The outlook for employment in the private equity and venture capital industry is quite bullish for the coming year according the results of our 2013 compensation report. As the industry ramps up in the wake of stronger economic fundaments around the world, firms are increasingly looking at adding new talent to their ranks, essentially showing increased hiring intentions in all disciplines. Whether one is looking to enter the industry for the first time, or perhaps move to a new firm for different opportunities, 2013 is shaping up to be a good year to execute on those plans.
Overall, we found a considerable increase in hiring intentions in both private equity and venture capital firms for the coming year. According to our respondents, 59 percent of firms will be looking at add new investment professionals and support staff this year. This is up sharply from only 37 percent last year. This reflects the strength of both private equity and venture capital as the global economy finally begins to sputter forward.
It is also important to note that this remarkably strong level of hiring intentions is not to be found throughout the financial industry, where many segments, such as investment banking for example, continue to struggle for grow their revenues in order to support the addition of new staff. Private equity and venture capital continue to offer a relative haven within the over industry, providing opportunity for many financial professionals that are struggling to gain traction in other segments that are on the decline.
Hiring intentions weren’t the only positive development that our survey picked up this year. We also found a considerable reduction in firms that are looking to reduce headcount this year, with only 2 percent of firms are looking to employ fewer financial professionals in 2013. This is an important trend as employees in the industry are concerned about firms increasingly seeking efficiencies and implementing technological solutions that could allow the firm to operate with a smaller staff. These results imply that any gains in efficiency are quickly being offset by business growth.
The strength of hiring intentions depends on which skillset an employee is bringing to the firm. The most in demand skillset, unsurprisingly, is investment professionals. Also in demand are accounting, operations and portfolio management professionals. According to our survey, firms are looking less often in 2013 for those with skills in IT and investor relations.
