2024 Year in Review

As we enter 2025, the mood is bullish, with record highs in the stock market and rising investor confidence post-election. There’s an increased sense of optimism, reflected in the surge of search mandates we’ve seen in Q4 2024 that signal a strong end to the year in the alternatives sector.

Data from our recent marketing & investor relations compensation survey reveals high demand for fundraising talent, as firms continue to increase compensation for these professionals. The market is seeking strong IR professionals, especially product specialists and those with private wealth fundraising experience, who can retain capital and attract new LPs.

We believe market-neutral hedge funds will continue to grow, despite Ken Griffin suggesting otherwise.¹ Credit – especially private credit, special situations, and asset-backed finance² – is thriving, with industry consolidation fueling further expansion.

Challenges remain in private equity: firms continue to face slower realizations and lagging returns.³ Our 2024 data shows that PE investment professional compensation has stagnated, in contrast to stronger markets for talent in other investment strategies.

Alongside a generally confident market, the pattern of return to the office has intensified, with most investment professionals now working in person most days. While not everyone is pleased, our data shows a growing acceptance of this shift back: more professionals are now happier being back in the office compared to 2023. We explore this further in this newsletter.

We’re delighted to say 2024 was another great year for Odyssey, and we couldn’t be more grateful; it’s truly a pleasure to work with exceptional clients and candidates.

Wishing you happy holidays and a prosperous 2025!

The Odyssey Search Partners Team

¹ Kumar, Nishant. “Citadel’s Ken Griffin Says Multistrategy Hedge Fund Boom Is Over.” Yahoo Finance, 19 Nov. 2024

2 Tomkiw, Lydia. “Blackstone, Ares, Carlyle execs see better deals, asset-based credit growth in 2025.” Pensions & Investments, 11 Dec. 2024.

3 Yu, Sun. “Ivy League Endowments Struggle with Private Market Downturn.” Financial Times, 9 Nov. 2024.