• New Asia Pacific and Middle East Private Capital Investment Professional Compensation Report from Heidrick & Struggles finds 73% of professionals expect overall market opportunity to improve over the next 18 months – up from 60% year-on-year
  • Hong Kong and Singapore remain critical talent hubs for APAC, with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi emerging as important hubs for the Middle East
  • Seventy-eight percent of the respondents expect base compensation to continue rising over the next 18 months

Dubai, UAE. – Heidrick & Struggles, a premier provider of global executive search and leadership advisory solutions, today released its 2025 Asia Pacific and Middle East Private Capital Investment Professional Compensation Survey. Conducted in the second half of 2025, the survey provides insights into compensation trends, market sentiment, and senior hiring patterns across APAC and the Middle East over the past three years.

APAC and the Middle East as bright spots for private capital

The survey points to strengthened optimism in APAC and the Middle East private capital markets, driven by economic resilience, improving deal pipelines, and renewed interest from global limited partners. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) expect market opportunities over the next 18 months to improve compared with the past 18 months, up from 60% in the previous year.

This positive sentiment reflects broader regional dynamics. APAC is expected to deliver GDP growth in 2026 that is significantly higher than that of the US and Europe, reinforcing the region’s position as a core destination for global capital deployment. Similarly, activity in the Middle East has surged, with global managers, in particular, tapping into the growth potential of the market. Across both regions, established global platforms are investing in APAC and the Middle East funds, with deal activity rebounding across private equity, real assets, and credit strategies.

As market momentum returns, competition for experienced senior talent has intensified, particularly among established platforms with active deployment pipelines. In the Middle East, amid strong fundraising and investment activity, global funds are increasingly placing senior leaders in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, broadening the region’s leadership footprint beyond its traditional hub in Dubai. Hong Kong has seen renewed senior-level engagement as regional mandates expand, while Singapore continues to serve as a critical base for firms focused on Southeast Asia, offering proximity to growth markets and acting as a centre for regional leadership and fundraising.

"Hong Kong and Singapore continue to serve as key headquarters for APAC private capital, with executives leading deals across the region rather than just their home markets," said Guillaume Lévi, Partner in Heidrick & Struggles Hong Kong office and lead for the Private Capital Practice and investment management sector in Asia Pacific. "The concentration of senior talent in these hubs underscores their strategic importance for regional leadership, investment decision-making, and capital deployment."

Senior pay rises as competition for experienced talent intensifies

The survey shows an upward trend in compensation across the APAC and the Middle East private capital sector in 2025, reflecting improving fund performance and sustained competition for senior talent. Sixty-eight percent of respondents reported increases in cash base pay, while 66% received higher cash bonuses compared with 2024. Looking ahead, nearly four in five (78%) of respondents expect base compensation to continue rising over the next 18 months, reinforcing confidence in the durability of the recovery.

Total cash compensation continues to scale with seniority across APAC and the Middle East, with the strongest gains concentrated at the top of organisations. In 2025, managing partners earned the highest average total cash compensation at USD 750,000, up from USD 624,000 in 2024, underscoring firms’ willingness to pay a premium for proven leadership as activity levels recover.

Hong Kong and Singapore remained standout markets for senior compensation. Managing partners in these two hubs reported average total cash compensation of USD 891,000 in 2025, an approximate 14% increase year-on-year. The uplift was driven primarily by stronger cash bonus payouts, highlighting a renewed emphasis on performance-linked rewards rather than fixed pay alone.

Beyond annual cash compensation, long-term wealth creation continued to define senior pay structures. Carry allocations across all funds in Hong Kong and Singapore average USD 5.487 million, reinforcing the central role of long-term incentives in aligning leadership with sustained fund performance.

"The upward trend in compensation reflects not only strong fund performance across APAC and the Middle East but also intensified competition for senior talent," said Shadi El Farr, Regional Managing Partner of the Financial Services Practice for Asia Pacific and the Middle East at Heidrick & Struggles. "As capital deployment continues to scale, firms are increasingly recognising that attracting and retaining executives with proven execution credibility and deep regional relationships is critical to sustaining growth and delivering consistent returns."

View the complete survey findings here: Link

About this report

The 2025 Asia Pacific and Middle East Private Capital Investment Professional Compensation Survey is based on self-reported, anonymous online responses from 169 private capital investment professionals. Respondents provided compensation data for 2023, 2024, and 2025, and their expectations for changes in market sentiment and compensation in 2026.

About Heidrick & Struggles

Heidrick & Struggles is the world's foremost advisor on executive leadership, driving superior client performance through premier human capital leadership advisory services. For more than 70 years, we have delivered value for our clients by leveraging unrivalled expertise to help organisations discover and enable outstanding leaders and teams. Learn more at www.heidrick.com.