Recruitment - Funds diversify their skills [CF News]

Now cautious, funds have slowed their recruitment for investor roles but nevertheless continue to strengthen key positions in IR, ESG and Operating partners.

Battered but not sunk. This could be the summary of the job market in the private equity sector. While fundraising is slowing, recruitment is decelerating. According to the CFNEWS database, asset management firms established in France welcomed 60 new recruits to their front-office in the first half of 2023 (arrivals announced between January 1 and June 15, 2023), including 13 partners. Lauxera Capital Partners, for example, added a fifth partner with the arrival of Victor Decrion from Five Arrows Principal Investments , while Yotta Capital Partners welcomed Nadia Bouzigues , formerly of Jolt Capital , as managing partner. This is a relatively quiet period, as twice as many moves were announced during the same period last year, with 128 new hires, including 32 partners. "We are seeing more caution among funds," notes Martin Louvet , partner at Vauban Executive Search . Some prefer to put the hiring of new partners on hold , while others take more time to finalize a process . The duration of projects is increasing.

DYNAMISM OF THE FO

associate and investment manager positions “Asset management firms, which are performing well and have funds to invest, remain relatively optimistic despite a certain wait-and-see approach,” notes Thibaut Roussey , managing partner of Alvedis Conseil . “They continue to hire junior staff to work on the analysis, structuring, and monitoring of transactions, as well as more experienced professionals capable of sourcing deals and facilitating fundraising thanks to their track record .” Headhunters also note the dynamism of family offices , with the creation of new structures and the strengthening of established ones, such as Téthys Invest , which recruited Cyrielle Villepelet (formerly of McKinsey) as managing director , or Dentressangle Capital, which recruited Antoine Schouman as a partner and Arnault Tesnière as an investment director. "Many candidates are attracted to the world of family offices ," notes Muriel Moreau , managing partner for France at Heidrick & Struggles . "Furthermore, their non-compete clauses do not always apply to holding companies , which facilitates job changes." In parallel,
mergers between asset management companies have also generated changes in team composition, as seen with IdiCo , which brought Stéphane Roussilhe and Camille Delibes following the acquisition of Omnes Capital 's private equity .