August 2026
Searching Smarter Podcast: Why Now Is the Best Time for a Hedge Fund Career
Is this the best time to build a career in hedge funds?
According to Bradley Saacks, hedge fund reporter at Business Insider, for many professionals the answer may be yes. The largest hedge funds are growing, competition for investment and technical talent remains intense, and firms are investing more heavily in developing the next generation of talent.
In this episode of Searching Smarter, Bradley joins host Jesse Skaff to discuss what is driving competition for hedge fund talent, why compensation has risen so sharply for sought-after professionals, how firms are building earlier talent pipelines, and what the continued institutionalisation of the industry could mean for its future.
About the guest
Bradley Saacks is a hedge fund reporter at Business Insider, where he covers the firms, people and trends shaping the industry.
His recent reporting has examined the competition for talent across hedge funds and how the growth of large multi-strategy platforms is changing the way firms attract, compensate and develop professionals.
Key topics discussed:
Competition is particularly intense among large hedge funds looking for proven portfolio managers and senior investment talent. Bradley explains that the issue is not simply a lack of people capable of doing the work. Long non-compete periods can limit the number of professionals available to move, while some investors may prefer greater independence over working within the tightly risk-managed structure of a major platform.
This creates what Bradley describes as an effective shortage of available talent, helping to push hiring costs higher for portfolio managers and experienced analysts.
The biggest headline packages are concentrated among exceptional revenue-generating investment professionals. Bradley discusses reported guarantees in the tens of millions of dollars, with some reported packages exceeding $100 million for highly successful portfolio managers moving between firms.
But the competition extends beyond portfolio managers. Hedge funds are also competing for quantitative and engineering talent, often against technology companies and AI firms. For a wider view of pay across investment, technology and operational roles within hedge funds, explore the USA Hedge Funds Compensation Guide 2026.
Historically, hedge funds were more likely to hire professionals after they had already developed their skills elsewhere. Bradley describes a major shift, with some of the largest firms now recruiting university students into investment and engineering internships and building structured training programs.
For firms, this is about more than filling immediate vacancies. Developing talent internally can reduce dependence on expensive lateral hiring while allowing firms to teach their own investment processes and culture from the beginning.
Bradley sees many of these changes as part of a broader shift from founder-led firms toward larger, more institutional investment platforms. These businesses increasingly need deeper management teams, structured talent pipelines and succession plans that allow them to operate beyond one individual founder.
That shift is changing how hedge funds think about people. Rather than relying on opportunistic hiring, firms are investing in a more sustainable flow of talent across investment, quantitative and technology functions as they plan for continued growth.
Talent is becoming part of the investment in growth
One of the clearest themes from the conversation is that hedge funds are no longer simply competing to hire the best available professionals. Increasingly, they are investing in the systems needed to attract, develop and retain talent over the long term.
That competition is also reflected in compensation. Selby Jennings' USA Hedge Funds Compensation Guide 2026 shows how pay varies across quantitative analytics, research and trading, portfolio management, risk management, software technology, cloud and infrastructure technology, and finance and accounting. Based on real placement data, the guide gives professionals a clearer benchmark for their market value and helps hiring managers assess whether their compensation strategy remains competitive, adding useful context to the talent trends Bradley explores throughout the episode.
Want more?
At the Searching Smarter podcast, we speak to the brightest and boldest minds in financial sciences & services. From talent acquisition leaders and hiring managers to world-class professionals, we delve into all the ways they leverage top talent to drive their businesses forward. Listeners will walk away with expert guidance on how to attract, acquire and retain high-performing teams, as well as what it takes to be a part of one.
It's available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So listen, learn, and let us know what you think.
FAQ
Competition is particularly intense among large hedge funds looking for proven portfolio managers, senior investment professionals and technical talent. Bradley explains that long non-compete periods can limit the number of professionals available to move, while some investors may prefer greater independence over working within tightly risk-managed platforms. This has helped push hiring costs higher for the most sought-after talent.
The largest compensation packages tend to go to exceptional revenue-generating investment professionals with a strong track record. Bradley discusses reported guarantees in the tens of millions of dollars, with some reported packages exceeding $100 million for top portfolio managers moving between firms. Compensation across the wider hedge fund market varies significantly by role, experience and performance.
Major hedge funds are investing more heavily in internships, university recruiting and structured training programs across both investment and technology roles. Bradley describes this as a major change from a decade ago, when firms were more likely to hire professionals after they had already developed their skills elsewhere.
Bradley sees the industry becoming more institutional, with large multi-strategy firms operating as investment platforms rather than businesses centred solely around an individual founder. That shift is driving greater investment in talent pipelines, management teams and succession planning as firms look to support continued growth over the long term.
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