Investment Management

Investment management offers opportunities in many different financial sectors and careers, and job prospects are expected to be good overall in the next decade. Employment for securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents is expected to grow by 3 percent through 2034, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This is as fast as the average for all careers. Opportunities for financial and investment analysts, another popular job in the industry, are expected to be strong—growing by 6 percent (or faster than the average) through 2034. Employment for financial and investment analysts who work for firms that manage funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles is expected to grow by 12.8 percent from 2024 to 2034. The DOL reports that "emerging markets throughout the world are providing new investment opportunities, which require expertise in geographic regions where those markets are located. Financial analysts also will be needed to assess growing volumes of data. Their analysis will help businesses manage their finances, identify investment trends, reduce risk, and deliver new products or services to clients.” Another contributing factor to continued expansion in this industry is that the aging U.S. population is helping in the growth of pension funds and other collective investment vehicles, which will in turn increase in value as these individuals near retirement.

Employment prospects will be best for college graduates with a minimum of a four-year degree from a nationally recognized university or college, according to the DOL. Investment firms look for candidates with a background in accounting, finance, economics, or a related discipline. For positions as securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents, the DOL says that “certification and a graduate degree, such as a chartered financial analyst certification and a master’s degree in business administration, can improve an applicant’s prospects.” In addition, the increasing use of advanced AI by investment management firms is increasing demand for job applicants who have degrees and/or training in artificial intelligence or related fields. Successfully completing an internship program can be very helpful for those looking to break in and land their first job with an investment firm.

Projected employment growth across the securities industry doesn’t make it any easier for job applicants to land a position with an investment firm. Applicants can face strong competition for most jobs as investment firms continue trimming overhead and cutting salaried positions. Jobs in highly compensated positions, such as portfolio management, will be more difficult to enter than lower salaried positions in compliance reporting, product management, client servicing, and marketing.

When looking for a job, it’s always a good strategy to focus on areas where you can be the most help. The good news is that fund firms are eager to hire talent in key areas like trade execution, client servicing, quantitative analysis, artificial intelligence, information security, investor relations, and product management.

Some of the best opportunities are in the less glamorous areas like back office support, marketing, product management, and client servicing. The Dodd-Frank Act requires hedge funds with assets above $150 million to register as investment advisers, maintain records of managed assets, and have their records available to SEC auditors. Hedge funds and private investment firms are also staffing up to perform in-house compliance reviews, mock audits, and update their compliance manuals. All that paperwork requires experienced talent who know their way around compliance reporting.

The recent explosive growth in quantitative finance has led mathematicians and other students of all levels to see whether, and how, they can apply an advanced degree in mathematics to a career in investment management. “The rising demand for quants can be attributed to a plethora of factors,” according to Selby Jennings, a financial sciences recruiting firm that is a division of Phaidon International. “Primarily, it’s the pervasive adoption of data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence across sectors that drives this need. Simultaneously, financial engineering’s increasing complexity, coupled with the advent of high-frequency trading and blockchain and cryptocurrency innovations, has elevated the role of quants to the frontlines of financial strategy.” As a result, there’s growing demand for students with highly quantitative backgrounds to support investment decisions and manage risk as well as take part in portfolio selection and management.

Another growth opportunity is marketing and product development. Private equity, hedge funds, and venture capital firms are reportedly staffing up in this area, hiring product specialists to provide technical support for clients and help out in product development. In 2012, the SEC relaxed its long-standing ban on hedge fund advertising, allowing hedge funds for the first time to actively promote their offerings to qualified investors. Venture capital firms have also been augmenting marketing efforts by hiring additional staffers to handle marketing, branding, and public relations. Other venture capital firms are outsourcing these duties to public relations firms.

Cybersecurity remains a key issue in the investment management industry. Ongoing security issues include ransomware, viruses, spyware, malware, denial-of-service attacks, and cloud misconfiguration (which may allow unplanned public access and dramatically increase the chance of a security breach), as well as emerging technology risks related to artificial intelligence. As a result, expect demand for cybersecurity professionals to be strong. Employment of information security analysts is expected to grow by 29 percent from 2024 to 2034, according to the DOL. The computer security association ISC2 estimates that there is a shortage of 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals worldwide.

The 2008–2009 financial crisis caused many hedge funds to liquidate their assets, and return-on-investment generated by surviving companies declined significantly. The sector bounced back—at least in terms of the amount of funds being managed. As of Q3 2025, hedge funds worldwide managed roughly $6 trillion in assets, according to BarclayHedge. This was an increase from $4.01 trillion at the end of 2021 and only $1.5 trillion in managed assets in 2006. The Financial Times reports that investors are being cautious about where they invest their money, sticking with big fund firms that promise more stability. The number of new hedge funds being launched in the next five years is expected to grow. In 2024, there were 479 launches, which was the highest annual total since 2021, according to the HFR Market Microstructure Report. “Hedge fund launches reflect record capital levels, strong performance, and rising investor demand,” said Kenneth J Heinz, President of Hedge Fund Research. “Allocators are deploying at levels not seen since 2007, supporting both established managers and new launches, which often deliver strong early performance.”

