Commercial hiring in private markets has traditionally followed a familiar pattern. When a business needs to grow its Sales team, the search often begins with competitors.
The logic is straightforward. Candidates already understand the market, know the buyers and require less time to become productive. It's an approach that still has value, but it is becoming less reliable as the private markets ecosystem changes.
Fund administration and fintech firms selling into private markets are no longer operating in clearly separated markets. Products increasingly overlap, commercial conversations cover similar operational challenges, and both sectors now compete for the same senior buyers. The result is a hiring market where previous employer matters less than commercial capability.
Buyer experience has become more valuable than product experience
The strongest commercial candidates often share something more important than a matching job title. They understand how Private Markets Investors, GPs and Fund Managers buy.
Whether the conversation starts with fund accounting, portfolio data, workflow technology or outsourced administration, buyers are typically trying to solve similar business problems. They want greater operational efficiency, stronger governance, better access to information and sustainable growth.
Commercial professionals who understand those priorities can often transition between different products more successfully than many hiring managers expect.
The market has expanded beyond direct competitors
A few years ago, a fund administrator recruiting a Business Development Director would probably have looked almost exclusively at other administrators. Today, that search is much wider.
Technology providers selling into private markets have invested heavily in operational services, while administrators have continued investing in technology. As those offerings become more closely aligned, the commercial talent pools inevitably follow.
That creates opportunities for employers willing to assess adjacent experience rather than identical experience. The candidate who has spent years selling enterprise technology into private markets may understand the buyer every bit as well as someone who has worked in fund administration.
Commercial capability transfers more easily than many assume
This does not mean every candidate can move seamlessly between sectors - sales environments still broadly differ. Fund administration often involves long buying cycles built on relationships and technical credibility. Enterprise technology sales typically require greater product demonstration, procurement management and implementation discussions.
The best commercial professionals, however, succeed because they understand customers rather than products. They build credibility with senior stakeholders, navigate complex organisations and translate technical detail into commercial value. Those capabilities remain highly transferable, even when the product changes.
Hiring strategies need to reflect the market, not historic categories
The competition for experienced commercial professionals is already intense. Restricting searches to direct competitors reduces an already limited talent pool while increasing competition for the same individuals.
A broader assessment asks different questions:
- Who has sold into the right buyers?
- Who understands the operating model?
- Who has managed comparable sales cycles?
- Who has demonstrated credibility in complex commercial environments?
As fund administration and fintech firms selling into private markets continue to converge, hiring strategies will increasingly need to reflect that reality.
The businesses that recognise transferable commercial expertise before their competitors will have access to a wider talent pool and a stronger chance of securing the people capable of supporting long-term growth.
If you’re reviewing your commercial hiring strategy across fund administration or fintech firms selling into private markets, get in touch with Elliott Snowball, Head of Fund, Corporate and Trust Services at Broadgate Search, for a confidential conversation about where transferable talent can strengthen your next hire.