market update uk
DESCRIPTION
As part of our commitment to provide our clients with regular, up to date, industry specific market intelligence, we are delighted to present the first Selby Jennings Market Update for the UK.TRANSCRIPT
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Introduction 4
Commodities Sales & Trading 5
Compliance 6
Corporate Banking & Structured Finance 7
Economics & Strategy 8
Financial Services Sales & Marketing 9
Financial Technology 10
Fixed Income 11
Fund Management 12
Investment Banking 14
Quantitative Analytics 15
Quant Research & Trading 16
Risk Management 17
About Selby Jennings 18
C O N T E N T S
4
As part of our commitment to provide our clients with regular, up to date,
industry specific market intelligence, we are delighted to present the first
Selby Jennings Market Update for the UK.
We have chosen to keep this report anonymous, as we believe that
information regarding who is hiring, firing and moving is readily available ,but
the broader trends and factors influencing the City Recruitment Market
are not. We have created the report to reflect the micro-specialist nature
of our own business.
Should you want additional information or more detail related to a
particular vertical market, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
I would also welcome your feedback on this report and any suggestions
you may have for content or the format going forward.
Kind Regards,
Miles Stribbling - Head of UK Strategic Partnerships
0207 019 4188
I N T RO D U C T I O N
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C O M M O D I T I E S S A L E S & T R A D I N G
- Following poor market conditions for the past few years, we
are starting to see a real uplift in recruitment activity from some
of the Canadian and Chinese banks and Emerging Markets
Trading Houses.
- Increased regulation and the capital required to handle the
assets has led to considerable culls across the physical teams
within the major US and European banks.
- Mandarin language skills and any Chinese work experience is in
high demand in London and Asia, particularly when combined
with experience of hands on working within a commercial
environment and an active list of clients.
- Physical or Asset Backed Trading/ Sales experience is also in
demand.
- Some products in particular demand are BioMass, Renewables
and LNG.
6
C O M P L I A N C E
- With the onset of increased regulation within
Buy Side firms, there is a significant demand for
experienced and senior Compliance professionals.
- Banks are having to work harder to retain their
Compliance staff, who now have a number of
different career options available to them.
- Compliance now attracts individuals from other areas
of the industry than was typically the case. Candidates
now come from the Front Office, and Risk is seen
as a good entry point for newly-qualified ACA,
ACCA, CFA applicants.
- Roles focussing on AML or Counter Terrorism
Financing, which were not previously typically
associated with Banking. have become well-paid and
highly attractive to those looking for a challenge and
variety. Employers have to look further afield for
talent and there is a shift towards candidates with
backgrounds in Intelligence and Technology.
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C O R P O R AT E B A N K I N G & S T R U C T U R E D F I N A N C E
- The majority of recruitment activity is limited to Project and Structured Finance positions, notably within Shipping, Aviation,
Oil and Gas and Infrastructure.
- Increased liquidity of the market and a desire to work with more tangible assets is driving this activity, which in recent years
was the domain of the Japanese banks.
- Shipping Finance is experiencing a re-emergence of interest, led by a number of Scandinavian banks and the Singapore
market..
- January saw a pick-up in the appetite for DCM, tracking the increase in Fixed Income business. There is certainly a major
drive to attract DCM professionals to the Middle East where there are numerous opportunities in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and
Dubai.
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E C O N O M I C S A N D S T R AT E G Y
- The majority of companies are now looking for a combination
of experience within the influential Central Banks (typically with
existing credibility and strong network) as well as an
understanding of the econometrics behind the business.
- There has been a significant drop-off of client strategy roles,
whilst pure research roles are virtually non-existent.
- There has been an increase in the demand for Emerging Market
country specialists at Associate level, typically with language
skills.
- Buy Side Investment Strategy tends to be looking for candidates
with more cross-asset specialist experience or Global Markets
backgrounds.
9
F I N A N C I A L S E RV I C E S S A L E S & M A R K E T I N G
- Recruitment activity within Sales and Marketing remains
reasonably quiet as the market slowly get back to its feet.
- We have seen a demand for language skills, particularly Eastern
European, Russian and Chinese languages, combined with
more in-depth product knowledge, as it is proving harder for
candidates to switch between traditional and alternative asset
classes.
