Chinese hedge funds are giving Wall Street firms a run for their money.
So-called quant funds there are ramping up pay to attract junior analysts, according to Bloomberg.
Quant funds are hedge funds that use quantitative analysis, like mathematical modeling, to choose investments.
Top hedge funds in China including Ubiquant, Lingjun Investment, Shanghai Minghong Investment Co., and Perseverance are now offering first year analysts as much as $300,000 in base pay.
That’s substantially more than a typical first-year compensation package at a hedge fund, according to John Breault, founder and president of headhunting firm Breault & Smith. An entry-level analyst at a hedge fund can expect to bring home around $120,000 in total compensation, he told The Post.
Meanwhile, the steep pay being offered by the Chinese funds are nearly three times what white-shoe firms in the U.S. are paying recent graduates. Over the summer Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley bumped up pay to at least six figures for first-year bankers.
But Chinese hedge funds are taking a more aggressive approach — trying to compete on a global stage.
And they can afford to pay up. Quant funds are raking in cash — managing upward upwards of $1 trillion yuan or $155 billion — 10 times more money than they managed even four years ago Bloomberg reports
.
At the same time, locking in the best employees is getting harder. Chinese funds are competing with homegrown tech companies like Alibaba and ByteDance as well as global financial firms like Bridgewater and Citadel for top talent.
It’s unclear if Chinese firms could look to recruit young American bankers.
In recent months banks have scrambled to keep young talent from fleeing amid a dizzying workload from a spike in deals.
In March, a leaked slideshow presentation compiled by 13 junior Goldman Sachs analysts detailed complaints about 100-hour workweeks. Some griped of shifts as long as 20 hours that left them little time to eat, sleep or shower, claiming that the grind damaging their physical and mental health.
People close to Goldman acknowledged conditions can be strenuous, but say returning to the office has brought back the sense of teamwork and camaraderie that was missing when people were isolated and working alone during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, at the same time the banks are raising salaries, they’re also increasing bonuses.
The Post reported last month that financiers, analysts and dealmakers — many of whom have already benefited from recent pay increases — can also expect double-digit bumps to their year-end bonuses, according to newly released data from compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates.
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