Alternative investment firms are quietly laying off as much as 5% to 15% of their entire staffs worldwide, but hires of capital raising marketing professionals increased 42% to 1,010 in the first quarter from 710 in the prior quarter, according to a not-yet released report by executive search firm Jensen Partners.
After two years of non-stop fundraising, "it was a really tough to raise money" in the first quarter, said Sasha Jensen, founder and CEO of Jensen Partners, in an interview.
Marketing professionals told Jensen Partners executives that they have to "dial twice as hard for dollars." What this means is that distribution and capital formation professionals have to look outside the U.S. for new capital, Ms. Jensen said.
However, Ms. Jensen said she does not think that alternative investment firms will slow down hiring of marketing executives until the third or fourth quarter.
"I've seen many colleagues who used to focus on the U.S., jumping on planes to Doha (Qatar)," Ms. Jensen said.
Many marketers are seeking capital from newer types of investors, including multifamily offices and sovereign wealth funds, she said.
Private equity had the most new hires with 258 in the first quarter, followed by multiasset class marketing executives with 198 and credit with 151.
Of the approximately 1,000 marketing professionals hired in the first quarter, 79% were Caucasian and 56% were male.
