INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: BUSINESS AREA
“If you’re going into the industry, you need to be really comfortable
with always learning something new” Lisa Fridman, CFA, PAAMCO
investors to question whether they are too fl avour, which was mulit-strategy. Now we have much more
expensive. Fund of funds say it is the diversifi cation specifi c single strategy fund of hedge funds and regional fund
of risk that they should be judged on as much as of hedge funds. Funds are becoming much more esoteric,
performance, but critics say they need to build up involved in things like energy trading and carbon emissions
better risk analysis teams, particularly in light of trading, for example.”
current market events. Still, the industry will It means there are opportunities for those with specialist
continue to grow over the long term. expertise in certain regions or industries to enter the market.
Careers within fund of funds are largely research driven,
CHANGING INVESTOR BASE whether it involves manager research or asset allocation
“Th e investor base for hedge funds broadened to analysis. Because of the time constraints of interviewing
institutions, and will soon broaden to retail hundreds of hedge fund managers, candidates must be able to
investors. Fund of funds will be the primary channel sort through information very quickly. Th ey must also be able
for hedge fund investment because it is the safe way to communicate with senior executives in the industry. “What
to go,” explains Omar Kodmani, CFA, senior we emphasise is an MBA, plus fi ve years experience, ideally in
executive offi cer of Permal Investment Management, a hedge fund environment,” says Kodmani.
the fund of hedge funds manager. He says fund of Lisa Fridman, CFA, associate director at PAAMCO,
hedge funds are now becoming more specifi c in another fund of hedge funds player, also says the fi rm looks to
what they invest in. “In the past there was only one hire from business schools for its associate programme. “Th e
belief is that in business schools, people are exposed to various
ways of evaluating companies, and that they also have a
theoretical fi nance base which they could apply to evaluate
OLGA ROMANOVA, CFA
strategies.” She says that candidates who want to enter the
business must be fl exible. Th e fi rm also requires them to
Title: Hedge Fund Analyst
undertake the CFA. “If you’re going into the industry, you
Current employer: GAM
need to be really comfortable with always learning something
Previous employers: Ernst & Young
new. Th ere are constantly new trends, new trades being
University:
developed, and new strategies that fund of hedge fund
Finance Academy, Russia
managers have to look at and assess,” she says.
Cg
Degrees: Masters in Economics
Professional qualifi cations:
CFA; CPA
valuation procedures. Also, an ability to think outside the box –
when we review legal documents judgment is required to interpret
What attracted you to this career path?
clauses that may result in risks for fund-of-funds. The ability to
I enjoy the challenging and constantly evolving environment
work with people, negotiate and get to where we want to be as an
which always pushes me to learn and develop new skills. Also,
investor, is critical.
my role gives me the opportunity to work with some of the
brightest people in the industry.
How do you think the role you’re in now will change over time?
Operational due diligence will become increasingly integrated into
What are the major challenges you face in your position?
the fund selection process. Fund-of-funds will also place more
Dealing with new strategies and new instruments can be
emphasis on risk management.
challenging. We are usually working towards tight deadlines and
handling negotiations under pressure can be diffi cult.
Do you have advice for someone intending to pursue the same
career path?
Are there certain skills you would consider useful for your job?
Joining a well-established fund-of-funds can provide wide
An ability to learn quickly is important. Sometimes, I take over a
exposure to some of the best-performing and best-run hedge
project and have to learn all the details involved in the daily
funds. A larger organisation offers a wide range of learning
operations of a hedge fund, including potentially complicated
opportunities and experience from other team members.
WWW.CFAUK.ORG CAREERS GUIDE 2009 23
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