Employers

Compliance professionals work for hedge funds and third-party firms that provide compliance services to hedge funds.

Hedge Fund Job Digest reports that the following cities (in descending order) are the best in the world for hedge fund jobs: New York, New York; London, England; Chicago, Illinois; Greenwich, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; Geneva, Switzerland; Hong Kong, China; San Francisco, California; Dallas, Texas; Stamford, Connecticut; Tokyo, Japan; and Zurich, Switzerland. These cities are financial hubs and are known for offering a good quality of life.

Increasing regulation has made compliance an in-demand field, so there are many opportunities available outside the alternative investment industry, including in the telecommunications, oil and gas extraction, health care, banking, higher education, and pharmaceuticals industries, as well as with government agencies such as the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Starting Out

Landing a job in the “clubbish” hedge fund industry is a lot about who you know. Managing partners often reach out to friends or colleagues at other firms for recommendations on their next hire. Many people are recommended after impressing management during an internship or part-time job, or after demonstrating their talents as a member of a third-party provider that assisted the firm with compliance or legal issues. Others get noticed by hedge fund managers after working at financial regulators such as the Securities & Exchange Commission.

So how do you build your network and get noticed? There are the aforementioned internships, summer jobs, and contract positions, but you can also develop your network by using social media, attending industry conferences, and reaching out to your college professors for advice. Another excellent way to build your network and land a job is to join professional associations such as the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE). Members of the SCCE receive discounts to more than 40 conferences, academies, and web conferences. These events provide excellent networking opportunities. Most importantly, members can use SCCEnet, the society’s official social network of more than 10,000 compliance and ethics professionals. The SCCE offers membership for college students, so you can take advantage of these resources even before you graduate. 

Compliance professionals advance by receiving pay raises and bonuses, and by working at larger firms. At a hedge fund with a large compliance staff, the typical advancement path is from compliance analyst, to senior compliance analyst, to compliance officer, compliance director, to chief compliance officer. 

Visit https://www.investopedia.com/articles/financialcareers/08/hedge-fund-career.asp to read 10 Steps to a Career in Hedge Funds.

Visit the following Web sites for job listings: 

• https://www.corporatecompliance.org/all-jobs
• http://www.efinancialcareers.com
• https://www.indeed.com/q-Hedge-Fund-jobs.html

Attend hedge fund–related conferences to network, participate in continuing education opportunities, and to meet with potential employers. A list is available at https://www.managedfunds.org/events.