Sales & Marketing: Market Update

BRUIN Financial

The third quarter of 2014 has continued to be buoyant with recruitment levels remaining high across all levels. Delays to recruitment processes due to summer holidays and uncertainty driven by the Scottish Referendum have definitely marked Q3 of this year. We all witnessed the destabilising effect of the Scottish vote, which triggered £1bn of outflows from UK equity funds in the week before the referendum, and many Scotland-based financial groups considered shifting their headquarters south of the border in the event of a Yes vote. Whilst the NO decision must have been a bitter result for Yes voters, the City of London and several fund houses experienced a feeling of relief as a Yes

vote potentially meant adding further regulations on an already over regulated investment market and an even more draconian approach from the FCA. This has been a good pre-warning scenario for UK asset management firms on the effects of a possible UK referendum on EU membership and the consequences this would have on their businesses. The vote could also have an impact on London’s ability to attract talent, putting its title as a European financial capital in jeopardy. In the meantime, in Q3, we have seen an increasing number of candidates being ‘bought back’ by their current employers as the market continues to be buoyant and the chase for talented employees continues.

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Q3 Newsletter, 2014

“I have had the pleasure of

working with BRUIN for the

past two years on a variety of

Marketing/RFP roles.

They are not only reliable,

efficient and pro-active, they

also understand the roles in

detail and how they fit into

the wider team and the

business as a whole.

I am particularly impressed by

their ability to source

outstanding candidates to suit

the needs of our business”.

HR Business Partner

Allianz Global Investors

Q3 Market Overview

James Park has moved from Investec to join Blackrock as Head of Product Marketing. Zoe Cossins joins Close Brothers Asset Management as Business Development Director, from Meteor Asset Management

Anji Kang-Stewart joins Wellington as Marketing Director, from Neuberger Berman Isobel Walder moves from Insight, to be Senior Investment Writer at Alliance Bernstein

Movers & Shakers

Over the last quarter we have seen more movement at the Head of and Senior Management level, where candidates are more confident about making large moves. This has consequently triggered most of the investment management firms to implement better strategies to develop and retain their talent. Overall, firms seem to have been investing more in their professional development and have been more generous in terms of bonus promises to employees that go beyond their job description. We have also seen a continued need for asset managers to recruit for roles across all segments of Sales & Marketing. Whilst the need for Investments Writers, RFP Writers, Marketing Communications and Sales professionals has not decreased, we have seen an increased number of roles in Events and PR at a senior level. Fixed Income focused marketing roles have continued to be particularly sought after, whilst candidates’

preferences have been shifting slightly towards roles focused on multi-asset offerings. Within Sales, UK Intermediary Sales roles - from supporting roles through to Director level - continue to be buoyant. Moreover, in Q3 we have seen an increasing number of Institutional Sales Support and Sales Manager positions targeting the UK and Europe. As previously mentioned, an ongoing need for RFP writers, predominantly in the Institutional space has also continued in Q3. The majority of these hires have been from analyst to VP level and there has also been some movement at the Head of level, mainly due to team restructures. Salaries for these individuals continue to rise and senior RFP writers, with no managerial responsibility, can now command £65,000, whilst the Heads of could expect their salary to go up to £90,000. their salary to go up to £90,000.

The market is definitely still on the up, with the majority of firms very positive about securing budget sign-off for additional headcount and expansion across their departments. A particular area of growth is at the Executive to Manager level and much of the hiring at Senior level driven by ‘back fills’. Digital Marketing is a huge talking point with many businesses now heavily backing their teams’ development. As demonstrated by our recent Breakfast Forum & Round Table, a number of Asset Management firms are taking different views on how to approach their strategy, structure and how to best gain buy-in from sales professionals and return on investment.

We predict that digital candidates will continue to be sought after in the coming quarter, as well as into 2015. We also anticipate the demand for strong communications professionals to continue, as Investment writing teams grow and writing for a more retail focused audience becomes a greater priority. A-Grade RFP candidates remain hard to come by. As demand grows we expect competition to become even greater in the coming months. Overall, as the market improves, there is no indication at present that volumes will decrease and there are still a number of extremely attractive roles out there.

Predictions

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Candidate Testimonial

‘’BRUIN were extremely

helpful from the start.

From my initial contact they

made me feel as if they

were there to help me

through what was

potentially an extremely

difficult transition.

However, my mind was kept

at rest with continuous

contact and updates.

BRUIN identified my skills

and put me in for the right

position.

I will be forever indebted to

the help BRUIN offered me.’’

Emily Ayre,

Director

T: 02031453337

E: Emily.Ayre@bruinfinancial.com

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BRUIN News: BRUIN recently held a Breakfast Forum on Digital Marketing, for senior marketing professionals. The Forum focused on online and offline strategies for Asset Management firms and was led by Anne-Marie McConnon, Marketing Director at BNY Mellon Investment.

For more information on our future events please contact Emily.Ayre@bruinfinancial.com