I mean, the goal of absolute return hedge funds is pretty much the same: only have exposure to alpha factors. With market makers it’s pretty much the same thing

I mean, the goal of absolute return hedge funds is pretty much the same: only have exposure to alpha factors. With market makers it’s pretty much the same thing: only have exposure to order flow. That’s the alpha. I’ve worked as a quant at both hedge funds and market makers, and both have a similar philosophy of a only getting exposure to “alpha”, though the means and capital required (as you mentioned) are quite different. I think a concept of Sharpe ratio still applies to both though, with market making having an clearly higher one. Personally, I’ve found working for a hedge fund a lot better, market making is kind of a drab business when you get down to the nuts and bolts.