What does a hedge fund analyst do? A day in the life of an associate in the Point72 Academy Investment Analyst Program

Natalia Bondanza is an associate in the Point72 Academy Investment Analyst Program. She joined in February after four years in investment banking at Goldman Sachs, where she was a vice president. This is what a day in her life looks like.

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5.30am. These days, I’m an early riser. I wake up around 5.30am, read my emails, check the headlines and then I work out. I like to start my day with some energy! I either go to Barry’s Bootcamp for a bit of treadmill and some weights or I run on the West Side Highway. I live pretty close to the office in Hudson Yards, so I’ll also walk to work.

7.30am. This is when my working day really starts. The Point72 Academy prepares us for a career on the buy-side, specifically as a long/short equity analyst. The first eight months are a combination of training, lectures, and ramping our skills on stock pitches, followed by two months of rotations with investment teams. It feels more like working as an analyst than being at school – we have lectures and guidance from coaches, but ultimately it’s up to us to learn how to come up with investment recommendations and how to articulate why we think stocks will move in one direction instead of another.

The first thing I do when I arrive at the office is to go through the headlines and digest all the news relevant to my coverage area. If it’s earnings season, we’ll also go through print and analyze the potential implications for the companies we cover.

8am. As the morning progresses, members of the Academy class usually discuss our observations at the beginning of the hour. There are only 10 of us in the class and we all know each other very well. It’s a nice mix – some are early-career professionals like me, and some are more recent college graduates. We discuss anything related to our coverage areas – from data points to news. We’ve covered everything from consumer to industrials and technology, and we really dig in and research the companies. My favorite has been restaurants: I was astonished at the operational and financial differences between restaurant companies that seem very similar from a consumer standpoint. It’s very fluid and more of a conversation than anything prescriptive.

9am. We start work on our weekly research assignments. We’re being taught how to develop opinions on particular stocks and sectors and how to pitch our ideas. The framework we learn centers around a deep understanding of our whole coverage universe, which in addition to analyzing a specific company, means we look at its competitors, suppliers, customers and other parts of its supply chain. Our research process entails reading news and reports, evaluating compliance approved alternative data sources, going through company financials and presentations, and tying everything together. 

10am. I have a one-to-one meeting with a coach. Our coaches are former investment professionals who not only provide feedback and advice on company research but I believe also challenge us intellectually, stimulating deeper analysis and understanding of market dynamics.

11am. We have an investment professional debrief. This happens weekly and is where a Point72 discretionary investment team joins us to discuss their sectors and share career advice. It’s super interesting: we get to learn from the investment teams and discuss our opinions further with our peers. In the mornings we don’t have meetings, we might hear from a senior leader at the firm or an external speaker. We recently had someone discuss valuations and how to marry the short and long term – one of my favorite topics!

12pm. I’m back at my desk, building a financial model. We build our models from scratch so we can learn. It’s up to us how complex we want to build them – it’s about finding a balance between having something nuanced enough to express detail but also simple enough to be easily comprehensible. A model is usually an iterative process: as news is publicly reported that impacts a name, we update our models accordingly. 

1pm. We have hot food at the office three days a week, but there are also plenty of lunch options in Hudson Yards, so I often take the chance to get out. Once a week, we also have a nice thing called “meet and eat” with analysts and portfolio managers in the office, which is a great way to get to know people and hear different perspectives. 

2pm. I’m working on my model again and talking with my fellow Academy associates. The team is very collaborative, and we often compare and debate on stocks. Things aren’t black and white: it’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong but about how different people are thinking about a company. It can be interesting – some people are super creative and there’s often a lot of discussion around our calls.

3pm. I have an interview with one of the discretionary investment teams that I might do my rotations with. During the last two months of the Academy, we rotate on investment teams at Point72 with the opportunity to potentially receive an offer from a team upon the successful completion of the Academy program. 

4pm. I’m back at my desk, conducting research and working on my models. The market closes at 4 and we spend this time digesting everything that’s happened during the day and incorporating feedback from the coaches. These daily conversations and the ongoing analysis of a mosaic of datapoints, have helped me recognize how knowledge compounds in this job, constantly confirming or prompting us to rethink our views.

7pm. The Academy class often sits down for dinner together. There are usually people from other Point72 offices around, so it’s a social occasion. We talk about stocks and markets, but also about New York life and restaurants!  Sometimes the previous Academy classes come and check up on us, which is really nice. I think everyone wants to see you succeed. 

8.30pm. I go back home and catch up with friends and family. Some nights where we don’t eat as a group, I’ll cook a late dinner. I’m Argentinian so I don’t mind a late meal and love making a traditional dish – milanesas, which is breaded meat.  

9.30pm.  I may finish some work or prep for the next day but am usually in bed unwinding by 10:30pm. My schedule has shifted earlier compared to when I was in investment banking, but the early mornings have been easy to get used to. It’s pretty beautiful–especially in the winter when I get to see the sunrise.   

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