point72 academy case study

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Yahoo Finance

Stock-picking college freshmen impress steve cohen's hedge fund with short idea.

Steve Cohen’s $12.4 billion hedge fund is letting teens and early twenty-somethings pitch stock ideas to its investment professionals to recruit the next generation of talent.

Earlier this month, Point72 Asset Management hosted The Global Case Competition, giving college first-year students and juniors the opportunity to demonstrate their investing skills through a stock pitch — either a long or short idea.

This year’s competition attracted 666 students from 94 different colleges and universities from around the world. The students worked in teams of three, more than 225 groups in total, to form their ideas. The top 8 teams were invited for a free trip to New York to compete for cash prizes.

The theme of this year’s competition was the fast-casual industry. The first-place team, “Hoos Capital” from the University of Virginia, won with their Shake Shack ( SHAK ) short. The judges found that the UVA first-year students “demonstrated a solid understanding of the fundamental debate on the sector, focusing on same-store sales growth, pricing power, and market penetration considerations. Their articulation of a variant view at odds with market consensus was the most compelling of the eight finalists.”

“One of the most dangerous things is when someone is right too often”

As part of the weekend, the students got to interact with some of the firm’s investment professionals, including the fund’s head of equities Perry Boyle, who offered the youngsters a sobering stat — “the best investors are right only 53% of the time.”

“One of the most dangerous things is when someone is right too often, too early and they think they’re a genius, they think it’s all them,” said Boyle, before adding, “This is a game of odds. This is a game of probabilities. The first time someone is wrong in a significant way it shakes their confidence, it shakes their conviction in themselves, it makes them question everything. And, that’s really healthy. That’s a good thing.”

It’s important for young investors to make mistakes, learn from them, so when they’re involved in moving a lot of money around, they’re less likely to make a catastrophic mistake, Boyle explained. The beauty of trading stocks, though, is that you don’t have to be in any one position. It can be sold or closed out.

“One of the classic mistake remediation mistakes — like ‘I’ve made a mistake, and now I’m going to fix it’ — is, ‘I’m going to make the money back in the stock I lost the money in.’ Mmm…No, that’s not optimizing the capture of your opportunity set.”

Casting a wide net for talent

The competition is an early step in the hedge fund’s recruitment process offering the students their first taste of hedge fund life. Afterward, some of the students will go on to take the next step toward a hedge fund career path. The winning team is offered spots in one of the firm’s Academy Summits, a one-day event held in New York, San Francisco, and Singapore that provides an overview of the hedge fund world.

Jonathan Jones, Point72’s head of investment talent, told Yahoo Finance that the competition is a “deliberate effort” to “cast a very wide net for talent.”

“We have a belief that great talent can be found in many more places than we can easily physically go and look. It’s true — we love to get interest from people from very highly rated prestigious schools and universities, but we also don’t believe that those institutions have a monopoly on great talent,” said Jones.

It’s a novel idea for Point72. Traditionally, the path to a hedge fund job has been to spend two years after college in an investment banking analyst program before making the transition to the buy-side. These days, however, hedge fund recruiting has been facing its own unique set of challenges as investment banking classes have been shrinking, and more young people head to Silicon Valley for lucrative tech jobs. In recent years, Steve Cohen has even publicly said that “talent is very thin” and that he’s “blown away by the lack of talent.”

From Academy student to full-time hire

In 2015, Point72 came up with an unconventional way to target top-tier talent by forming its namesake academy.

The Point72 Academy started as a single class of ten students and has since expanded to a global program aimed at training recent college grads and young professionals for its full-time financial analyst and summer analyst programs. The summer internship program consists of 10-weeks where students are taught and coached by staff and investment professionals. That program serves as a gateway for the full-time financial analyst program, offered to college seniors for 10-months of rigorous curriculum on financial modeling and research designed to jumpstart a career in the hedge fund space.

To date, 24 students who’ve been part of the case competition have become academy hires. The academy has been a critical pipeline for the firm’s analysts.

“[We] see about a third our annual hiring appetite at the analyst level currently being fulfilled by candidates that have come through the academy and that will likely trend to closer to 50% over the next couple of years, especially as we expand internationally,” said Jones.

The idea for the academy to recruit and train talent came out of the 2008 financial crisis.

“Coming out 2008, I realized PMs who held up the best during that debacle were people who had been analysts here,” said Boyle. “How can we turn more analysts into PMs in a more efficient way? Well, we should train them.”

