Employers
Approximately 347,400 financial and investment analysts are employed in the United States; only a small number work for hedge funds.
Hedge fund firms are located in nearly every state, but the states with the highest number of hedge fund managers (in descending order) in 2024 included New York, California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota, according to Preqin, which provides financial data on the alternative assets market,.
According to ADV Ratings, the top hedge fund firms by AUM in 2023, were:
- Bridgewater Associates
- Renaissance Technologies
- AQR Capital Management
- Elliott Investment Management
- Millennium Management
In addition to working at hedge funds, analysts are also employed by venture capital and private equity firms, in the wealth management industry, and by government agencies, insurance firms, and large companies. Some financial analysts are self-employed.
Starting Out
Thirty-five percent of hedge fund professionals surveyed in 2015 (the latest year for which data is available) by Benchmark Compensation, a financial data analytics firm, reported that they landed a job as a result of recruiters and job boards. Twenty-five percent cited personal contacts, followed by using one’s professional network (15 percent), previous employer relationships (9 percent), college career services offices (5 percent), and school alumni networks (2 percent). Seven percent of respondents founded their own firms.