Hedge funds pay more for emerging markets pros

Strong demand for emerging markets specialists to work in hedge funds is leading to gargantuan pay packages, says one search consultant.

Chris Manfield, a funds specialist at search firm Whitney Group, says emerging markets specialists working in hedge funds can now command packages many times higher than those awarded to less focused equities or fixed income hires.

"Emerging market managers have seen a huge hike in their pay this year," says Manfield. "Some of the best are now earning anything from $2m to $4m This is several multiples what a really good equities person can expect."

Manfield says hedge funds are digging deep to attract emerging market specialists from asset management firms, which are themselves bulking up in this area. There's a particular shortage of Latin American expertise, he says: "When money was pulled out of Latin America in the late 1990s, a lot of specialists in the region re-sprayed themselves to do other things."

Data from Hennessee, a research company, suggests Latin-American oriented hedge funds achieved an average return of more than 22% in the first two months of this year. Hedge funds such as London-based Harmonic Capital have expanded their investment in emerging market currencies in the past six months.