Boyle started teaching himself but soon realized that he’s just one person and couldn’t scale it. He approached Cohen with his idea to create an academy for undergrads and teach them so they can “hit the ground running.”

Performance over pedigree

Soon after, Boyle found Jaimi Goodfriend, a former hedge fund equity research analyst who at the time was a college professor at the University of Illinois. At the University of Illinois, Goodfriend had built the school’s investment banking academy where she had a 100% success rate of placing students in finance jobs.

“I was recruited out of college, I did not go to an Ivy League school, I went to University Michigan, and somehow I managed to find my way into a bank,” said Goodfriend, who is the director of the Point72 Academy. “But I did notice that it was heavily skewed toward sort of those more prestigious universities.”

Speaking to the idea of performance versus pedigree, Goodfriend emphasized the importance of finding the best and brightest talent regardless of educational background. At the University of Illinois, she found that many of the students didn’t have the same opportunity set.

“I felt very passionately those people deserved a chance,” said Goodfriend.

Goodfriend’s approach to building talent has translated to Point72. One of the hires through the case competition was Mathew Rindelaub, whose team won his junior year at the University of Texas at Austin. His team’s 2014 winning pitch was short on B&G Foods ( BGS ), a company that sold Pirate’s Booty and other packaged goods. The thesis centered around the secular decline in brick-and-mortar retail and the rise in healthier food choices.

Rindelaub, now 25, is an analyst at Point72 and a graduate of a state school.

“It’s very easy to get into like a group-think mentality in finance or on Wall Street or the hedge fund industry, and you don’t want to have the same prototype person, times 25,” said Rindelaub. “And I think if you get people who not only are from state schools or from non-core schools but also people of different educational backgrounds, you are able to get like a lot more uniqueness in terms of perspective in terms of what people are good at.”

Not only is the Academy widening the school pipeline, but it’s also aiming to increase diversity, including more women and more international backgrounds.

“What we hope we get out of that is diversity of approaches to investing and new sources of creativity, so that we adapt to the market as it changes,” said Boyle, adding, “If you hire one profile of person, it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re going to get correlated results, and we’re trying to break out of that pattern. We don’t want correlated results.”

— Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter .

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How to get accepted into Point72's ultra-elite analyst training program, whose acceptance rate is less than 1%

• Steven Cohen's $23 billion hedge fund gets 16,000 applications a year for Point72 Academy.
• The academy is a 10-month training for college graduates looking to become investment analysts.
• The firm's head of professional development shares what applicants can do to impress her.

High grades from a top university and a two-year stint at an investment bank might be enough to get your foot in the door at some hedge funds. 

But college graduates wishing to get into Point72 Academy — a 10-month program that pays people to learn how to be investment analysts for a leading hedge fund —  may have to share a little more about themselves to stand out. 

Getting into the academy run by the hedge fund of New York Mets owner Steve Cohen isn't easy. The $23 billion firm typically gets 16,000 applications a year and conducts hundreds of interviews, said Jaimi Goodfriend, head of investment professional development at Point72. Only 40 or so people make it every year. 

Insider sat down with Goodfriend to discuss what students should avoid and what they should be doing when applying for the academy — from not fudging the resume to showing how they've challenged themselves in unexpected ways. 

Intellectual honesty is key 

Don't bother lying on your resume because Goodfriend will catch it early into the interview process, she says. 

The company doesn't use resume parsers —  software that helps companies mine through resumes by searching for keywords or skills — so applicants should not add misleading descriptions of themselves on their CVs to stand out. 

"Sometimes I think students are getting to the point where they're almost changing their words on the resume to match what they think some AI would pick up so that they could get filtered to the top," said Goodfriend. "I'm worried that makes people put words on their resume that they shouldn't." 

The firm wants students to be especially honest about their background, as well as skills like coding and foriegn language fluency, she added. 

"You don't know how many languages I speak or my interviewer speaks, but it's not one," she said. "So, just make sure you're fluent." 

"Anything you say on your resume is fair game," she said, referring to the follow-up questions that could be asked in an interview.

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Don't be afraid to fail 

Goodfriend doesn't necessarily need candidates to have a 4.0 GPA, she said. She's  more interested in how students challenged themselves in school, including the classes they took that didn't lead to an easy "A". 

