• The biggest hedge funds are battling it out to attract and retain top talent and outperform peers.
• Business Insider has talked to elite hedge funds to get a peek into their recruiting processes.
• From internships to high-paying tech jobs, here's what we know about their hiring practices.

The battle for talent in the hedge fund world is fiercer than ever — and it cuts across all levels and positions.

With six-figure starting salaries, intense work environments, and the chance to work alongside some of the industry's top investors, these roles are among the most competitive in finance.

Internships can pay over $5,000 a week. Salaries for entry-level analysts and software engineers are often in the six-figure range. Portfolio managers with winning strategies can take home tens of millions.

Business Insider spoke with top hedge fund managers like Citadel, Millennium, and Point72 about how they attract and evaluate talent, and what advice they'd give to anyone hoping to break in.

Here's everything we know about getting a job at a large hedge fund.

Internships

Years ago, the opaque and secretive world of hedge funds might not have been an obvious career choice for most college graduates on their path to Wall Street. However, these investing behemoths are now investing in getting young, diverse wunderkinder, especially mathletes, familiar with their brands as early as high school.

Internships are another talent pipeline for some of the biggest multi-strategy hedge funds, which employ armies of traders and engineers. Programs can be uber-competitive and harder to get into than many top Ivy League schools.

Citadel's summer internship program, for example, has become increasingly competitive. This year, the hedge fund accepted around 300 interns to spend 11 weeks at Griffin's hedge fund or his market maker, working with stock-pickers, quants, engineers, and more. The firm told BI that there were more than 108,000 applicants for the programs, with an acceptance rate of roughly 0.4%.

• Here's how to land a spot at Citadel's summer internship
• Citadel's associate program is a separate internship that puts rising college seniors on track to land a full-time investing role at the $66 billion fund.
• Ken Griffin's advice to interns: Hustle during your 20s and be aggressive when asking for a promotion

We also spoke to Point72 and D.E. Shaw about what they looked for in interns and how to stand out for a potential job offer down the line.

• Here's what it takes to stand out as an intern at Steve Cohen's Point72 and land a job offer
• A D.E. Shaw internship could land a dream gig at the secretive hedge fund. Here's what it takes.

Analyst and investment training programs

In the past, hedge funds acquired investment talent from investment banks. Increasingly, however, the industry's top players are recruiting college students through intensive training programs that can lead to jobs straight out of college.

Creating a pipeline of portfolio managers has been an increasingly popular strategy for hedge funds locked in an increasingly expensive battle for top talent.

• How to get accepted into Point72's ultra-elite analyst training program, whose acceptance rate is less than 1%
• Inside Point72's PM incubator LaunchPoint, where Steve Cohen is known to grill up-and-comers who think they're ready for the big time
• Inside Balyasny's Anthem training program, where aspiring portfolio managers are handed hundreds of millions of dollars to prove they can cut it
• Behind the training programs at Balyasny, which is looking to get ahead in the war for investment talent

Tech jobs and training programs

Hedge funds have long been competing with the finance industry and top tech companies for top technologists. Engineers and algorithm developers are key to helping researchers, data scientists, and traders develop cutting-edge investment strategies and platforms. Quant shop D.E. Shaw also has a unique approach to finding talent.

• Inside Citadel's exclusive engineering program that's helped the hedge fund snap up talent from Google and Goldman Sachs
• Here's how to get a tech job at Millennium, from the programming language to know to the interview questions to prep for

Inside Man Group's popular training program for non-tech employees that teaches them skills to automate tasks and reduce errors in their work

A rundown of some of the gatekeepers to know

The "business development" role is one of the most important at hedge funds, as it specializes in scouting and evaluating investment hires. Knowing these in-house talent scouts and external recruiters is crucial.