One noteworthy trend affecting the hedge fund industry is the increasing investing in and trading of cryptocurrency, digital cash that is used as a substitute or complement to traditional currency. Cryptocurrency payments are not processed through a central banking system or trusted third party, but are sent from payer to payee. In 2025, total assets under management of crypto hedge funds surveyed by PwC for its Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report 2025 were about $4 billion. Traditional hedge funds (THFs) are also investing in cryptocurrencies. In 2025, 55 percent of THFs were investing in digital assets, according to the Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report, 2025 from PwC and the AIMA. This was an increase of 17 percent from 2022. “The evolving U.S. policy and regulatory landscape is fuelling stronger institutional investor interest in digital asset allocations,” according to the report. “Almost half of the investors surveyed confirm that the more favourable U.S. regulatory environment is prompting them to increase allocations.” But THFs are being cautious with digital investments. More than half of traditional hedge funds who were investing in digital assets committed less than 2 percent of their funds to digital assets. In 2025, HFR announced an expansion of its cryptocurrency hedge fund classification system, introducing 11 specialized sub-strategies in response to the growing popularity and complexity of the cryptocurrency sector.

Mutual funds are a popular form of investment for the American public. However, it will be hard to break in as a fund manager. If you want to work in a firm that sells mutual funds or other investment products directly to the public, there’s a good chance you will start your career in customer service call center, answering questions from individual investors.

At year-end in 2023, private equity firms worldwide managed $5.8 trillion in assets, according to Preqin's 2025 Global Report: Private Equity, up from $3.8 trillion in 2014 and $716 billion in December 2000. Private equity fund holdings are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 12.8 percent from 2023 to 2029—reaching $12 trillion in value by December 2029. Preqin predicts that private equity will remain the largest private capital asset class through 2029. The share of private equity as part of public and private equity markets is "expected to increase over time, owing to a combination of factors, including private companies staying private for longer, take-privates, lackluster IPO markets, and an overall decline in the number of listed companies over time. Fundraising is expected to remain challenging, but growth is forecast to pick up from 2027, supported by increasing interest from private wealth investors who currently have a relatively low exposure to private equity. However, performance over the forecast period is expected to be softer than it has been, with global private equity projected to have a lower internal rate of return compared with 2017–2023, falling to 13.4 percent from 15.5 percent.” Opportunities should be best at large, well-known investment houses because investors are shying away from perceived risky investments with smaller firms.

Venture capital firms will continue to be successful in the future. Although risky, they provide a good return for the patient investor. Because of their focus on innovative companies, they typically outperform investment firms in other sectors during good or bad times. There were 3,111 VC firms in existence at the end of 2024, according to the National Venture Capital Association, up from 1,652 in 2012. These firms managed 7,969 venture funds (up from 2,499 in 2015) and had more than $1.2 trillion in U.S. venture capital assets under management (a significant increase from the $370.4 billion in AUM in 2015).

Salaries in the investment management industry are significantly higher than in most industries. Portfolio managers, for example, earn salaries that range from $150,000 to more than $1 million. Partners in venture capital firms can earn tens of millions of dollars when a start-up goes public. Median annual earnings of financial and investment analysts who were employed in the securities, commodities, and other financial investment sectors were $124,050 in May 2024, according to the DOL. Financial and investment analysts who worked in all sectors earned salaries that ranged from $62,410 to $180,550 or more. GlassDoor.com reports that hedge fund managers earned total compensation that ranged from $253,000 to $433,000 in 2025. According to Institutional Investor, the top 25 hedge fund managers earned an average of $1.2 billion in 2024. Some hedge fund managers earn $4 billion a year. Global markets sales, trading, and research professionals earned average base salaries of $408,500 in 2024, according to the US Global Markets Compensation Survey, from Heidrick & Struggles (a provider of executive search, corporate culture, and leadership consulting services). Salaries are highest at large companies with a proven track record of investing success.

Growth in the variety of financial products, and the complexity of products being offered, will stimulate demand for professionals who can explain them in layman’s terms to the investing public. As a result, job opportunities should grow for investor relations specialists, marketing workers, and public relations specialists.

Employment opportunities are also on the rise for investment pros who have a professional certification or industry license. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is the primary licensing organization, although most of its licenses require sponsorship by an employer. Those who have earned the certified financial analyst credential typically have better job opportunities and receive higher salaries than those who do not.

Client servicing in the years ahead will take on another important function: investor education. A 2022 survey by The Motley Fool found that the average American correctly answered only 48 percent of questions in its 11-question quiz on investing terms and basic concepts. Fewer than 1 percent answered all of the questions correctly. As a result, many people will need guidance on the basics of investing to achieve their investment objectives. Cerulli Associates, a financial consulting firm, says asset managers will be hiring both specialists and generalists to help clients make more informed better choices in selecting investments and investment advisers.

The new world of asset management offers some major opportunities for the firms nimble enough to differentiate themselves and stand out from the crowd. How quickly and effectively they recognize the opportunities in a more competitive global market will help separate the winners from the laggards in the coming years.