- The industry experienced a considerable cull of roles within
Client Services, which resulted in a number of teams moving
intact to employers outside of traditional Financial Services.
- At this stage, we anticipate bonuses being reasonably on-par
with expectations.
10
F I N A N C I A L T E C H N O L O G Y
- The demand for Python skills is as competitive as ever. Over recent years the banks have been the major players
competing for Python skills, however we are now seeing smaller Trading Houses and boutiques competing and using Python
as their language of choice.
- C# is another product that remains in demand. Traditionally this has been a contract driven market in London, however
we are seeing a big shift to permanent opportunities available.
- The need for hardware experts (FPGA/ VHDL) is becoming more prevalent as organisations look to develop their own
proprietary hardware to gain competitive advantage.
- With the growth in Algo/ Electronic trading in Asia, we are starting to experience a skills drain to the East. More candidates
are starting to consider relocating as an option.
- There is a continued trend in technologists moving away from Financial Services to join larger non-Financial Services
corporates (Google, Microsoft etc.) and Boutique Tech Start-ups. Skilled candidates have a diversity of opportunities that
they have not faced previously and banks are struggling to attract junior technologists when faced with these competitors.
11
F I X E D I N C O M E S A L E S & T R A D I N G
- Much of the demand we have seen remains in the Flow Space,
particularly Emerging Market Flow Sales and Trading. There are
pockets of activity in the Fixed Income Solution Space generally from
boutique or emerging names who are offering Structured
Funding Solutions to clients, whereas, many major players are unable
to do so due to increasing balance sheet/ regulatory constraints.
- January has seen a flurry of activity in the Flow FX Sales space at
senior level. A number of organisations have been looking for senior
producers providing solutions for the UK Mid Cap market.
- Following the recent LIBOR/ NDF rigging scandals (Singapore),
there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding bonus levels this year.
Whilst performance may have been better in 2013, it is not expected
to be fully reflected in bonuses.
- Following the large scale redundancies made over the past few years,
traditionally smaller players have been able to make some ‘bargain
hires’, recruiting highly experienced individuals who have been able
to start almost immediately, without buy-outs, non-competes or
inflated salaries etc. We believe that salaries will need to return back
to ‘normal’ to attract candidates away from an existing employer, as
the number of candidates out of work drops off.
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F U N D M A N AG E M E N T
ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS
- With a great number of the large players losing stability across their platforms, we are seeing considerable hiring activity
across Family Office,s Private Investors and Discretionary Wealth Houses. Almost all of these hires have been within Fixed
Income and/ or the Multi Asset Investing Space.
- There has also been an increase in replacement hires based on employees moving from the UK to continental Europe.
CREDIT
- Following a number of years of predominantly recruiting individuals at the Analyst to VP level, we are starting to see a real
interest in senior level candidates that can bring new ideas and innovation to their clients based on their previous
experience within this market. Senior professionals with over 15 years’ experience in Alternative Investment Strategies in
Credit are in high demand including professional with Illiquid, Debt and Direct Lending knowledge.
FIXED INCOME
- As firms continue to review and consolidate their Fixed Income portfolios, we are seeing very little activity within this
market. However, from recent market discussions, we do believe Fixed Income Research Teams of larger Asset Managers
will be actively hiring over the next quarter.
13
EQUITIES
- There are two quite distinct patterns within the Buy Side Equities recruitment market:
1. An increased interest in candidates with 1-3 years’ experience. This includes either :
- Candidates with an ACA, M&A background within the Sell Side, who can be nurtured into their role much like
a junior trainee; or
- Experienced Fund Managers, with an established and successful track record, with a view to set up and run
their own Discretionary Fund.
Hiring at the junior level commenced earlier than usual in 2014 and it is anticipated that resignation letters will be
in hand following payment of Sell Side bonuses. There is very lithe activity at the Senior Analyst level.
2. With commodity prices having dropped steeply over the past few years, there is a renewed interest in the Mining
sector from both public and Private Equity investors. This is leading to a growth in Natural Resources Funds.
