Hedge Fund

As one of LSE’s most active finance societies, the Hedge Fund Society boasts the title of the largest student-led society for buy-side activities in the UK.Our flagship event division offers members access to the biggest names and most talented professional minds, which the buy-side industry has to offer. Last year alone, we hosted 36 speakers over 14 events, ranging from speaker panels on investment strategies to standalone events with founders and senior management.Balancing frequency and consistency with a previously unreachable level of access, the Hedge Fund Society has thus far hosted talks, networking events, and panel discussions with such heavyweight firms as Brevan Howard, Apollo, Marshall Wace, Point72, and TPG, among many others.Our celebrated Founders series has also seen the likes of industry giants Crispin Odey (Odey Asset Management), Stuart Roden (Lansdowne), Paul Marshall (Marshall Wace), Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Capital), and Richard Friedman (Goldman Sachs Asset Management).Our newly founded Research division attracts the LSE’s best and brightest, putting them through a rigorous training programme that creates industry-leading investment researchers who can converse on a par with our high-profile speakers and empowering them to produce high quality research papers. Membership Want to break into hedge funds, asset management, or the alternative investments industry? Membership of the Hedge Fund Society provides privileged access to high-level portfolio managers and billionaire hedge fund founders. Through our events, members are face-to-face with talented buy-side professionals at a frequency and level unattainable for any other UK university finance society, with our annual networking dinner boasting a 4:3 ratio of students to professionals.Our most dedicated members are able to apply for subcommittee and committee positions, giving them greater scope and responsibility for organising our high profile events. Those with an existing passion for trading should consider getting involved with the Research & Trading division, which cultivates an in-depth understanding of markets and industry-standard tools such as the Bloomberg terminals.We are proud to represent over fifty nationalities and twenty different departments within the university, including undergraduate and postgraduate students, and look forward to adding many more talented individuals to our ranks. Events and Activities We have many events and various opportunities to interact with professionals and learn more about the industry. They consist of the following:Talks by external speakers, through one of: Fireside chats: A relaxed discussion with a portfolio manager at an investment firm where they share their journey into the industry and the experience gained. Audience Q&A forms a major part of each event. Founder’s series: Listen to titans of industry discuss the philosophy and rationale behind starting their own fund. Our 2020/21 speakers for this have included Iveline Green, Nicholas Poppas, Dennis Hong, Hugh Hendry, and Paul Marshall. Panel events: Join us and partake in a discussion and debate between various portfolio managers at some of the largest firms in the industry. These events will allow you to gain insights into hedge fund professionals’ philosophies and robust differences of opinion. Company presentations: Meet with an analyst and Human Resources team from a hedge fund to learn more about the recruiting process and what you can do to make yourself stand out. These are invaluable opportunities to learn more about a firm’s fit and culture.We also organise: Networking events: The society hosts an annual networking dinner where students gain access to over 40 professionals from the hedge fund and alternative investments industry. We provide a student to professional ratio of 4:3, which guarantees you undivided access to the professional of your choice. In addition to the dinner, the society hosts informal drinks with junior employees which allow you to gain further insights into a fund’s culture. Research division: The Research division focuses on generating trading ideas in global markets, educating students on financial markets and tools and preparing high-quality trading research. The education activities make use of LSE’s financial data resources, particularly the Bloomberg Terminal, and focuses on current and future changes in monetary policy, economics, and politics and how to profit from them, with a particular focus on fixed income, foreign exchange and derivative instruments. Stock pitch competition: In addition to our Research training activities, we plan to organise the inaugural stock pitch competition in collaboration with our partners and sponsors to make generating trading proposals more open to our diverse membership.