The top 20 universities for getting a hedge fund job

Getting a graduate job at a hedge fund is near impossible. More recently large hedge funds have been inconspicuously scouring the campuses of top universities for potential recruits, but even these only take on a handful of people every year.

And yet, most hedge funds look for impeccable academics regardless of which level they’re recruiting for. Brand names matter – going to a top university will predictably float your resume to the top of a recruiters’ pile, even more so than the ever-important ‘demonstrable track-record’ of trading performance.

Which university is more likely to lead to a hedge fund job? Our statistics suggest one clear winner – Columbia University.

We analysed our CV database, comprising over 1.2m resumes, and pulled out the individuals working in the hedge fund sector. We then looked at the various universities these people attended and came up with the ranking below. This is based on the proportion of people from these universities now working in a front office hedge fund role.

While the percentages are small, suggesting no clear bias among hedge funds for a handful of universities, the figures show that (again) Ivy League universities win out. As well as Columbia, New York University and Wharton lead the pack, while the London School of Economics is the only UK university to break up the top five.