Contingent Executive Search
Hedge Fund Recruiters
CEO and CFO/COO through Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Researcher, and Trader — full-gamut leadership and investment talent for hedge funds and quantitative trading firms.
- Senior Practice Director, Blue Signal Search
- Contingent-first · No up-front retainer
- Twelve-month guarantee on every placement
I recruit leadership and investment talent across hedge funds and quantitative trading firms — CEO and CFO/COO at the top, Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Researcher, and Trader below it. Sourced against real track record and strategy-specific experience, not a generic finance background applied to a performance-driven, confidential hiring process.
Hedge fund search across leadership and investment roles
Hedge fund hiring runs on verifiable track record, not credentials alone. A Portfolio Manager candidate without a real, attributable performance history in the fund’s specific strategy creates real investment and reputational risk.
I work hedge fund and quantitative trading firm search across the full organization: CEO/Managing Partner, CFO/COO, Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Researcher, and Trader.
Roles I staff and place
CEO / Managing Partner — leaders who can run a hedge fund through real investor, regulatory, and performance pressure.
CFO / COO — leaders with real fund-operations, compliance, and investor-relations experience specific to the hedge fund structure.
Portfolio Manager — candidates evaluated against a real, verifiable track record in a specific strategy mandate.
Quantitative Researcher — researchers with real modeling and research experience specific to the fund’s quantitative strategy.
Trader — traders evaluated against real, attributable trading performance specific to the fund’s asset class and strategy.
Blue Signal Search vertical: as Senior Practice Director, my desk sources across this full hedge fund organization — firm-level search infrastructure behind every mandate, not a generalist recruiter's claim.
Featured roles
- CEO / Managing Partner — for hedge funds navigating investor and performance pressure.
- CFO / COO — for hedge funds building out fund operations and compliance leadership.
- Portfolio Manager — for hedge funds hiring against a specific strategy mandate.
- Quantitative Researcher — for quantitative trading firms building out research capability.
- Trader — for hedge funds hiring against a specific asset class and strategy.
Pain patterns I see every quarter
Generalist finance recruiters can’t evaluate a real track record. A Portfolio Manager or Trader candidate’s performance history requires real strategy-specific fluency to evaluate credibly — a generic finance recruiter often can’t tell a strong track record from a lucky one.
Confidentiality gets mishandled. Portfolio Managers and Traders are typically employed and performing well when approached, and a search process that leaks or lacks discretion burns candidate trust immediately.
Quant roles get filled with generalist finance candidates. Quantitative Researcher and quant trading roles require real research and modeling fluency that a broad finance background doesn’t cover.
Strategy fit gets ignored. A Portfolio Manager with a strong track record in one strategy doesn’t automatically translate to a different strategy mandate, and sourcing needs to reflect that.
How I run the search
I start by confirming the fund’s strategy and track-record requirements, because that context defines what a credible candidate actually looks like. From there, sourcing runs against real, verifiable performance experience, with full confidentiality maintained throughout.
This search runs under Blue Signal Search, a national contingent and retained search firm — the affiliation gives this desk firm-level sourcing infrastructure and reference-checkable delivery history across hedge fund leadership and investment roles.
Competitive positioning (respectful)
Heidrick & Struggles / Korn Ferry / Spencer Stuart — built for retained C-suite search at large multi-strategy fund scale, not the leadership and investment-side searches most mid-market hedge funds and quantitative trading firms actually need filled at speed. Not a competing lane for this hub.
Cross-hub and next steps
For private equity-specific investment and operating roles, see Private Equity Recruiters. For investment banking and capital markets leadership and execution roles, see Investment Banking Recruiters.
Schedule a 30-Minute Call with Dan — Calendly, dpoore@bluesignal.com, or 669-900-4504. That is the only conversion path.
How a search works
- 01 Confirm the fund's strategy and track-record requirements
Long/short equity, macro, quant, and credit strategies each demand different track records — the search starts with that context.
- 02 Source against real, verifiable performance experience
Candidates evaluated against actual, attributable track record and strategy-specific experience, not generic finance-sector tenure.
- 03 Run the process with full confidentiality
Portfolio Managers and Traders are typically employed and performing well when approached — discretion is standard throughout.
Track record
Hedge Fund Recruiters Placements
Roles placed across hedge fund leadership and investment functions. Client names and dates are withheld for confidentiality — role, level, and organization type are shown exactly as placed.
| Role placed | Level | Platform scale |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive Officer / Managing Partner | C-Suite | Direct-hire, hedge fund |
| Chief Financial Officer / COO | C-Suite | Direct-hire, hedge fund |
| Portfolio Manager | Senior IC | Direct-hire, hedge fund, specific strategy mandate |
| Quantitative Researcher | Senior IC | Direct-hire, quantitative trading firm |
| Trader | IC | Direct-hire, hedge fund |
Every placement above carries a twelve-month guarantee. The only quantified claim published on this site — no fee percentages, no invented placement counts.
Case study
A recent placement
A quantitative fund needed a Portfolio Manager with a verifiable track record in a specific strategy, not a generalist finance candidate without a real, attributable performance history. We sourced against that specific strategy experience and track record, and the hire was in seat managing a live book within the standard search window.
The commitment
Twelve-month guarantee
Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee. That is the only quantified claim on this site — no fee percentages, no invented placement counts.
Get in touch
Schedule a 30-Minute Call with Dan
Contingent-first. No up-front retainer. One conversion path — book the call.
Frequently asked questions
What hedge fund roles do you recruit for?
CEO/Managing Partner, CFO/COO, Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Researcher, and Trader — leadership and investment-side roles across hedge funds and quantitative trading firms.
Do you place Portfolio Managers?
Yes. Portfolio Manager searches are evaluated against a real, verifiable track record in a specific strategy, not generalist finance experience.
Do you place quant recruiters' typical roles like Quantitative Researchers?
Yes. Quantitative Researcher searches are evaluated against real research and modeling experience specific to the fund's quantitative strategy.
How confidential is the hedge fund search process?
Fully confidential. Portfolio Managers and Traders in particular are typically employed and performing well when approached, and discretion is standard practice for this hub.
Do you place Traders?
Yes. Trader searches are evaluated against real, attributable trading performance specific to the fund's asset class and strategy.
Do you place CFOs and COOs for hedge funds?
Yes. CFO and COO searches are evaluated against real fund-operations, compliance, and investor-relations experience specific to the hedge fund structure.
Who typically signs a hedge fund recruiting engagement?
Managing Partners, CEOs, and CFOs/COOs at hedge funds and quantitative trading firms building out leadership or investment teams.