Citadel's Central Book & Career Advice

Central book, central risk management team, pod shop analyst career advice

Last week, we discussed the important role of centralized risk management at pod shop in allocating capital and regulating the overall fund exposure.

And… Coincidentally or not, three days ago, WSJ came out with a long piece on Citadel and its CEO & Founder Ken Griffin, where they briefly mentioned Citadel’s Central Book:

“Overlaid on top of individual teams’ portfolios is a sizable “center book” that both offsets concentrated positions and adds to high-potential trades. Managers of the center book might sell stocks to which multiple Citadel teams have exposure as a hedge, or augment bets taken by teams that it has determined are likely to do well, usually without their knowledge.”

This directly ties into what we talked about last week. In this post, we will discuss the central book and also provide some useful advice and insights for building a career at a multimanager fund. Be prepared to hear some of the harsh realities of the industry. Things you wouldn’t really know unless you have worked or know people at these places.