guys in the links, though (he has to lease his private jet!).

It's interesting to know what that kind of "screw-you amazing money" can buy. $50M+/year is a figure I can't fully comprehend, if I'm going to buy only those things that I really want. I'm not too interested in fine art, and if I need to go somewhere that isn't my primary home, then I can just fly business class and stay in a nice hotel. Getting a $60M apartment and flying in my own Gulfstream to get there is a low priority for me, so I think a more traditional professional investment career is just fine.

Of course, I could be saying that only because I don't make $50M+/year.

[YoungEconomist]

Originally Posted by moneyandcredit

Thanks for the links to the hedge-fund lifestyle articles. I know a guy who runs a money-management firm in Santa Monica, and he's pretty wealthy. Not nearly as wealthy as the guys in the links, though (he has to lease his private jet!).

Poor guy.

Originally Posted by moneyandcredit

It's interesting to know what that kind of "screw-you amazing money" can buy. $50M+/year is a figure I can't fully comprehend, if I'm going to buy only those things that I really want. I'm not too interested in fine art, and if I need to go somewhere that isn't my primary home, then I can just fly business class and stay in a nice hotel. Getting a $60M apartment and flying in my own Gulfstream to get there is a low priority for me, so I think a more traditional professional investment career is just fine.

Of course, I could be saying that only because I don't make $50M+/year.

I totally agree. I mean, I guess making $50M a year would be cool, but I can't imagine I'd be much happier than if I made say $1M a year.

I'd be lying though if I said money was unimportant. For example, when I'm done with school I will probably want to live in a major US city and own a downtown condo. It doesn't have to be a really expensive place, but in many major cities it's hard to find a place for under $250K. At the same time though, I don't care much about a really fancy condo, or an expensive car, boats, etc.

[moneyandcredit]

Making money is awesome, and I'm all for it. A $4M house and an S63 AMG sound like great fun, and here in LA wouldn't attract the kind of negative attention that could turn me off.

Making the kind of money that turns everyone I care about into a kidnapping target is not awesome. I would like a family one day, and needing to hire a bodyguard to drive my kids to school in an armored car sounds quite unappealing.

[YoungEconomist]

Originally Posted by moneyandcredit

Making money is awesome, and I'm all for it. A $4M house and an S63 AMG sound like great fun, and here in LA wouldn't attract the kind of negative attention that could turn me off.

Making money is cool, and it would be nice to have those things. However, I'm just saying I have not set that kind of wealth as my goal. Honestly, I'm still just trying to figure out which job (or jobs) are attractive to me. If I had a job that allowed me to afford a certain lifestyle (namely downtown in a major US city that I like), and I enjoyed going to my job most of the time, and worked no more than 50 (maybe a little more) hours a week on average, I think I would be really happy. If it just so turns out that I have attractive opportunities to make more, than I'll likely seize those opportunities (such as promotion, or in academia if you have side work).

[YoungEconomist]

Originally Posted by YoungEconomist

... and worked no more than 50 (maybe a little more) hours a week on average ...

It seems like this might not be very realistic in the finance industry. It sounds like many people work ridiculous hours on average (60 - 90 a week on average) in the finance industry. Can anyone confirm this? By the way, are the hours for "quants" just as bad in this industry?

Sounds like if I go private sector, consulting may be a better personal fit. I'm under the impression that the hours are extremely unpredictable and sometimes require all nighters. However, I'm also under the impression that the average week is only about 45 - 55 hours.