ASC Advisors July 2025 Newsletter
ASC Advisors July 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to ASC Advisors’ monthly newsletter, where we provide thoughts around recent developments affecting the alternative investment management industry, as well as provide updates on our firm and team.
Hiring and Compensation Hit New Highs and Lows
While the battle for talent at multi-manager shops has been an area of focus for quite some time, with record-breaking compensation packages reported on seemingly every month, how alternative investment managers in other areas of the market are approaching recruiting and hiring has also shifted with the market.
With M&A activity at a two-decade low, private equity and investment banking hiring for post-grad talent has been more measured. On the flip side, independent investment banks have made expensive hires in the past two years, taking advantage of the downturn to pick up star bankers and try to position themselves for a recovery in dealmaking.
Hedge funds are not slowing down on the hiring front, with an increased need to foster top talent. The price tags have not only increased for senior-level investment talent, but also for firms looking to cultivate junior professionals through internships and entry level positions. Specifically, some interns at Citadel will earn as much as $63,000 for an 11-week program this summer, while D.E. Shaw interns are looking to receive upwards of $42,000 over the summer-long program. Point72 is offering a quant research internship in its natural language processing team that pays an annual base salary of $150,000 to $200,000 a year.
Another tool firms are using to attract talent is the use of promoted social media posts to reach potential recruits, including on LinkedIn and Instagram, often highlighting culture as a selling point. These campaigns, which are often paid, can be tailored to reflect a firm's value proposition for analysts and other potential employees.
Changes at the SEC
On June 13, the SEC announced that Brian Daly, a seasoned investment management lawyer with decades of experience advising private equity, hedge funds, and venture capital firms, will become Director of the SEC's Division of Investment Management starting July 8. Prior to joining the SEC, Daly served as a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Schulte Roth & Zabel, in addition to holding in‑house compliance roles at major firms like Millennium Partners and Carlyle's liquid markets division.
The appointment signals a likely shift toward a more practical, market-informed regulatory approach. Daly's legal and in-house compliance expertise suggests that an SEC Division of Investment Management, under his leadership, will be more concerned with refining existing rules rather than imposing sweeping new mandates. Priority areas of focus are likely to include streamlining regulations for private funds, easing compliance burdens while maintaining investor protection, modernizing outdated rule frameworks that affect everything from Form PF disclosures to custody and valuation practices. Furthermore, Daly is expected to be more receptive to industry input during the public comment process and his prior work advising on crypto-related fund structures also hints at a more nuanced regulatory posture towards how digital assets are classified.
Strategically, Daly's appointment fits into SEC Chair Paul Atkins' broader agenda of recalibrating the agency's approach to rule making—away from perceived overreach and toward transparency, stakeholder engagement, and common-sense oversight. According to Atkins, Daly's familiarity with the investment management landscape will help the agency "embrace the public comment process" and promote "common‑sense regulation.” Industry bodies, such as the Managed Funds Association, have applauded the appointment, highlighting Daly's reputation as a thoughtful and skilled adviser who can help build resilient, transparent capital markets.
Elon’s Market Crash and Rebound
Headline and leadership risk has always been a consideration for investors and weighed on the valuation of certain stocks. Few, if any, companies have ever been so closely tied to their CEO in terms of valuation than Tesla, and the risk and reward of that association was seen in droves during June. Initially, the very public fallout between Elon Musk and Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the markets early in the month, wiping out $152 billion in Tesla's value in a single day and dragging down both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq due to Tesla's outsized role in the indexes. While the price recovered, spiking towards the end of the month around the Company's Robotaxi launch, further engagement between Trump and Musk saw the stock give up those gains again last week.
In an era of increased transparency, volatility and heightened algorithmic trading, the reactions to CEO comments and other market surprises can be violent, and this the incidents this month highlighted just how vulnerable companies – and even resulting markets - can be.
While Tesla and Musk are an extreme example, social media provides a voice for employees at investment management firms as well, and given the knowledge and insights they provide, how those platforms are used can heightened perceived reputations and build profiles/brands or potentially move markets, depending on notoriety.
How institutional investors view these social media comments in the long-run and how the stock/board reacts to Elon's leadership is yet to be seen, but the impact that social media can have when not properly managed is clear. For investment managers, understanding your audience and reach of your social media profile can be a valuable tool to reach target audiences, and we work closely with clients and managers on social media policies to ensure that key messages are delivered effectively and safely.
Tension in the Middle East and Markets
While markets are calmer following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran, the possibility for market volatility and disruption remains, especially if the current cease-fire falters. For now, the cautious optimism seems to be the guiding mentality for global markets while other key events, including the scheduled implementation of tariffs by the U.S. on August 1, garner significant attention.
Interestingly, despite the U.S.’s involvement in Iran in June, U.S. stocks weren’t affected by the conflict as much as might be anticipated. In fact, the past two weeks have seen record highs by major indices. As tensions continue to simmer, we expect market reporters to monitor closely and look for manager insights on how things may move depending on geopolitical and trade developments.
Media coverage from Reuters suggests that Middle East politics will no longer be the dominant force in oil markets they once were, and a recent FT News Briefing podcast episode suggest that investors seem to be shrugging off geopolitical tensions all together.
Firm News
Digital FutureFest - ASC Advisors attended CT Digital Forum's first annual crypto conference in Stamford, Connecticut. We coordinated for clients to both speak and attend and enjoyed expanding our presence in the crypto sector. We look forward to continued collaboration with the organizers.
Bloomberg Hedge Fund Forum - ASC Advisors once again attended the annual Hedge Fund Forum, where we had clients both speaking and attending. Always a standout event of the year!
