Inside the Talent Market for Asset and Wealth Management
As competition intensifies across asset management, private credit, hedge funds and wealth platforms, firms are placing greater emphasis on strategic hiring to differentiate performance and scale effectively. From leadership roles in investment teams to specialized talent in distribution, operations and technology, the war for talent is increasingly shaping how firms position themselves in a crowded market.
Derek Braddock, Partner & Co-Founder, BraddockMatthewsBarrett, which works closely with asset managers, asset owners and private wealth platforms on senior-level hires, has a front-row seat to these shifts. Braddock is seeing how hiring priorities are evolving in real time, driven by the growth of private markets, the convergence of institutional and wealth channels, and the increasing importance of data, technology and client solutions.
CM: How have hiring priorities shifted over the past 12–24 months, particularly as firms scale private credit, infrastructure and alternative strategies?
DB: In some maturing asset classes, hiring has become increasingly specialized. In private credit, for example, we’re seeing more focus on asset-based, structured or special situations/opportunities credit investing, though many firms continue to build out the direct lending side, as well. As private equity has matured, many firms increasingly expect niche investment experience. For instance, a firm may now seek to add a professional steeped in healthcare IT rather than just healthcare as a broad sector.
CM: How important are data, analytics and AI capabilities becoming in hiring decisions across asset managers and asset owners?
DB: There will not be an asset manager that does not adopt AI broadly across their business, and these skills are becoming essential across all sectors and asset classes. Interestingly, sectors like manufacturing and agriculture might adopt these strategies even faster. While we’ve seen clients hiring for AI-specific roles and functions with increasing frequency, many of these skills and competencies are also filtering through to roles across the organization.
CM: What new or emerging roles are [private equity] firms prioritizing today that didn’t exist—or weren’t as prominent—a few years ago?
DB: Hiring for AI in private equity has certainly accelerated, and we are seeing some specific trends there. Firms are not just using AI to automate internal processes in operations and human resources but also research. These firms are devising AI tools to work alongside their investment team to better influence their investment thesis, perform due diligence on companies, etc.
Middle market and larger firms are also hiring for roles to support AI integration within portfolio companies. For larger firms, this looks like developing and implementing tools across their portfolio of companies to make them more efficient, enabling things like cost reduction, operational efficiency, and HR management regardless of industry or business model. Those roles typically do not address the business and industry-specific challenges AI can also solve.
Some middle market firms are developing small teams of AI professionals that can be deployed in-house at portfolio companies to adapt full AI strategies for each specific company. In this instance, a member or members of the firm might ‘live’ within a company for 6+ months and implement a direct strategy.
CM: Looking ahead, what roles or capabilities do you expect to be in highest demand over the next two to three years?
DB: Trained engineers have increasingly become commodities in private equity. Those who can truly stand up an application and an implementation, not just advise on it. We are seeing less of a need for people who pontificate about the state of AI and where it’s going and more of a need for true engineers and tacticians.
Many of those candidates are currently at native AI companies or are management consultants and former engineers within specific AI working groups. Others have already made the move to become an in-house expert within an asset manager. However, while some larger asset managers have been deploying resources to AI for several years now, much of this talent remains outside of the industry.
CM: How intense is competition for top talent right now, and which sectors or roles are seeing the most pressure?
DB: The war for talent is always there, irrespective of market or macro conditions. We continue to see many private equity firms putting money to work and reassuring their investors. Even within asset classes like direct lending that have received recent scrutiny, firms have largely maintained confidence in their portfolios and loans.
