Asset Management Recruitment and Investment Executive Search
Executive Search for Investment Teams, Asset Managers and Family Offices
The international agency Very Important Personnel recruits senior professionals for European and global asset management firms, institutional investment portfolios, funds, private banking teams, Family Offices, holding companies, private investment structures, millionaires, billionaires and UHNW asset owners.
We help clients appoint the professionals who determine the quality of the investment process: Chief Investment Officers, Investment Directors, Portfolio Managers, Investment Managers, analysts, risk specialists and experts in public and private markets, fixed income, private equity, venture capital, private credit, prime real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds, alternative investments, investment operations, consolidated reporting and external-manager oversight.
In asset management, an unsuitable appointment can be exceptionally costly. The wrong candidate may deliver poor performance while creating operational risk, conflicts of interest, key-person dependency, inaccurate liquidity assessments, inadequate due diligence, weak reporting or decisions that fail to protect the client’s capital.
We therefore assess more than experience, education and market knowledge. Investment roles require discipline, independent thinking, strong ethics, responsible risk management, analytical rigour, the ability to navigate uncertainty, the capacity to explain decisions to an owner or investment committee and a willingness to operate within an approved Investment Policy Statement.
Our objective is not merely to find a candidate with experience at a recognisable bank or investment house. We identify professionals capable of strengthening the client’s investment framework and working effectively with institutional data from Bloomberg Terminal, FactSet, Moody’s and PitchBook.
Who We Work With
We recruit investment professionals for asset management companies, investment funds, banks, private banking divisions, Single Family Offices, Multi Family Offices, holding companies, entrepreneurs, wealth owners and private investment offices in the United Kingdom, continental Europe and major global financial centres.
For asset management companies, key priorities include investment performance, process discipline, risk management, analytical quality, institutional client engagement and compliance with relevant FCA, CSSF, FINMA and European regulatory requirements.
For private equity, venture capital, private credit, infrastructure, prime real estate and alternative-investment firms, essential capabilities include deal assessment, due diligence, financial modelling, investment memorandum preparation, portfolio-company oversight and an expert understanding of illiquid assets.
For banks and private banking teams, we identify professionals who can enhance the investment proposition without replacing trusted advice with product sales. Candidates must understand the client, risk profile, portfolio architecture, compliance obligations and limits of the institution’s mandate.
For Family Offices, billionaires, millionaires and UHNW asset owners, independence, confidentiality and external-manager oversight are especially important. Candidates must understand consolidated portfolios, question banks and funds effectively, evaluate fees, liquidity, concentration and currency exposure, and ensure that decisions support the family’s multigenerational objectives.
Key Investment and Asset Management Roles
We recruit for both leadership and specialist positions across institutional investment functions and private wealth structures.
Senior Investment Roles
At leadership level, mandates may include Chief Investment Officer, Investment Director, Head of Asset Management, Head of Portfolio Management, Managing Director, Chief Investment Strategist, Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Investments.
These professionals develop investment policy, participate in investment committees, determine strategic asset allocation, lead teams, supervise external managers, assess risk-adjusted returns, build reporting frameworks and help owners or institutions make decisions within a long-term strategy.
Public Markets
For public markets, we recruit Portfolio Managers, Fund Managers, Investment Managers, equity analysts, fixed-income analysts, macro analysts, quantitative analysts, traders, portfolio strategists and structured-product specialists.
The ability to view a portfolio as an integrated system rather than a collection of individual securities is critical. Candidates must assess correlations, liquidity, concentration, currency exposure, duration, credit quality, volatility, stress scenarios, drawdowns and each instrument’s role within the complete wealth architecture.
Private Markets and Alternative Investments
For private markets and alternative investments, we recruit specialists in private equity, venture capital, private credit, prime real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds, fund selection, co-investments and exclusive club deals.
These positions require rigorous investment due diligence, financial modelling, management assessment, transaction-structure analysis, knowledge of investor rights, distribution waterfalls, carried interest, fees, exit scenarios, liquidity constraints and portfolio monitoring. Candidates must distinguish an institutional-quality opportunity from a sophisticated marketing proposition.
Investment Research and Analytics
Within investment research and analytics, we recruit investment analysts, research analysts, market analysts, data analysts, risk analysts, ESG analysts and portfolio-monitoring specialists.
