Upward trend in cash compensation attributed to 'robust' hiring
More than three in five organisations in the Asia-Pacific region reported an increase in base pay last year, according to a new report from Heidrick and Struggles.
The report, which gathered data from 140 private capital investment professionals, found that 63% of organisations hiked their base pay in 2024 from the year prior.
"Hiring has been robust, and our survey shows an upward trend in cash compensation," the report read.
Only two per cent reported a decrease in base salary, while 35% did not log any changes.
The report also found that bonuses went up for half of APAC businesses in 2024, with a decrease reported in 15% of the businesses.
By position, partners and managing directors were the only titles that saw a decline in total cash compensation from 2022 to 2024.
This perhaps suggests a "combined effect of flat compensation for newly promoted partners and managing directors and bonus pressure for existing ones," the report noted.
"The increase at global funds, which invest around the world and not just in Asia Pacific, was most pronounced at the managing partner level," the report read.
"Total reported cash compensation is higher at global funds at all levels of seniority, including partners and managing directors."
The upward trend in compensation is expected to continue this year, according to the report.
It found that 36% of organisations are planning to increase their base compensation by 10% to 20% in the next 18 months. Another 12% are planning an increase of more than 20%.
The trend comes amid improving market sentiments across the APAC region.
Australia reported the most noticeable outlook shift on market sentiment, with 71% reporting that it is somewhat or much better compared to 18 months ago. For other markets:
