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Comment: Women in Hedge Funds

Aug 22 2007

eFinancialCareers News

An (anonymous female) contributor explains to our London correspondent why there aren't more women in hedge funds.

I don't have a finance background - I grew up in the country and started out as a trader bidding grain before moving into financial arbitrage. From there I went to Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns as a prop trader before setting up with a colleague in 1998. It was incredibly difficult to get people to put money into that fund. There are plenty of women in the hedge fund industry, but very few who are trading - really taking risks.

I now run a fund of funds as well as an agricultural fund. As a woman, it's hard to raise money for that too. I think it's something buried deep in the subconscious. There's something that prevents people from being totally comfortable about signing their money over to a woman. There are a lot of negatives that are applied. With a man, for example, you might dismiss something as a bad day. With a woman it's seen as a sign of instability. Women aren't seen as risk takers. Somewhere buried deep in the psychology is the notion that people don't trust us with their cash.

From my own perspective, I don't want to be seen as a "woman" in hedge funds. I just want to be seen as a good manager.

My advice to women starting out in hedge funds is: Don't take it personally if our culture still has some difficulties. There are plenty of successful and very beautiful women in sales, but if you want to be a trader, don't take it personally. Any prejudice is not aimed at you directly. Maintain your integrity and excel on your own merits.

Comments (12)

  • I am a woman in the same field and would like to get the author of this letter. I can be reached at sashadatta2004@yahoo.com.  Kindly let me know how I can get in touch with you.  I am just starting out in the Hedge fund business and would like to know more from you. Thanks.  Regards,

    Sasha Datta

    Sasha Datta 22 Aug 2007

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  • As a woman mutual fund manager...with a stint in investment banking...have found being a woman is not a help.  I agree with the observations in "Women in Hedge Funds" and have a few of my own to add.  I have to work many times harder for the respect that men are instantly given.  My focus and fundamental analysis is oft times up against someone slinging total bull$@%& without any of the due diligence.  And, to be totally successful I need for men to acknowledge that my market strategy and investment calls are good.  A man acknowleding a woman is right...sounds simple...but is truly a wall of ego and years of good-old-boy attitudes to overcome.  Also, have continually found (and which is backed up by annual compensation studies by the CFA Institute)that compensation is lacking versus my male counterparts.  I, too, don't want to be seen as a "woman" anything...just acknowledged and compensated for my talent.  Some partial consolation is that in my area, performance numbers for the mutual fund are objective.

    Anonymous 22 Aug 2007

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  • Unfortunately, I agree with your assessment of the situation.  Cultural biases could very well be at work and the investors may not even be conscious of it.  ( I am not a woman, btw ).  However, I see there is definitely a silver lining.  As a woman, you may be able to market your services to other women investors with more success than male hedge fund owners could.

    Anonymous 22 Aug 2007

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  • I concur with the writer and commentors of this article.  If the once-president of Harvard, Summers, would publicly suggest that men have innate advantage over women in math and science, it says much on all the unspoken voices out there that share this bias.  Although his resignation may be a win in some senses, many women in math and science today still face that deep-seeded prejudice in their respective career fields.

    Anonymous 22 Aug 2007

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  • Agreed. I've been a trader on the floor of the Pacific Exchange and on a trading desk with a small firm for over 15 years and I still can't get onto a desk at one the big firms. So much for equal opportunity!

    Amy Hoffman 22 Aug 2007

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  • whine, whine, whine, boo hoo hoo. And you wonder why women don't get equal p(l)ay. If you cant take the heat get back into the kitchen.
    PS. My immediate boss is a woman. She is compentent, respected and gets paid more than her male peers.  She would never think of venting in a forum like this. Why should she, she clearly has a lot more going for her than you whiners do.  Stop blaming it on the sex and being jealous of the guys, cause it aint gonna solve your problems.  Maybe therapy???

    jack 24 Aug 2007

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  • I have to agree with the article, I am an analyst who helps with stock ideas/picking but I have to work much harder to prove my capabilities than my male equiv.  It is frustrating and tiring to say the least but I have come to accept it.

    Anonymous 24 Aug 2007

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  • Unfortunately, women face the same problem likely black people in the field. Get up on a trading floor and look arround how black women do you see even how many black men? They have to work twice harder than their white peers to strugle to have the half of their salary. We black men make the difference on performance and bonus. My advise to women is to study rocket science and be really good. You could catch up with the white tall blond men on the trading floor. On my trading floor, when it comes to algrithmic trading, I rank first before God himself. How difficult it could be to be woman and black in the square miles.

    Anonymous, Phd 25 Aug 2007

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  • I am a quant. I have never been discriminated for being a woman at the current job, in graduate school or in academia. We are now hiring for over a year and we only have received resumes from men. My honest opinion is that women are less likely to be interested in graduate school or intellectually demanding jobs. it's not lack of intelligence, simply lack of interest.

    Anonymous 25 Aug 2007

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  • what a load of rubbish!

    anon 25 Aug 2007

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