You're right Equityguy, i haven't appreciated some of the posts in public. You had a nice post, but I will have problems with: 1. Know current U.S. and, obviously, Asian market levels (equity, bonds, fx, energies, commodities), what they have been doing over the past couple of years, and the big macro stories in each market. 2. Know about some of the significant stocks in the Asian markets. The other suggestions about fin math is something I can find from resources I have. Those were things I had thought of doing prior to posting. (1) and (2) were on my mind, but I knew it would be difficult to accomplish. When I read financial prints, the information doesn't lead me to form any opinions, just random facts. Say the nikkei is leveling off at 11,000 and at a 3 month high....well so what. Say the technology sector is down...so what? Say Sony made profits in media/movies sales, but their sales in cathode ray TV is down....so what? I've decided to simply research the asian financial crisis to learn more about the asian markets. It was a long time ago, but it puts things in context. I unfortunately will not be able to respond to (1) and (2) in a direct way, simply because I don't know where to find such market summary; reading the headlines doesn't do much for me. I would suspect you'd have to be following these issues for some time to put all the pieces together. Perhaps some economic sense would help as well. Thanks for the suggestions. And the comment about asking questions that are beyond me is interesting and most likely true. What is without any doubt incorrect is the notion that every question will be designed this way.
I don't necessarily think lefty is out of line in his questions. EVO are a former customer of mine and do look for above average talent (they asked us to refer some quant/developers for the OMS they recently purchased), especially in the types of strategies they run (incredibly high volume, high frequency arb algorithms in asian markets) for a shop that runs as lean as they do. I wouldn't be suprised at all if some of those questions were asked.
well. Lefty is probably right. After all he does recruit folks. I just had it, and well....they didn't ask anything. Who knows? I didn't expect them to since, well...everyone here is an undergrad...we are a liberal arts college...who knows? Not me. The most difficult question asked was, "what classes did you take that would help you trading" I mentioned some government, then referenced the riff in Sino-Japan relations that resulted in a 3.8 percent drop in the Nikkei on April 18th. So I tried to say that soft subjects like econ/gov/international pol econ, ect. help with getting a fundamental grasp of events. They do some event driven/special situation strategy so I said that studying soft things could help them. I mentioned some math, but said that doing Fourier Series wasn't really going to help in a direct way. All I mentioned is that if I can read abstract things with precision like PDE's, then I can probably read the BS equation in due time. You know, I'm not sure. Perhaps they'll flame on next interview. I have absolutely no idea if I made it through. Getting these kinds of interviews isn't all that great though. Its been my experience that if they don't ask you much, thats not good. I once had an interview with an investment bank last semester....they asked me, "so...uh....how's the painting class you took?...Uh....is government a fun major?...Why math?... My fellow interviewers recieved much different questions from me at that interview...much more so on familiar I-Banking terms I clearly wasn't involved with. So I guess we'll see. If I actually see these guys in person next week, they might ask a few brainteasers or probability questions. (at home I could just calculate). Or maybe they'll ask me something from left field...in that case I might be screwed. But I'm going to make an honest effort to sharpen up. I figure most of Lefty's questions can be answered after understanding a book like Hull/Neftci or WIlmott (wilmott might be a little too much, even for most people...I don't think anyone is all that fond of reviewing measure theory) Now whether I ever understand any of these texts/questions is an unlikely mystery. (In other words, its unlikely I'll get it by the next interview...but I won't even know/it'll be a mystery to myself.) P.S I gotta stop coming to this thread/site. Its kinda addicting. Its like the guy who died from too much posting/starvation. It appears I'm easily offended over the internet, hence my Lefty bashing. It appears he is as well. Dear Lefty: I'm sorry for insulting you. I was annoyed. You may have been annoyed as well. Its probably a waste of time to argue over nothing. Although they didn't ask anything this time, who knows? And you're a recruiter/experienced, I am a student w/no info. I'll start taking a look at your questions while reading some fin math books. No hard feelings here. I hope the same. P.P.S I'm becoming addicted to checking this thread. So i'm going to stop posting on this particular thread. Its less informative than posting questions about intellectual topics/(like lefty's question). If anybody has any question on my interviewing, just pm. See you in a different thread!
Good luck, k-doo It's amazing what a little bit of Internet anonymity will do to some people. You asked a reasonable question and it seems as if some people couldn't wait to turn it into a pissing match. Some of you really need to get over yourselves.
Now you did it Lefty! You've ruined the kid's confidence; you happy now? Here's one for you Kamdoo, never make apologies on wall street. The game has to be played and won, no mercy, no quarter. Whatever it takes, GET IT DONE! Lefty is just collateral damage. I like the attitude though; that'll get you somewhere.
Maybe I will change my handle to "CollateralDamage". Seriously, I hope Kamdoo learns something that helps him in the future. It is true that we can't know the answers to every interview question. It is true that experienced interviewers take special notice when you show them that you can "turn things around" by offering a productive way to handle that. Finally, interviewers take notice of your interest, and of your ability to synthesize knowledge that may not appear to relate to the question at hand. Ingenuity and inventivness counts for a lot. In the end you want to try to show the interviewer something that they will find unique and desirable about your character. Otherwise you are no different than the next guy (and the next and the next). One thing I can say for certain, at the name firms, they don't "go easy" on the applicants. They know a job with them puts you in a whole different league (if you last) and they expect performance and poise. Now you can dislike what I have said and/or you can dislike me, but my comments stand. Anyone who gets an interview with a name firm on the street will pretty much say the same thing. Good luck, Lefty Edit: Answer to question #2 The best simple approximation for Stochastic Volatility with Mean Reversion comes from the work of Chris Haffner. His paper titled "Simple Approximations for Options Pricing under Mean Reversion with Stochastic Volatility" published in 2003. The paper can be downloaded at http://ideas.repec.org/p/dgr/eureir/2003325.html Answers to questions #3 and #4 to follow Edit: Oh what the hell: Question #3 Constant volatility is a snapshot of "real" volatility. Some would argue that constant volatility does not exist because volatility is described mathematically as a stochastic process. Question #4 "Black-76" is the variant of Black-Scholes that produces gamma in 4 dimensions. Ok then, I think I met my obligation to answer all the questions. Maybe I should look for job?
One thing about working for a hedge fund is that it is a beautifully Darwinian environment. To make money, one has to go through a personality strip search. You won't have to worry about a colleague reporting you for calling her "honey". There is no dead weight, and if you're really good, you can practically stand up on your desk and do "The Turtle". So, my advice would be to drop all pretension and try and give them a money-making idea. An edge will always get someone's attention.
I'm really not sure if knowledge of that depth will make you a better trader. I've seen some academics do very poorly in the markets. In my opinion its more about attitude personality. ozzy
Sorry about that, I have not looked at Chris's paper in a long while. I have changed the URL so that people can get to it from another website. Just download the paper by Christian Mattias Haffner located at the top of the page. In my opinion, resources like this are just words. Good traders find a way to make things work. They find a way to incorporate knowledge to their advantage. They recognize potential while others walk on by. Thats why so few have success at this business. I used to agree with your point of view. Now I am always looking for something that will give me an advantage. It may not help me to know this today, but tomorrow who knows? Good luck.