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I N V E S T M E N T B A N K I N G
- The demand for strong Senior Analysts Associate Levels 1 and 2
remains high. In particular, those with a proven track record of
transactions and foreign languages.
- TMT, Consumer and Infrastructure teams have had a strong
start to 2014 and are recruiting at mid-level to senior-level,
whereas the majority of activity in Infrastructure has been
limited to more junior hires. US Bulge Bracket Banks, Pension
Funds, Sovereign Funds and Institutional Investors are actively
on the hunt for new talent. The leading UK banks and European
banks are letting staff go or struggling to retain the best ones.
- The ongoing challenge to raise funds anywhere is making the
decision to move employers a tough one. We anticipate
bonuses being reasonably in-line with expectations.
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QUA N T I TAT I V E A N A LY S I S
- We are experiencing a demand for Quants with experience of
Structured Derivatives or Exotic products for the first time in a
number of years. This supports the current increased appetite
for taking risk in the market.
- Demand for Quants in advisory roles is significantly increasing
from the Data Analytics houses such as Bloomberg, Thomson
Reuters and Markit. Expansion of this industry will continue to
put strains on the demand for talent.
- Also exerting pressure on prospective employers is the fact
that current employers are working very hard to retain their
own talent. A lot of Quants have been encouraged to move
to Risk Methodology roles or positions with Risk Valuations
which massively reduces the Talent Pool. The cost of identifying,
hiring and training new staff is now hugely overshadowed by
the cost of losing an employee to a competitor.
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QUA N T R E S E A R C H & T R A D I N G
- There is a considerable focus on the build-up of Electronic Trading (AMM) platforms. We are seeing a real interest in
more senior candidates coming from the Buy Side, Hedge Funds and Prop Trading Houses to drive and implement these
new platforms.
- Recovery in the Quant Equity space is being led by the US. There has been a shift towards a more ‘alpha generator’, as
opposed to a statisticians skillset.
- As modelling starts to incorporate more of a strategic outcome, the demand for pure modelling skills is falling. This is driving
a preference for PhD qualified candidates, as opposed to those with an MSc.
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R I S K M A N AG E M E N T
- We have experienced a significant upturn in
Risk related recruitment activity in January, almost
approaching a record number of interviews being
scheduled.
- We have seen increased hiring within the Funds
market, in particular within Equities Funds which
can be seen to signify an improvement in market
confidence.
- Increased hiring across Hedge Funds and other
Buy Side firms, is a result of the increase of lending
by the banks, as well as an indication of the ongoing
commitment to Basel 3.
- Credit Risk Analysts are in high demand and short
supply, particularly with a Corporate or Financial
Institutions focus. A lot of these roles were re-aligned
or cut over the past few years but are now required
as the market becomes more buoyant.
- The majority of roles being approved are new roles,
not replacement hires.
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A B O U T S E L B Y J E N N I N G S
Operating as part of the Phaidon International group, Selby Jennings, is a multi-award winning global recruitment organisation
focused on servicing the financial industry. By breaking down financial markets into individual niches and micro-specialisms,
Selby Jennings powers a knowledge-led model, delivering global solutions into local markets. Every consultant is an expert
in their field. Structuring our teams to mirror the demands of our clients and candidates, we identify, qualify and present the
highest calibre candidates, as well as identifying the best market opportunities for leading finance professionals. From our
offices in London, Singapore, New York and Zurich, we recruit beyond international boundaries, pro-actively sourcing the best
talent in the industry across contract and permanent hires.
Covering contract and permanent placements, our market coverage is as follows:
- Accounting & Finance
- Buy Side Sales & Marketing
- Capital Markets Structuring & Origination
- Commodities Sales & Trading
- Compliance
- Corporate Banking, Trade Finance & Structured Finance
- Economics & Strategy
- Equity Sales & Trading
- Financial Services Sales & Marketing
- Financial Technology
- Fixed Income Sales & Trading
- Fund Management
- Fundamental Research (Equity/Credit)
- FX Sales and Trading, and E Commerce Sales
- Investment Banking and Private Equity
- Quantitative Analytics & Price Testing
- Quantitative Research and Trading
- Risk Management
- Structuring
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