• The rise of the hedge-fund talent whisperers
• The talent brokers of quant trading: The headhunters at the forefront of Wall Street's systematic-trading and data-science hiring frenzy
• Try our searchable database of more than 350 Wall Street headhunters to find your dream job in private equity, investment banking, or hedge funds

Other resources and advice

Here's a look at how some firms find and vet new employees, what skills and qualities they're looking for …

• Why quant giant D.E. Shaw seeks out academics, doctors, and veterans to work at the hedge fund
• Citadel portfolio manager explains how he rose in the ranks of the hedge fund and what he looks for in a new hire
• Inside the 5-hour psychological interview that can make or break your career at Citadel, Blackstone, and other finance titans

• Inside the spycraft hedge funds use to vet multimillion-dollar traders, which is edging into murky legal territory

• The biggest hedge funds are battling it out to attract and retain top talent and outperform peers.
• Business Insider has talked to elite hedge funds to get a peek into their recruiting processes.
• From internships to high-paying tech jobs, here's what we know about their hiring practices.

The battle for talent in the hedge fund world is fiercer than ever — and it cuts across all levels and positions.

With six-figure starting salaries, intense work environments, and the chance to work alongside some of the industry's top investors, these roles are among the most competitive in finance.

Internships can pay over $5,000 a week. Salaries for entry-level analysts and software engineers are often in the six-figure range. Portfolio managers with winning strategies can take home tens of millions.

Business Insider spoke with top hedge fund managers like Citadel, Millennium, and Point72 about how they attract and evaluate talent, and what advice they'd give to anyone hoping to break in.

Here's everything we know about getting a job at a large hedge fund.

Internships

Years ago, the opaque and secretive world of hedge funds might not have been an obvious career choice for most college graduates on their path to Wall Street. However, these investing behemoths are now investing in getting young, diverse wunderkinder, especially mathletes, familiar with their brands as early as high school.

Internships are another talent pipeline for some of the biggest multi-strategy hedge funds, which employ armies of traders and engineers. Programs can be uber-competitive and harder to get into than many top Ivy League schools.

Citadel's summer internship program, for example, has become increasingly competitive. This year, the hedge fund accepted around 300 interns to spend 11 weeks at Griffin's hedge fund or his market maker, working with stock-pickers, quants, engineers, and more. The firm told BI that there were more than 108,000 applicants for the programs, with an acceptance rate of roughly 0.4%.

• Here's how to land a spot at Citadel's summer internship
• Citadel's associate program is a separate internship that puts rising college seniors on track to land a full-time investing role at the $66 billion fund.
• Ken Griffin's advice to interns: Hustle during your 20s and be aggressive when asking for a promotion

We also spoke to Point72 and D.E. Shaw about what they looked for in interns and how to stand out for a potential job offer down the line.

• Here's what it takes to stand out as an intern at Steve Cohen's Point72 and land a job offer
• A D.E. Shaw internship could land a dream gig at the secretive hedge fund. Here's what it takes.

Analyst and investment training programs

In the past, hedge funds acquired investment talent from investment banks. Increasingly, however, the industry's top players are recruiting college students through intensive training programs that can lead to jobs straight out of college.

Creating a pipeline of portfolio managers has been an increasingly popular strategy for hedge funds locked in an increasingly expensive battle for top talent.

• How to get accepted into Point72's ultra-elite analyst training program, whose acceptance rate is less than 1%
• Inside Point72's PM incubator LaunchPoint, where Steve Cohen is known to grill up-and-comers who think they're ready for the big time
• Inside Balyasny's Anthem training program, where aspiring portfolio managers are handed hundreds of millions of dollars to prove they can cut it
• Behind the training programs at Balyasny, which is looking to get ahead in the war for investment talent

Tech jobs and training programs

Hedge funds have long been competing with the finance industry and top tech companies for top technologists. Engineers and algorithm developers are key to helping researchers, data scientists, and traders develop cutting-edge investment strategies and platforms. Quant shop D.E. Shaw also has a unique approach to finding talent.

