The niche athletes that hedge fund Citadel has a "large collection" of

Excelling in a sport is a tried and tested method of helping your CV stand out for a graduate role in finance. Generally, it shows the kind of grit and competitive spirit that firms are looking for, but it's also good to have a common interest with your interviewer. At hedge fund Citadel's New York office, one interest appears disproportionately common.

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Sadly, despite Citadel having a mix of quant and fundamental investment teams, it's not chess boxing. It's Lacrosse.

Citadel recently hosted a sit-down session with Lacrosse hall-of-famer Paul Rabil, during which 15 out of roughly 36 (visible) employees said they had either watched or played lacrosse. Josh King, head of corporate affairs at Citadel, said that there is a "large collection of lacrosse players" at the fund.

One of those players was Cole Williams of Citadel's rates and credit operations team. He was a former player and was previously coached by Rabil; he said that playing lacrosse helped him develop a mindset for thinking outside the box (Williams played in midfield, so this checks out).

The love for lacrosse is not just a Citadel thing. For example, hedge fund Balyasny hired ex-Major League Lacrosse player Stephen Peyser as its global head of trading and capital markets earlier this year.

The proportion of athletes in finance was alleged to be diminishing in the late 2010s, and Lacrosse wasn't helped by its reputation as a 'rich kid' hobby when there was no nepo-connection to fall back on. However, Bloomberg reported last year that changes to the workplace ushered in by the pandemic have encouraged more young financial services employees to simultaneously pursue a career in lacrosse. If you're looking for a new sport and a potential hedge fund job reference, look no further. 

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