INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: BUSINESS AREA
long only in this diffi cult time are not
justifying their high fee demands.
MELWIN MEHTA

“Th e hedge fund industry is going
Title: Promoter – Invil Fund
through a very diffi cult time at the moment,
Current employer:
and the people who are going to remain in
Invil – India Fund
this business will have to run their
Previous employers:
operations more smartly. Th ey will have to IL&FS Private Equity
be very careful about managing leverage and University:
risk,” explains Joe Seet, founder of London-
University of Bombay, India
based Sigma Partnership. He believes the
Degrees:
industry will consolidate. “Consolidation is
Bachelors in Engineering
Professional qualifi cations:
defi nitely coming. People should get
CFA Level I candidate
together and think about merging their
businesses, saving costs, and having an
What attracted you to this career path?
interchange of ideas and maybe build a
I hate doing anything that is monotonous. Investing suited me
better product.”
since no two days are the same. It’s a profession that keeps you on
your toes.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Igor Ojereliev, CFA, fund manager at What are the major challenges you face in your position?
Próxima Alfa Investments, believes there are Information overload. You need to be on top of news fl ow 24/7.
still opportunities for new entrants who However, only 10% of the information I receive is useful. Also, you
want to build a career in the industry, but do not know where your competition is hiding. Somebody could be
that it is diffi cult to get into. “Th e working on the idea you ‘think’ is yours. You need to act fi rst, but
recruitment process is still very non-
you need to be right to make money
transparent. Th e majority of hedge funds are
still very small and are not really looking to
Are there certain skills you would consider useful for your job?
recruit graduates. Th ey are looking to recruit
Hard work, passion, an open mind and the ability to accept
people with one or two years experience at
mistakes, among other skills. However, the foremost is the ability
an investment bank or from the buy-side.”
to think independently and think ahead. What will differentiate you
As a result, says Ojereliev, “a hedge
is which stories you pick up and what you make out of that
fund, generally speaking, is probably not
information.
the best place for your fi rst job in the
investment business.”
How do you think the role you’re in now will change over time?
For those who are keen to penetrate the
Making money is getting tougher. You cannot consistently profi t
market, it is a pure game of numbers, he
from information arbitrage. The current economic environment
says. Candidates should contact as many
will eliminate those who were opportunistic and one time hitters.
people as possible. Th ey should be
Do you have advice for someone intending to pursue the same
self-starters, with a strong work ethnic and
career path?
easy going personality. “You need to be a
Love what you do. To excel you will need a lot of energy and
person who fi ts in easily, who can work
commitment. You won’t have the energy if you are not in love with
under pressure and still retain a sense of
what you do.
balance,” he says.
Cg
“Consolidation is defi nitely coming. People should get together and
think about merging their businesses, saving costs, and having an
interchange of ideas and maybe build a better product”
Joe Seet, Sigma Partnership
WWW.CFAUK.ORG CAREERS GUIDE 2009 21
112-29 investment management.indd 212-29 investment management.indd 21 222/11/08 12:39:482/11/08 12:39:48
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