• Inside Citadel's exclusive engineering program that's helped the hedge fund snap up talent from Google and Goldman Sachs
• Here's how to get a tech job at Millennium, from the programming language to know to the interview questions to prep for

Inside Man Group's popular training program for non-tech employees that teaches them skills to automate tasks and reduce errors in their work

A rundown of some of the gatekeepers to know

The "business development" role is one of the most important at hedge funds, as it specializes in scouting and evaluating investment hires. Knowing these in-house talent scouts and external recruiters is crucial.

• The rise of the hedge-fund talent whisperers
• The talent brokers of quant trading: The headhunters at the forefront of Wall Street's systematic-trading and data-science hiring frenzy
• Try our searchable database of more than 350 Wall Street headhunters to find your dream job in private equity, investment banking, or hedge funds

Other resources and advice

Here's a look at how some firms find and vet new employees, what skills and qualities they're looking for …

• Why quant giant D.E. Shaw seeks out academics, doctors, and veterans to work at the hedge fund
• Citadel portfolio manager explains how he rose in the ranks of the hedge fund and what he looks for in a new hire
• Inside the 5-hour psychological interview that can make or break your career at Citadel, Blackstone, and other finance titans

• Inside the spycraft hedge funds use to vet multimillion-dollar traders, which is edging into murky legal territory

• The Hamptons have long been a popular summer destination for bankers and traders.
• We spoke to Wall Street insiders and others about the top hot spots for summer 2025.
• Here are the 7 places they said you'll find finance industry insiders this summer.

Whether by car, helicopter, the LIRR, or the infamous Jitney bus, if it's a Friday afternoon between Memorial and Labor Day, Wall Street is going "out east."

The Hamptons have been a haven for the ultrawealthy since the Astors and Vanderbilts set up estates there more than a century ago, but the transition from fishing and whaling towns to playground for urban professionals really started to take off in the freewheeling 1980s, during Wall Street's boom years.

Since then, the secret has been out, and over the last decade, social media and Bravo's "Summer House" have introduced a whole new generation to these once-sleepy seaside towns of Long Island.

Walker Ward, who previously sold data and research to hedge funds and other large investors, told Business Insider that the Hamptons remain a recreation hub for stressed-out Wall Streeters looking to escape the heat and humidity of the city.

"There's so much to do there," Ward said, who has summered there for the better part of the last decade. "Why wouldn't you want to go out there if you could afford it?"

Whether you're looking to relax or rage, there's something for everyone — as long as you have deep pockets. And, as with any destination for the wealthy, these resort towns offer ample opportunity to peacock.

"The Hamptons, especially with social media, have become a runway show for people to go out and flaunt what they have, how much money they make, and what kind of car they're driving," said Ward, who now parodies Wall Street on social media as WalkSauce42.

In preparation for the July 4 holiday, we spoke to current and former financial industry professionals, as well as some Hamptons locals and business proprietors, about this year's hottest hangouts. Some of the industry insiders we spoke to asked to remain anonymous to protect their jobs because speaking to the press is either forbidden or frowned upon.

Here are 7 top Hamptons hangouts for bankers, traders, and more.

Surf Lodge

This was the most-mentioned spot, which is why we're putting it first. It's a quaint seaside hotel and restaurant, as well as a sceney place to get bottle service on the beach and hear live music and top DJs in Montauk. But FYI, tickets for entry on July 4th are pretty much sold out. A table on the beach for 10 for the next day is listed as $7,500.

A nearly $100 chicken tender tower went viral a few summers ago, thanks in part to TikTok and Instagram posts by Ward.

"The tendie towers baby, that's the intern's favorite, and the holy grail," Ward joked to BI. "Everyone knows Surf Lodge."

Someone who previously worked at a large investment bank confirmed it's popular with the Wall Street crowd.

"It's got a DJ, a deck. You pay thousands for a table," he said.

Le Bilboquet Sag Harbor

The Sag Harbor outpost of this Upper East Side French restaurant opened in 2017, and has since built a reputation for being "one of the satellite offices for the elite," said Ward, who currently summers in Amagansett, between East Hampton and Montauk.

The restaurant bans shorts and flip-flops and is perched alongside a marina deep enough to allow large yachts to dock.

