“One recruiter pointed to optimism coming from the buyside — private equity firms hungry to do a deal — that next year could be more robust: “There’s a lot of positive momentum in buyside hiring” going into the fourth quarter, said buyside recruiter Anthony Keizner of Odyssey Search Partners. And that could benefit everyone.

“Alternative investment firms have been buoyed by rate cuts, decent investment returns, and asset inflows,” he said, adding that this is translating into robust 2026 hiring plans.”