Hi everyone, I have an interview coming up next week for an analyst position and would appreciate some input. I’ll be interviewing with a senior portfolio manager and according to her bio her areas of focus include - oil and gas - hedge funds - real estate Since I’d like to come off as intelligent and well-informed, what are some pertinent recent events regarding the above areas? Good general things to know? Will I be grilled on specific details? With regard to oil and gas…do they mean managed futures, oil partnerships, or oil and gas sector equities and debt? Or something else entirely? Btw this is at the non-profit from my post last week…~$6 billion AUM. Made it through the phone interviews…now I have the in person interview on my birthday. Thanks in advance!
The only thing that is obvious based on what you posted is that she prefers alternative asset classes. There’s no real indication if she manages the equity positions in oils or futures. I would at least try to learn a little about the top companies that are drillers, pumpers, independent refiners, or natty gas stocks, ie. it helps to know that EOG isn’t a refiner even if you don’t get the job. I wouldn’t be surprised if she handles the futures contracts just b/c they all seem like alternative assets. Couldn’t hurt to know what the crack spread is, what oil, gas, and natty gas have been trading at and what are moving the markets. Hedge funds: I would just try to learn the basic types of funds (convertible arb, macro, etc) and the history of the industry in general (Amaranth, LTCM, etc), she probably wouldn’t expect much more than that. Real Estate: getting crushed, all you need to know is that she should have sold out in mid 2007.
Is it with a university endowment?
take some birthday cake with you …
jmh - thanks for the comments. i’ll make sure to do my homework and gain a better understanding along the lines you suggested. maybe i’ll be a little less blunt about real estate 
goblue - it’s with a large, well known philanthropic organization. i read your response to my earlier post. i would probably prefer to work in a buy-side for-proifit firm but given the state of the financial sector right now this might be a nice opportunity to break in, get some experience, and hopefully knock some if not all of the CFA exams out. heck, maybe CAIA too since they seem to be invested in quite a range of alternative assets. i’m happy to hear about generous time off/benefits…i’m in consulting right now and let’s just say that the work/life balance is suboptimal (though great compared to Ibanking) something else i’d like to know…what kind of support towards the CFA did you receive at your position with the university endowment? did they cover costs of exam materials and registration fees? or pay for part at least? thanks for the feedback.
Here is my 2 cents, - oil and gas Do: Mention how the “peak oil” point will occur in 2010 Dont: Say that Bush is a dictator and the Irak war was for oil - hedge funds Do: Talk about the regulatory differences between multual funds and hedge funds Dont: Talk about how undeserving some of these hedge fund managers are who are taking in million dollar salaries, even one billion dollars in one specific case. - real estate Do: Talk about the subprime mortage meltdown Dont: Talk about how you need the brain of a chimpanzee to get a real estate license