"Everyone loves to sit there and drink wine and look at the sterns of all these massive yachts," Ward said.

The Wall Street recruiter described it as "another see and be seen spot."

The menu offers a seafood tower complete with a dozen oysters, king crab, langoustine, shrimp, a half lobster, snow crab and shrimp for $250, a 100-gram tin of Caviar Ossetra Imperial for $490, and their signature Le Poulet Cajun, a $39 Cajun-spice-rubbed chicken with a beurre-blanc sauce, salad, and fries.

Stephen Talkhouse

Stephen Talkhouse, founded in 1987, is also known for its live music scene. It's become so popular with vacationers that one Hamptons local complained to BI of summer lines that "wrapped around the village." Ward agreed, saying you have to know the staff in order to "Trojan Horse" your way in.

Located in Amagansett, between Montauk and East Hampton, its website describes it as "a legendary music scene and casual neighborhood bar in one. The music calendar for the July Fourth weekend includes "Secret Sellebrity Society Band" and alt-rockers "Kids That Fly."

Mary Lou's

The Palm Beach outpost of Mary Lou's is well attended by local financiers and the socially or politically connected. It's also attracted popular musical acts from The Chainsmokers to Mojave Grey.

Mary Lou's Montauk branch, which opened earlier this year, is aiming to provide the same ambiance and flair. Cofounder Alex Melilla told BI that the crowd so far has been "a more mature crowd, affluent crowd, influencers, tastemakers, as well as a great local scene." The

The Wall Street set may be especially drawn to the special menu set to be curated by the team behind Marea, the luxurious seafood restaurant just a stone's throw from Deutsche Bank Center in midtown, which Mary Lou's will offer during a weekend later this month.

Duryea's Montauk

Duryea's is a seafood restaurant on the water in Montauk known for its $97 lobster cobb salad.

Duryea's was purchased by Apollo CEO Marc Rowan in 2014, and it quickly turned from a classic lobster shack into one of the sceniest restaurants on the East Coast. Hampton's legend and Food Network star Ina Garten has said it is one of her favorite restaurants.

"In my 20's that was the only place we would go on summer weekends there because it was cheap and easy," one Wall Street recruiter said. Not anymore. "People go to Duryea's on their yachts and tender to shore."

Gurney's Montauk

Wall Streeters looking to decompress might turn to Gurney's Resort & Seawater Spa, a 146-room hotel and spa with multiple al fresco dining options along a lush stretch of beach in Montauk.

The Wall Street headhunter said it remains one of the most popular outposts for the financial crowd — and Lizabeth Zindel, the editor-in-chief of Hamptons Social Magazine, explained why: "It's absolutely beautiful," Zindel told BI. "There's a huge terrace as well, which overlooks the ocean from up above."

On the menu at the outdoor Firepit lounge are creative cocktail concoctions like the Chocolate Negroni; the "Afternoon Tea" featuring Earl Grey, bergamot, gin, and cream; and the "Improved Grasshopper" featuring mint and chocolate liqueurs. Each is $23.

The country clubs

As with any wealthy enclave, the Hamptons boasts numerous country clubs.

The Hampton's local described Southampton's Shinnecock, which is hosting next year's US Open, as the "fanciest golf place out here." Ward cited East Hampton's Maidstone Club as another place where "fancy people" from the Street spend their time "hobnobbing."

"Maidstone is the Arnie poster above the bed," he said, referring to a poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a pro bodybuilder above an aspiring muscleman's bed. "It's what you aspire to be."

• Jamie Dimon has criticized the private equity industry's recruiting of its junior bankers.
• On Thursday, the firm warned incoming juniors not to accept future-dated jobs from buyout firms.
• Those who do will be terminated, the bank said in a memo.

JPMorgan is warning junior bankers against taking future-dated jobs with buyout firms — or even sneaking out of job training to take interviews.

On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase's top investment banking brass sent a memo to incoming first-year IB analysts warning them against participating in the private equity industry's annual recruiting ritual. This whirlwind affair is known as "on-cycle recruiting" and promises young bankers lucrative jobs at the end of their investment banking analyst programs, which often last two or three years.