A strong analyst does more than collect information from Bloomberg, S&P Capital IQ, Preqin or Morningstar Direct. They formulate hypotheses, verify data, understand model limitations, identify material risks, compare alternatives and communicate conclusions clearly to the CIO, wealth owner, client or investment committee.
Risk, Compliance and Investment Operations
Within risk, compliance and investment operations, we recruit investment risk managers, operational risk managers, compliance professionals, KYC/AML specialists, fund operations managers, performance and reporting specialists, portfolio controllers and investment-control professionals.
These roles are particularly important where transactions, documentation, capital calls, net asset value, management fees, investment limits, regulatory requirements, custodian checks, manager reports and operational risks require close supervision.
Client Coverage and Investor Relations
For client coverage and investor relations, we recruit Client Portfolio Managers, Investment Advisers, Investment Consultants, Product Specialists, Relationship Managers and Investor Relations professionals.
A strong professional in this field does more than present products. They understand the client’s objectives, risk profile, constraints and portfolio structure and can explain the investment rationale without pressure, oversimplification or unrealistic promises.
Asset Management for Family Offices and UHNW Asset Owners
For an entrepreneurial family, millionaire, billionaire or owner of substantial wealth, the investment function rarely begins with the question: “Which asset should we buy?”
The first step is to understand the decision-making framework: who develops strategy, reviews investment ideas, supervises external managers, sees the consolidated portfolio, assesses risk, prepares investment-committee materials and has authority to reject an unsuitable transaction.
We recruit professionals who can operate within an established Family Office or strengthen a specific area of its investment function.
This may include a CIO responsible for the complete investment architecture, an Investment Director for a particular strategy, an analyst conducting transaction due diligence, a fund-selection specialist, Portfolio Controller, Risk Manager, consolidated-reporting specialist or independent expert supporting the investment committee.
These searches are particularly relevant when a family already works with institutions such as Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, BNP Paribas Wealth Management, Julius Baer or Pictet but lacks its own professional oversight framework for comparing proposals, monitoring providers and protecting family capital from product-driven incentives.
Building or Strengthening an Investment Team
If a client has no internal investment team, we can help define and build one from the ground up.
We determine which functions are required first: CIO, Investment Manager, Analyst, Portfolio Manager, Risk Manager, Portfolio Controller, Reporting Specialist, Investment Operations Specialist, Fund Selection Specialist, Compliance Specialist or Investment Committee Coordinator.
If a team is already in place, we identify where further expertise is required: strategy, analytics, risk oversight, private markets, public markets, reporting, operational infrastructure, principal communication or external-manager supervision.
For substantial private wealth, appointing one highly capable professional is not enough. It is equally important to avoid key-person dependency, separate investment initiation from control, give reporting appropriate prominence and prevent the function from being shaped exclusively by one manager’s preferences.
We therefore consider not only the candidate’s profile but also the role’s position within the broader asset management and Family Office framework.
How We Assess Investment Candidates
We assess candidates beyond job titles, prestigious employers and stated assets under management.
We seek to understand how each candidate thinks as an investor: how they develop an investment thesis, which data they use, how they assess risk, conduct due diligence, respond to mistakes, make decisions under uncertainty and defend their position before a principal, client or investment committee.
We examine asset-class specialisation, actual contribution to performance, investment horizon, experience across market cycles, approach to drawdowns, financial-modelling ability, understanding of liquidity, participation in investment committees, external-manager selection, reporting skills and ability to operate within a client’s constraints.
Particular attention is paid to professional ethics and independence of thought.
An investment candidate may be influenced by a previous product environment, provider relationships, a bank-led perspective, brokerage culture, exclusive club deals or a narrow market view. Clients need to know whether the professional can evaluate proposals critically, identify conflicts of interest, reject unsuitable ideas and follow the approved investment policy rather than personal preferences.
For leadership roles, additional priorities include leadership ability, market reputation, team development, investment-committee management, decision-making governance, oversight of external managers and communication with wealth owners without unnecessary complexity or oversimplifying risk.
Track Record and Quality of Performance
In asset management, a candidate’s headline return has limited meaning without understanding the risk taken to achieve it.
We analyse the stated track record in the context of the candidate’s precise role, market period, asset class, authority, team, strategy, benchmark, drawdowns, volatility, liquidity, concentration, currency exposure and mandate constraints.
