In order to start a hedge fund, my dad gave me 1.3M, grandpa 2.2M, uncle 700K, family friend 200k, other grandpa 3M. So in total my starting AUM is 7.4M and the strategy I am going to be using is convertible arbitrage. The reason for starting this fund is because I think it will look great to get into my target schools which are Wharton and Cornell. What do you guys think about this idea?
If Wharton and Cornell are looking for another rich kid with generous relatives, you’re in.
What have YOU actually done- assuming they are not trying to admit your grandpa’s, who presumably have already been to college?
I think it’s a horrible idea. It’s fairly obvious they’re not giving you that money. They’re just letting you manage it to see if you make short term money…day trading, in other words. Day trading doesn’t reflect any special knowledge or skill, no matter how many zeros are behind the dollar amount. It’s like applying to MIT and bragging that you know how to build a desktop computer…with an $800 graphics card. Wharton is going to see right through that.
And really, you’re not expected to have a deep knowledge of the finance market at this stage anyway. You have to have a license to manage other people’s money. Business schools discourage those kind of reckless investment strategies anyway.
No, sorry, a rich family giving a high schooler a bunch of money to play around with is not going to be what tips you over the edge for an Ivy. What are the basics of your application and achievements?
Agree with others, not sure this will be helpful. It might even be counterproductive.
But I conduct merger arbitrage, how is that bad?
Is this posting for real? If the goal is admission to a highly selective college, then probably the family’s best focus would be to do it the old-fashioned way - by contacting someone at the school and promising to “donate” these funds to the school, in exchange for them admitting you. You see, THAT’s legal, as opposed to simply paying the rowing coach to request you as a recruited athlete.
I think it’s obvious you’re not telling the truth.
And it’s obvious you have no clue what impresses an admissions officer. Hint: working in a fast food restaurant to pay for your own clothes is MUCH more impressive than a rich kid who is given money to squander/invest. Admissions officers are middle-class people who live in the real world.
You need a reality check.
Not that I think this is a legit post, but most at that level would just donate some of that money to get into the school. What you’re describing is the equivalent of giving $7.4 mil to a spoiled rich kid to take to Vegas, so no that would not impress Wharton or Cornell.