London Funds Lateral Market 2026: Top 10 Hirers Take 56.7%

The London investment funds lateral market is bought by a short list of firms. Sartori & Partners data show 90 funds and investment management lawyers joining a new firm in London in the 12 months to October 2026, and the top 10 hirers took 56.7% of those moves. For funds across the market the same share is 34.0%; for all London practices it is 22.8%. A firm planning a London funds hire competes with a few repeat buyers, not a broad field. Associates carry most of the volume, and the count of moves has stopped growing in London while the practice as a whole grew.

Concentration is what sets this market apart. In the Sartori & Partners lateral database, the top 10 hirers of London funds lawyers took 56.7% of individual hires in the last 12 months. That is 22.7 points above funds across the market, at 34.0%, and 33.9 points above London as a whole, at 22.8%. The top 10 share in London funds is 2.5 times the figure for the city.

The gap is not a one-year reading. Across 36 months the top 10 took 46.6% of London funds moves, against 31.1% for the practice and 21.4% for London. The last 12 months were more concentrated than that longer average, and well above both comparisons in either window.

Kirkland & Ellis heads the ranking in the 6-10 band of hires, with Proskauer Rose and Macfarlanes in the same band. The other seven names sit in the 3-5 band. The ranks and the top 10 share rest on the same count of individual hires, so the bands and the share describe one group of buyers. For a firm outside this list, a London funds search usually means bidding against one of these ten buyers.

The buyer pool is narrow as well as concentrated. Just 38 firms hired at least one London funds lateral in 12 months. Funds across the market drew on 159 hiring firms and London as a whole on 180, both much larger markets, yet in neither does the top 10 come close to the London funds share. Over 36 months the field widens to 66 hiring firms, against 251 for funds and 229 for London, so even the long view leaves London funds with a short list of regular buyers.

The names at the head of the 36-month list overlap with the 12-month ranking. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett leads over three years in the 21-40 band, followed by Proskauer Rose, Kirkland & Ellis and Macfarlanes, all in the 11-20 band. The same buyers return year after year, so a firm entering the London funds market should plan for repeat competition rather than a one-off rival.

Firm size is a smaller part of the story. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 75.6% of London funds moves to firms of known size, level with funds across the market at 75.8% and above London at 68.5%. Firms of 400-999 lawyers took 23.3%, close to the London figure of 24.2%. What stands out is the handful of repeat buyers, not the size class. A candidate in London funds is within reach of the same small group, so a firm should expect competing offers.

Level mix is the second break from the practice. Associates were 62.2% of London funds lateral moves in 12 months, against 51.7% for funds across the market and 60.4% for London. Partners were 28.9%, under the practice at 36.7% and near London at 29.3%. On level, London funds looks more like London than like the practice as a whole: weighted to associates, lighter on partners.

Sartori & Partners figures show the tilt over a longer window too. Over 36 months associates were 61.6% of London funds moves, against 54.6% for the practice and 62.3% for London. Few of these moves are step-ups: 10.0% of London funds laterals joined at a higher title, against 11.4% in funds and 11.5% in London. The deep pool is associates moving across at the same title, which is where a firm building a funds bench in London will find numbers.

Volume is where London funds parts from its practice. London funds hiring held flat (+0.0%) in the settled 12 months to September 2026, with 96 moves against 96. Funds hiring across the market rose 23.7%, with 627 moves against 507. London hiring as a whole held flat (-2.5%), with 1,353 moves against 1,387. The practice's growth did not show up in London.

The calendar count peaked at 110 in 2025, but the settled windows put the last two 12-month periods level. Partner hiring is the same: London funds partner hiring held flat (+0.0%), with 27 moves against 27, while funds partner hiring across the market rose 29.7%. London still holds 15.2% of funds lateral moves across the market, and the practice's index in London is 165, against a market baseline of one hundred. Flat volume with the same buyers means competition for each London candidate does not ease.

Expect to meet the same rivals. With 56.7% of London funds laterals going to the top 10 hirers and only 38 firms hiring at all, a candidate a firm approaches may well be speaking to one of the names above. Make the business case for the move before the first call, and plan the timetable around a counter-offer. Do not read the practice's growth as London growth: London funds hiring held flat (+0.0%), while funds hiring across the market rose 23.7%.

Recruit where the volume is. Associates are 62.2% of moves, so depth is found at associate level; a partner search is a narrower hunt among 26 partner moves in 12 months. Look in London first: only 8.2% of London funds laterals changed city, against 20.4% for funds across the market and 15.2% for London, so relocation adds little to the pool.