"Where did you really challenge yourself and try to push yourself, because you will be doing that in your job to be successful," she said. "No  matter what it is, you can't be afraid to fail." 

After resume submissions, the firm sends the candidates they like a questionnaire. New questions are added every year. 

"I want to know the thing you wanted to put on your resume, but didn't," she said of the questionnaire. "I want to know why you didn't put it on there."

When asked for an example, Goodfriend pointed to her own past selling baseball cards, a trick her dad taught her when she was just 6 years old. 

"Steve has stories like, that Harry Schwefel has stories," she said, referring to the firm's founder and its co-chief investment officer. "But people would never put that on their resume." 

In other words, Goodfriend wants to know as much about the unusual and unstructured activities as she does about the awards and accolades earned at school. 

"People want to list this impressive title or this event or they went to this brand name firm," she said. "Tell me about the 40-hour week job you had in college doing whatever it is you did. I think that's gonna tell me a lot more about you. So don't be afraid to list that stuff. I think it's great." 

"You're so much more than those bullets." 

Goodfriend joined Point72 in 2014, after successfully running the University of Illinois' Investment Banking Academy for the undergraduate business school. She created Point72's training academy shortly after, which she now oversees. 

Typically, a young person looking to build a career in finance will begin with a summer internship at an investment bank followed by a two-year stint as an analyst before being recruited by a hedge fund or private equity firm, firms that make up the higher paid "buy side."

But working as an investment banking analyst can be grueling, resulting in long hours toiling away on Excel sheets and PowerPoint presentations. 

Point72 can now bypass the banks by paying graduates to train for 10 months. Those who graduate from the program are often placed onto investment teams as analysts. 

For the first 10 weeks of the program, recruits start off learning how to model, how to analyze companies, accounting, and certain data-science techniques. Then they spend time working with different teams under different portfolio managers. 

The program has brought in a diverse group of candidates from all different backgrounds : from the banking world and previously recruited a Navy SEAL and someone who used to work in the White House. 

Watch: A $445 billion fund manager explains what everyone gets wrong about the economy

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Received a Point72 Academy case study and I don’t really see the point in even following through with it. Probably 500 applicants, 250 case studies went out 100 onsite interviews, 50 super days, 25 data manipulation, 10 spots.

Yeah, you’re right...why try at anything? Especially when you’re in the top 50%. Nothing to be excited or feel good about considering it’s somewhere exclusive like Point72.

Know someone who went from big 4 to an academy job at point 72. put in a ton of effort to case study and was told that was the reason he got the offer. his case study stood out against other applicants. give it your all never know what will happen, you either have the hustle or you don’t., how are you estimating these numbers. i think you’re overvaluing the number of cases that went out — there’s no way they’re grading 250 cases, that’s a huge lift. plus, there were already two cuts prior to case (resume and hirevue)..

Yah good point, not sure if this would be just nyc or overall (purely conjecture on my numbers

I feel like I have a solid background, just not the research/analytical/modeling skills required

Why let that stop you? Are you prepping right now? If you want it, go for it. I’m sure there’s a reason you received a case study, you impressed them to get to the next round. Keep pushing through and if you try your hardest and don’t get it, who cares, move on. If you get through to the next round, keep at it. Don’t doubt yourself now!

Yah not worth tbh

Just submitted it. Kinda in the same boat as you cause I haven’t worked on financial modeling etc

Same thoughts. I feel a lot of people got the case study and feels there is only like 10 spots so kinda disappointing

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This is what it takes to get hired as a junior by Point72 Asset Management in London

Point72 Asset Management has acknowledged that there’s a huge shortage of talent in the hedge fund industry right now, but this doesn’t mean it’s easy to get through the door.

The family office managing the assets of hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen has just opened up its U.S. academy programme in the UK and Asia. So far, in London it’s received over 1,500 applications for the 2017 intake. Just three to five people will be taken in across the full-time and summer internship programme. In case you’re wondering, this gives you a 0.2-0.3% chance of success. The odds are better at Goldman Sachs .

“The availability of talent in the hedge fund industry is constrained,” says Will Tovey, the head of Point72’s London office. “The desire to grow our own talent is also incredibly high – around 80% of our current portfolio managers are home-grown.”

Students who get on to Point72’s internship in the UK can expect to spent a lot of time in New York. The first two weeks are spent in the U.S. at its ‘training camp’ where you’ll learn about financial modelling, team projects and presentations. Then, it’s back to London for three weeks to work as an analyst on a portfolio team. After week five, the second half of the internship is in New York again covering companies in more depth and pitching stocks.

