D.E. Shaw & Co. LP

Overview

D.E. Shaw & Co. LP is one of the most secretive hedge funds in the world. It’s also one of the biggest. It’s best known as a quant shop, having been founded by computer scientist David Elliot Shaw. In 2008, it launched a fund to invest in distressed asset-backed securities, such as subprime mortgages. When a number of quantitative funds were quashed in the financial crisis, the company was among those that did well.

The company is full of math and physics whizzes. Shaw is a Stanford Ph.D. and taught at Columbia University. He also has lobbied for Washington to support more scientific and medical research. But Shaw focuses more now on solving scientific riddles, according to Forbes magazine. It reports that a supercomputer he designed allows scientists to run detailed simulations exploring the motions of proteins. Firm alumni include President Obama’s Economic Council director, Lawrence Summers, also a former Clinton Treasury Secretary and Harvard University president. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is another notable alum.

Recruiting

The firm tends to favor brainiacs with advanced degrees in everything from math to the liberal arts, rather than M.B.A. or Wall Street types. In fact, the company sponsors such events as the Worldwide Online Olympiad Training (WOOT). Its Web site offers summaries of its recruiting process and culture and even invites applicants to apply online.
Though many employees at the company wear khakis day-to-day, make sure to show up to your interview in a business suit.

• Institutional Investor’s Hedge Fund 100 Ranking, No. 6
  

Facts & Resources

Employees:		1,600
Company Site:		www.deshaw.com
Career Site:		Careers

Resources

• On-Campus Recruiting
  
• D.E. Shaw Video
  
• Worldwide Online Olympiad Training
  
• D.E. Shaw Research LLC
  

Subsidiaries & Divisions

• D.E. Shaw Direct Capital
  
• D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P.
  
• D.E. Shaw Research LLC
  

Competitors

• Citadel Investment Group LLC
  
• Apollo Management LP
  
• Highbridge Capital Management