I've made it a practice to be vague about whoever it is I'm currently working for. Quite often I'm bound by a contract from mentioning them by name in any public format. But even in those cases where I haven't been, it seemed to me to be good manners. Hedge funds go to some lengths to cultivate their image in the investment community, and if someone is good enough to provide me capital and a place to work, I don't think I should mess with that.
My former employers though, I'm much less reluctant to talk about. I figure that if we've parted company for whatever reason, then so long as I don't say anything that isn't true then the rest is fair game. Actually, one of my former employers, I won't say which one, had a stipulation in their contract preventing me from saying anything bad about them ...ever. But contract or no, I probably wouldn't anyway.
There was no such stipulation case with my most recent former employer. And I can now say 'former' because as of today, I'm officially back among the ranks of the gainfully employed. I have received and accepted an offer to go to work as a portfolio manager for another hedge fund, trading both systematic and discretionary macro markets.
I still can't tell you who I'm working for - actually, maybe I can (I haven't read the whole contract yet), but I won't. Like I said... it's good manners. But I can now tell you that my last employers prior to this were Moore Capital, Caxton Associates, and Tudor Investments - in that order.
Tudor was an interesting place, with a very healthy corporate culture. One of my oldest friends is still employed there in a senior role, and I have nothing but respect and affection for the people I worked with and for. I don't think so much of their legal team - but no place is perfect.
On the whole it was a great place to work, and now that I've officially moved on, I still wont have anything bad to say about the place. Not only is that good manners, it's also conveniently, the truth.
3 comments:
Hi Tom,
Are you a regular salaried employee or do you get to 'participate' in whatever profits you make?
2) Could you work at home? If not, why do you need to go to the office, other than for the bosses to see you at your desk?
Great blog.
JB
Portfolio managers in hedge funds typically get a salary plus a percentage of their trading profits after costs. The interview process is less like an interview and and more like a pitch to sell a business. Hedge funds typically see you as a revenue stream, so the actual employee-employer relationship can be vague in legal terms. Your personality only figures into it minimally.
The rule of thumb for office attendance is, if you're making enough money you don't have to show up too often. I've usually been in a position where I could work from home most of the time.
Congratulations!
“I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”
-Thomas Jefferson-
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