The first eight months of the full-time analyst programme are also spent in New York, where you’ll learn financial modelling, fundamental research, coding and data analysis. Then, back in London, analysts rotate across three investment teams.

Is the shortage of talent at the junior end really that high, though? After all, juniors are being promoted at an ever-faster rate on the trading floor in investment banks, and the sell-side has been scaling back.

“There may be a lot of talent in the banks, but it’s not necessarily the skills we’re looking for,” says Tovey. “We want people who can perform in-depth, fundamental analysis of stocks and companies. Demand for that young analytical talent is very high currently.”

In London, Point72’s junior ranks are comprised of either former investment bankers, or came as part of a team move with a portfolio manager. Jack Ingles , who worked as a FIG banker at Goldman Sachs, joined as a long/short analyst in September, while Teng Beng was a former researcher at Bernstein. Another recent recruit was John Pelly, who transferred across from Point72’s Connecticut office.

But Point72’s latest Academy recruits are not cut from the same mould as those going into investment banking. Alexander Sacks, for example, is a Yeshiva University graduate who interned as a financial analyst at insulin adjustments software firm Insulin Algorithms before spending the summer at Point72. Adam Loewentheil, a Brown graduate, interned at Livingston Securities, but also spent four months running social media at NBA all-star Earl Monroe’s entertainment company.

Some of the class of 2016 did major in accounting, economics and finance, but among the small group were also those who studied environmental science, music and neuroscience.

Tovey says that Point72 values “diversity of thought", particularly among any academy recruits, and that there’s no secret formula for making the cut. Hedge funds have previously been accused of following a "herd mentality" and part of this, according to research from academics at the University of Konstanz, is down to their tendency to hire the same sorts of people with the right connections.

It will, however, shortly be touring top universities in London as well as some “well-reputed” universities outside across the UK and Europe.

So far, globally, Point72 has received more than 4,600 applications for its academy. The European programme closes to applications on 23 October. It’s also hiring in Asia, which closes to applications on 16 October.

Contact:  [email protected]

There is no lack of talent. There is little way for talented people without wonderful credentials or connections to ever encounter jobs like this.

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Point72 Interview Questions

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

• Very Negative
• Very Positive

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

• Very Difficult

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

Interviews at Point72

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Point72, a preeminent international investment company, constantly seeks bright people to join its team. If you’re fortunate enough to land an interview with this organization, be prepared for some challenging questions.

Challenging questions like:

• Have you ever had a dispute with a customer? What happened as a result?
• How do you maintain organization when working on several projects at once?
• What prospects do you see for the market?
• How do you determine a company's worth?

These are the most challenging questions you will undergo in an interview. Preparing before the interview gives you a chance to crack the job easily. Every process you come across involves a big opportunity, and always be self-prepared in any situation.

Asset management is the process of looking after a company's assets and giving its stakeholders the highest returns possible.

To discover whether you are the perfect candidate for the position of asset manager, potential employers evaluate both your hard and soft talents throughout the interview process.

Learning several interview questions can improve your readiness for one and raise your likelihood of being hired.

To help you prepare and be confident in your interview, we’ll go through some of the most typical Point72 interview questions in this post. An investment bank called Point72 looks after the assets of its investors.

What Characteristics Do Recruiters at Point72 Look For?

The company wishes to hire people who

• Have good risk management skills
• Are assured but not arrogant
• Are cooperative in their work with others
• Know what Point72 does, are intelligent, and have effective problem-solving skills
• Are analytical thinkers
• Are innovators

Point 72 Application and Hiring Process

Point72 features an easy-to-follow yet strict hiring procedure. On their website, Point72 lists all of the open positions. You can apply for any position there. For most vacancies, using the website to apply requires logging into LinkedIn.

You must submit a web form with your name, email address, and phone number to apply. You can also include a resume and cover letter, and at the bottom of the form, there is space for your website and LinkedIn profile (if you have one). 

After submitting your application and giving a recruiter a chance to examine it, you can proceed to the evaluation phase of the interview process. However, you might need to complete a few basic assessments before the interview stage.

In addition to using the Wonderlic test, a cognitive function test, Point72 may also use tests of personality, technical skills, and basic skills assessment. In addition, some applicants might require a case study or modeling test.