In the memo, John Simmons and Filippo Gori, co-heads of global banking, admonished analysts who accept "future-dated job offer" or "a position with another company before joining us" within their first 18 months of employment, saying they will be terminated if discovered.

"You will be provided notice and your employment with the firm will end," the executives wrote. They said such offers could constitute a conflict for junior bankers working on transactions for PE sponsors who could also be their future employers.

This year's memo appears to be an escalation of a long-simmering personnel issue important to the bank's high-profile CEO, Jamie Dimon.

"I think that's unethical. I don't like it, and I may eliminate it regardless of what the private-equity guys say," Dimon told college students at Georgetown University last year.

Last year, the firm warned incoming junior bankers against the practice, but stopped short of saying it would terminate those who participated.

This year's memo even vowed to terminate junior bankers who dare sneak out of job training to interview with private equity firms, as many did in 2023.

"To succeed in the Investment Banking Analyst Program, your full attention and participation are essential," wrote Simmons and Gori. "Attendance at all training sessions, meetings and obligations is required. Missing any part of the training program may lead to removal from the program and termination," they said.

The memo was first reported by ExecSum, a newsletter offshoot of the popular Instagram account Litquidity. A JPMorgan spokesperson confirmed its authenticity to BI.

As Business Insider has previously reported, private equity's annual recruiting of junior bankers is a frenetic affair that often starts without warning. Young bankers can be asked to drop everything to interview or miss out — resulting in middle-of-the-night interviews or missed vacations and proving a nagging source of disruption for bank bosses.

Dimon has railed against PE recruiting and its impact on his staff. "I think it's wrong to put you in the position," he said in the fall, adding: "You have to kind of decide the next career move before you have a chance to even decide what the company is like."

It remains to be seen how this new rule could impact the future of buyside recruiting. The industry insiders who spoke to BI expressed skepticism over the bank's ability to enforce the new rule.

"I imagine while some junior bankers will be scared off, many will continue to take the risk," Anthony Keizner, a partner at the headhunting firm Odyssey Search Partners, told BI on Thursday. "They always saw banking as a stepping stone, and won't want to be put off starting the next phase of their career."

A former junior banker who now works in private equity agreed.

"Analysts are going to recruit regardless," this person said, adding that young bankers will simply "shut their mouths about" it.

In what appears to be an acknowledge of the competitive pressures young people in the industry face, the bank said in the memo that it would shorten its analyst program from three years to two and a half, offering juniors "quicker advancement opportunities within the firm."

"All the mega funds already fill spots within the first six months," said the private equity professional, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her job. "They're not going to wait for JPM analysts."

• Banks are racing to deploy generative AI tools to their employees.
• Business Insider has reported on how some of finance's biggest banks are approaching the technology.
• Citi is 'accelerating' its strategy, while JPMorgan detailed AI wins at its latest investor day.

Wall Street bank leaders say generative AI is here to stay, and they're weaving the technology throughout the fabric of their banks to make sure.

From trading to payments to marketing, it's hard to find a corner of the banking industry that isn't claiming to use AI.

In fact, the technology's impact, made mainstream by OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022, is becoming cultural. Generative AI is changing what it takes to be a software developer and how to stand out as a junior banker, especially as banks mull over how to roll out autonomous AI agents. The technology is even changing roles in the C-suite. But it's also presented new challenges — bank leaders say they are struggling to keep up with AI-powered cyberattacks.

From supercharging productivity via AI-boosted search engines to figuring out the best way banks can realize a return on their AI investments, here's what we know about how Wall Street banks are embracing AI.

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan has a technology budget of $18 billion, with much of it going toward making sure it's a leader and early mover in AI.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is a "tremendous" user of the bank's generative AI suite. While its private bankers were some of the first to be equipped with a generative AI "copilot" last May, they've rolled out its proprietary genAI platform to over 200,000 employees. And with about 100 more tools in the pipeline, JPMorgan is seeking to reengineer workflows for everyone from coders to portfolio managers.