It is particularly important to distinguish the candidate’s personal contribution from performance generated by a wider team, institutional platform, market beta or favourable investment cycle.
A strong investment professional can discuss both successes and mistakes: which decisions failed, what lessons were learned, how their discipline developed and which risks they now monitor more closely.
For an asset owner or investment committee, this transparency is often more valuable than a flawless presentation or a profile featured in Forbes.
Asset Management and Wealth Management: Why the Roles Should Not Be Confused
Asset Management is responsible for the investment component of wealth: investment policy, strategic asset allocation, instrument selection, portfolio management, risk-adjusted return analysis, due diligence, market monitoring, manager oversight and strategy implementation.
Wealth Management has a broader scope. In addition to investments, it includes private-banking infrastructure, legal and tax coordination, succession planning, family governance, insurance solutions, real estate, consolidated reporting, Family Office infrastructure and the long-term architecture of wealth.
This distinction is critical in executive search.
A strong Portfolio Manager does not automatically become an effective Family Office professional. A successful Private Banker may not be suited to a CIO mandate. A capable Private Equity Analyst may not be the right trusted investment adviser for a multigenerational family.
We help define precisely which appointment the client requires: Investment Specialist, Portfolio Manager, Controller, Analyst, External Manager Coordinator, Head of Investment Office or a broader Wealth Management professional.
Accurate role definition reduces the risk of an expensive but unsuitable appointment.
European and International Recruitment
We recruit investment professionals across the United Kingdom, continental Europe and key international financial centres, using the most relevant professional networks and direct-search channels for each mandate.
For clients with internationally structured wealth, candidates must understand financial markets and the infrastructure through which assets are held: private banks, global custodians, brokerage platforms, funds, holding structures, tax considerations, currency risks, regulatory requirements and cross-border coordination.
Depending on the mandate, we identify candidates with experience in London, Edinburgh, Paris, Frankfurt, Geneva, Zurich, Luxembourg, Monaco, Milan, Madrid, Amsterdam, Dublin, Singapore, Hong Kong and New York.
International recruitment is not geography for appearance’s sake. It provides access to expertise aligned with the client’s portfolio, jurisdictions, institutional relationships and private wealth structure.
Our Recruitment Process
The process begins with a confidential briefing.
We discuss the client’s context, investment strategy, volume and structure of assets, asset classes, investment geography, existing team, decision-making process, investment committee, authority of the future candidate and requirements relating to experience, languages, education, certifications, soft skills, reputation and communication style.
We then define the candidate profile and prepare a targeted market map. This is followed by confidential direct search, initial interviews, motivation analysis, assessment of relevant experience and investment thinking, and presentation of a shortlist.
At subsequent stages, we support interviews, investment case studies, compensation discussions, bonus arrangements, confidentiality terms, notice periods, potential restrictions from previous employment and the candidate’s start date.
Where required, we also help structure onboarding: areas of responsibility, interaction with the principal or committee, access to information, reporting requirements, initial priorities, performance criteria and communication protocols with external providers.
Why Clients Choose Very Important Personnel
Clients choose Very Important Personnel when they require precise and discreet executive search rather than conventional recruitment.
We specialise in private wealth, institutional investment teams, Family Offices, private banking, asset management and positions involving capital, trust and confidential information.
We understand that an investment candidate must be assessed not only as a market professional but also as someone who will gain access to strategic decisions, confidential financial data, wealth owners and external providers.
Our connection with Catamaran Family Office strengthens this expertise through practical insight into how an investment function operates within a real private wealth framework: how an Investment Policy Statement is developed, how an investment committee operates, how managers are assessed, how reporting is prepared, where conflicts of interest arise and which roles a family or investment structure genuinely requires.
This enables us to define mandates more accurately, ask candidates the right questions and identify risks that may not be visible in a conventional recruitment process.
Confidential Search for Investment Professionals
If you need to build or strengthen an investment team or recruit a CIO, Investment Director, Portfolio Manager, Investment Analyst, Risk Manager or specialist in private markets, fixed income, prime real estate, investment operations, consolidated reporting or external-manager oversight, we will define the precise profile and conduct a confidential international search.
Very Important Personnel recruits investment professionals who can be trusted not only with responsibilities, but also with the quality of decisions affecting significant private and institutional capital.