You might confront these common tests during the hiring process, though you might not have to take them all. You will proceed to the actual interview process after passing all the tests necessary for the position you are applying for.

Point 72’s Assessment Process

Point72  receives a large number of applications; to select the more serious and promising candidates, they use cognitive assessments like the Wonderlic test. Unfortunately, because of how fierce the competition is, you risk being disqualified at an early stage if you don't do well on the assessments.

The  Wonderlic WonScore Cognitive Ability Test  measures a candidate's aptitude for learning, adapting, problem-solving, and adapting to various work contexts.

Additionally, The Wonderlic Test evaluates the candidate's aptitude for math problem-solving, vocabulary comprehension, analogy comprehension, pattern recognition, and other skills.

There are 50 questions on the Wonderlic test, and you have 12 minutes to complete them. You do not move on to the real interview procedure if you do not pass the evaluation.

The pretest, also known as the quick test, is a shorter version with 30 questions and an 8-minute time limit.

Personality Test:  Point72 will learn from the results of a personality test whether you are a likable person to be around and whether you will fit in at the position you are applying for.

Professional personality tests sometimes feature sections where you must predict how others would feel in specific circumstances or indicate your level of agreement with a proposition.

On a scale of 1 to 10, it will ask how much you agree with the statement "I like meeting new people."

What Is the Interview Process at Point72?

You might be asked to participate in a group interview, a video or Skype question-and-answer session, or an in-person interview, among other types of interviews. Once you’ve passed the necessary assessments, a hiring manager will contact you to set up an interview.

A panel interview is similarly in-person, but instead of the standard one-on-one interview, you would be interviewed by many individuals.

Managers and team heads will often interview you in a group setting. They'll alternate between asking you about your professional experience, how you'd handle tense work situations, and why you would be a valuable asset to Point72.

So, to prepare for Point72’s assessments, you should conduct an extensive pre-employment study by checking the various tests and the topics asked on them. Then, be sure to respond to every question.

Your grade will depend on how many of your responses are accurate. It is preferable to answer every question or venture an educated guess on the ones you are unsure about because the score ranges from 0 to 50, and there is no deduction for incorrect responses.

You have a better chance of answering correctly if you submit any response, regardless of your level of certainty.

Point 72 Interview Questions And Answers

With numerous interviews and tests, the Point72 interview process can be arduous and protracted. Therefore, a written test is normally followed by a case study in the first round.

Candidates might have to present or pitch a stock during the final round. It may take up to two weeks to complete the process.

The interviewer could ask you to define a hedge fund , as Point72 is one. Your response should explain what a hedge fund is and why it's critical for Point72 to be one.

Responding to this question,

"A hedge fund is a type of investment vehicle that employs numerous strategies to produce returns regardless of the state of the market.” Its main objective is to protect investors from losses, and it may invest in stocks, bonds , commodities, or currencies. This is due to the fact that hedge funds are private investments and, as such, are not subject to ( SEC ) Securities and Exchange Commission regulation . Therefore, they are also not required to reveal their performance information.”

You may put your understanding of the financial markets and how they operate to the test with this question.

You may take advantage of this chance to demonstrate that you have a thorough grasp of the financial markets, including their history, present trends, and outlooks for the future.

"Investors trade stocks, bonds , commodities, and other assets on the capital markets. With annual asset trading of over $50 trillion, the US stock market is among the biggest in the world. I am aware that the capital markets are dynamic, and thus it is crucial for me to keep abreast of any fresh legislation or advancements.”

Event-driven strategies are a class of investment that relies on a future event to generate profits, and Point72 invests in these methods.

This question may be asked during an interview to determine your familiarity with event-driven marketing tactics and their potential influence on the marketplace. Try to describe what an event-driven strategy is and how it affects the market in your response.

"Investing in firms based on impending events is a component of event-driven strategies. For instance, when I worked at a hedge fund , we made stock investments before announcing mergers and acquisitions . This method had an effect on the market since other investors would buy those stocks after we did when we made investments based on these developments.”

You get the chance to demonstrate your understanding of the financial sector and how you can use it to predict future trends in this question.

Explain how technology has already affected the financial market and what you anticipate will happen over the next five years, using examples from your own experience or study.

"In the coming five years, I believe technology will continue to alter financial markets . For instance, robot advisers, which are online financial advisors that manage client portfolios using algorithms , have experienced significant development in recent years. Because they are simple to use and affordable, these services are growing in popularity. For our clients who wanted to invest but didn't want to spend time looking into their possibilities, we employed robot advisors in my previous position.”

