Talent and Compensation Trends in Fundraising and Investor Relations - Hedge Funds and Multi-Product Asset Managers

The fundraising environment across asset management remains fiercely competitive as we start the second half of 2014. Demand for experienced distribution professionals remains very high, and a hiring market that stayed busy even during the financial crisis has become even more active and complex. The opportunity cost and financial implications of mis-hiring within this function are enormous for both the hiring firm and prospective candidate. Our intention with this paper is to share our market insights and understanding to help hiring firms create the best client-facing teams possible and help distribution professionals understand the current environment so they can find (or affirm they are already in) positions best suited to their talents and aspirations.

This paper reflects our recruiting experience as well as the results of a proprietary survey conducted this year by Heidrick & Struggles. We focused on the 218 individuals (out of 586 total respondents) who characterized their current role as either sales/fundraising or hybrid fundraising/investor relations. Within this group, 91 respondents defined their current firm as a hedge fund, and 127 defined it as a multi-product firm.

We would like to extend our thanks to the participants in the study; we are so grateful for your time, insights, and trust.