Executives at America's largest bank gave an inside look at how it's scaling tools and delivering measurable results at its Investor Day in May.

• AI is core to JPMorgan's $18 billion tech investment. Here's what its execs revealed about how it's reshaping the bank.

Dimon has previously said he's out to win the AI arms race.

• Meet who he's put in charge of this critical mission.
• JPMorgan's Lori Beer just added 2 new tech leaders to her ranks. Meet the team behind the bank's AI future.

Mary Erdoes, the boss of JPM's asset and wealth-management business, used these slides to outline how she wants to prepare her people for the "AI of the future."

• Here's how JPM boss Mary Erdoes wants to use AI to eliminate "no joy" work

Citi

Citigroup is doubling down on its AI ambitions with new leadership at the helm of its tech transformation. In a memo obtained by BI, the three new strategy leaders outlined the firm's progress and ambitions as CEO Jane Fraser continues her mission to modernize the firm.

• Citi's 'accelerating' its AI strategy with new leaders. Here's how they're readying the firm for a new future.

Meet the new exec in charge of giving an AI facelift to Citi's lagging wealth business.

• Citi snags AI leader from Morgan Stanley to help turn around its wealth tech

Citi's top tech executive, Shadman Zafar, outlined the bank's four-phased AI strategy and how it will "change how we work for decades to come."

• A top Citi tech exec breaks down the 4 phases of the bank's AI strategy that will impact everyone from operations to wealth and product

Goldman Sachs

Is Goldman in its AI era? These real-world stories about employees using AI (in some cases daily) make it seem so. Take a look at how AI is being tested across the bank and seniority levels, from C-suites to analysts.

• 7 Goldman Sachs insiders explain how the bank's new AI sidekick is helping them crush it at work
• Goldman is assembling a growing arsenal of AI tools. Here's everything we know about 5.
• AI is doing 95% of the work on an IPO prospectus, Goldman Sachs CEO says

Goldman's top partners and CEO David Solomon are eager to see AI rev up their businesses. From realizing internal productivity gains to capturing more business as clients look to raise money in anticipation of AI development and acquisitions, here's what the top echelon is expecting.

• How AI will shake up Goldman Sachs, according to top partners and CEO David Solomon
• Inside Goldman Sachs' plans for AI, from helping non-tech workers do more with software to streamlining how code is documented

There is no AI without data, and there is no data strategy at Goldman without its chief data officer, Neema Raphael. Raphael gave BI an inside look at how his roughly 500-person team melds with the rest of the bank to get the most out of its data.

• Meet Neema Raphael, the data whiz key to Goldman's AI ambitions who's overseeing the bank's army of engineers and scientists

AI's impact has ripple effects that go far beyond technology. Goldman's chief information officer, Marco Argenti, predicts that cultural change will be critical to getting the bank to 100% adoption.

• Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti says Wall Street's 'next big wave' in AI will come down to culture, not just technology

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley wants to turn employees' AI ideas into a reality. Here's an exclusive look at that process.

• Morgan Stanley has 30 AI projects in the pipeline. Here's how the bank sources employees' ideas for inspiration.

See how AI is transforming Morgan Stanley's wealth division and the jobs of its 16,000 financial advisors.

• Morgan Stanley is betting on AI to free up advisors' time to be 'more human.' Nearly 100% of advisor teams use it, and here's how.

Thanks to its partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Morgan Stanley has ramped up its AI efforts. The exec in charge of tech partnerships and firmwide innovation opened up about how it all started.

• Morgan Stanley's new innovation head lays out his plan for more OpenAI-type partnerships
• A Morgan Stanley exec breaks down how the bank courts tech partners like OpenAI

Bank of America

Bank of America's chief experience officer, Rob Pascal, details how the bank's internal-facing AI assistant helps bankers collect, record, and review client data. Here are all the ways it's helping employees be more effective and efficient.

How Bank of America is using an AI-powered tool to help its bankers prep for client meetings more efficiently