This query is a fantastic method to demonstrate your interest in the business and its principles. Also, it gives you a chance to discuss what drew you to this position, which might be useful if you're applying for numerous jobs at Point72.

"I'm enthusiastic about investing and think it's crucial to do so, which is why I want to work at Point72. I would like to be a part of the team your company has built up due to its good reputation for doing so.” “I've always had a passion for money, and I believe working here would allow me to put my abilities to good use.”

You have the chance to demonstrate your abilities to solve problems and learn from mistakes in this question. Giving an example of a circumstance where you overcame difficulties or hurdles when responding to this question may be beneficial.

"In my previous position as a portfolio manager , I was in charge of overseeing various accounts with both long- and short-term trading. When a certain firm announced layoffs, one of the accounts I oversaw had a sizable stake in its shares, which led to a sizable loss. Even though I was dissatisfied with the result, I took what I learned from the scenario and changed my approach to ensure that a situation like this never happened again.”

The recruiter wants to know which asset classes and investment techniques you are most interested in, as Point72 invests across a variety of them. This lets them determine whether your interests and Point72’s investing philosophy are compatible.

“Since I think emerging markets have a great deal of development potential, I’m really passionate about them. I also like buying small-cap stocks since there are sometimes undervalued businesses that have the potential to develop into major organizations. Finally, value investing appeals to me because it enables me to identify businesses currently trading at low prices yet have solid fundamentals.”

To keep track of the financial markets and make investing decisions, Point72 employs Bloomberg terminals.

It's crucial to demonstrate to the interviewer that you have expertise with Bloomberg if you're applying for a job that calls for using this program.

“In my prior positions as an analyst and portfolio manager , I utilized Bloomberg. I use Bloomberg to research market trends and evaluate the performance of various businesses. Also, it enables me to remain current on news events that can have an impact on the financial markets.”

This question is a fantastic technique to determine your working style and skill set. Mentioning particular techniques or tactics employed when studying equities might be helpful when responding to this question.

“I look at the financial accounts of the firm first when examining a stock. I can determine if they are in good standing and their present status, thanks to this. The financial sheet is the next place I examine to see if there are any assets that might aid in their expansion. I then check the income statement to determine if they have been continuously producing money. Lastly, I assess the company's performance by comparing it to others in the same sector.”

Point72 invests globally across a range of asset classes and investment approaches. If you have any experience with this investing plan, please mention it in the interview.

Your response should demonstrate that you are aware of the need to stay current on your assets.

"I at least check my portfolio once a week, but I also sign up for email notifications from financial websites so I may be informed when there are significant changes in stock prices or corporate statements. This aids in keeping me aware of any chances for advancement.”

Point72 wants to ensure you feel at ease working with them because they have a sizable clientele.

This inquiry allows interviewers to ascertain whether you have previous experience dealing with clients or consumers. Therefore, include any prior customer service experience in your response.

“As I've been in sales for five years, I have a lot of experience interacting with clients and consumers. In my previous work, I was in charge of running our social media pages and answering followers' inquiries and comments. I also contributed to the creation of fresh marketing plans to draw in additional clients.”

Point72 analyses and forecasts market trends using models. This inquiry lets the interviewer ascertain whether you know Point72's modeling procedure.

In your response, emphasize any prior modeling expertise or abilities that would be applicable to this position.

“I've used Excel for a long time; therefore, I know how to make formulae and functions. My latest employment, though, required me to utilize MATLAB, a more sophisticated modeling program. It was difficult at first, but with enough practice, I was able to use it effectively. I'm sure that I could use what I discovered from MATLAB to succeed.”

The big corporation Point72 makes investments across several asset classes and investment philosophies.

The interviewer may ask you this question to learn about your hobbies and passions and gauge how well you could fit into Point72's culture.

Try to be honest and demonstrate a desire to learn new things while responding to this question by mentioning the subject you like studying the most.

“My business ethics course has so far been my favorite class. I've always been curious about ethical conduct and the factors influencing people's choices. We addressed how firms might avoid these scenarios while learning about various ethical quandaries in this seminar.”

The workplace at Point72 is extremely competitive, and employees are expected to contribute to the business's success. Therefore, your response should demonstrate that you are aware of this requirement and possess the abilities required to succeed in your position.

"I work really hard and aspire to be the best at whatever I do. I'm ready to put in as many hours as necessary to complete my task since I know Point72 has high standards for its employees. Also, I think that successful teams must work together, so I will do all in my power to encourage my coworkers. My commitment to learning new things and honing my talents also implies that I'll be receptive to criticism and ideas.”

The answer to this question will reveal much about the applicant's academic history and how they have changed during their undergraduate years.

Also, it can assist you in figuring out whether they have any ties to Point72 that can be useful to you during the recruiting process.

"In my final year, I had an accounting professor who was enthusiastic about his profession, which made it simple for me to pay attention in class. In addition, he frequently shared with us tales of his time spent working for various businesses and the lessons he took away from each one. He would describe me as a diligent worker who concentrates in class and asks questions when I need clarity.”

Because of the high-pressure level at Point 72, the interviewer may use this question to evaluate your level of stress tolerance. Describe an instance when you succeeded under pressure and what made it possible when responding to this question.

"In the five years that I have been working in investment banking, I have had several opportunities to work under pressure. For example, in my prior position as an analyst, I was in charge of simultaneously assessing several firms. As a result, I frequently had a deadline to meet. To ensure that I could do my task on time, I always made sure to prioritize it. I also discovered that taking pauses during the day helped me control my stress levels.”

Teamwork and collaboration are important to Point 72. Therefore, your response to this query can help the interviewer learn more about your approach to conflict in the workplace.

Utilize your response to demonstrate your effective communication, problem-solving, and teamwork capacity.

"In my previous position as an analyst, I argued with my boss over the stocks we needed to buy. But, instead of disputing with her, I explained why I believed such stocks were wise investments. She gave me the go-ahead to make the investment, which ended up being one of our finest choices. We discovered that sometimes courteous disagreement is preferable to caving in to pressure to please.”

Because of the intense competition at Point72, the interviewer is interested in how you handle situations that don't go your way. Therefore, your response should demonstrate that you can accept criticism while being open to learning from it.

"I once made an investment in a business that initially prospered before going bankrupt. I waited a few months before selling at a $10,000 loss because I didn't want to sell since I believed the stock would rise. I learned to approach my investments with more caution as a result.”

This query is a fantastic method to demonstrate your learning capacity. However, it's critical to emphasize how you've accomplished this in the past since employers seek candidates who can adapt and develop with their businesses.

“I had to build a financial model for a customer when I initially started working as an analyst. My manager guided me through the creation process even though I had never before built one. After that, I worked on perfecting the technique independently until I felt confident. I can now make models rapidly and effectively”.

This question is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the pitch and how you can use it for this position.

Before replying, consider the traits you possess that have helped you succeed in your current or previous employment. Think about mentioning these traits in your response.

"In my opinion, three attributes are crucial for success in this field. Creativity is the first attribute. In my experience, many people in the banking industry rely on tried-and-true techniques, but occasionally we need to be more innovative in our approaches. I'm able to develop fresh concepts and solutions when I can view problems from several perspectives. Speaking is the second trait. In my experience, being able to speak well has aided in problem-solving and goal attainment. I'm always eager to hear what other people have to say and to offer comments when it's appropriate. Lastly, I consider cooperation to be a crucial trait. Cooperation enables us to work together to achieve shared objectives.”

Pro Tip and Conclusion

WSO  provides mock exams and interview preparation to assist candidates in passing the  Point 72  procedure. In addition, practice tests, study materials, virtual interviews with renowned experts, CV analyses, and more will all be available.

Learn as much as you can about the requirements of the firm before the interview. Then, be ready to show the company how your skills can meet or even exceed their requirements. You should practice your answers to interview questions beforehand.

In anticipation, ask probing questions about the position and the company. Then, visit Point72's website to find out more about their offerings. This essay was produced using data from several rounds of applicants participating in Point72 interviews and details from online discussion groups.

You may inquire about their responsibilities, talk about recent developments in their industry, or bring up a hobby they both like outside of work. Skills in critical thinking, math, and language will all advance. To work at a company like Point72, you must meet these requirements.

You may discover  WSO's Venture capital interview guide  here if you still need resources to help with your accounting hiring. Before your interview, prepare yourself and boost your confidence.

Researched and Authored by Naveeth Rishwan Habeeb

Reviewed and edited by Parul Gupta

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