Recruiters Say Wealth Managers Win High Pay Deals Despite Credit Crunch

As far as Piers Thynne of Thynne & Co, is concerned, the war for talent is greater than ever. Many firms have raised the bar on quality and are still very happy to pay for talent, he told WealthBriefing.

It is the same story across the UK. Anthony Hill, from Darwin Rhodes, which is based in Leeds, said there is a similar trend in Yorkshire and the North East where wealth management recruitment has remained relatively consistent. There have been few redundancies, a number of senior appointments, while larger organisations such as Barclays Wealth, Coutts and Rensburg Sheppards continue to expand their operations throughout the region.

People are still moving for the usual reasons, such as better prospects, more money and location. However, recruiters and employers now have to be more careful of low performing movers that have been lying low at their present employers.

Now times are tougher employers are looking at how to cut cost and front office under achievers are an easy target, said Mr Hill.

However, Mr Hill said that although it has been relatively easy to keep clients happy in recent years, more clients are now questioning their investments, meaning that the divide between the good and the average wealth manager is becoming more stark.

With this is mind, good front office staff are in a position to command even greater salaries in a market where average candidates are not of interest, said Mr Hill.

Mr Thynne agreed, saying it is becoming more difficult to spot true talent and the challenge is to determine who is really selling their book of business and who has recently inherited it.

Large US banks in particular are paying a premium to secure talent, opportunistically using the headlines around sub-prime mortgage woes to build market share by recruiting bankers and clients. There are rumours of banks arguably paying way over the odds to secure talent, with packages on which it will take three or four years to break even. The mathematics doesnt seem to add up, said one head-hunter, who asked not to be named.

Some recruitment consultants said the wealth management market is quieter now than 12 months ago, largely because those private bankers and wealth managers looking to move their client bases are thinking twice about doing so for fear of alienating clients. The perception is that it is quite risky to move when investment performance is being hit by challenging stock market conditions, as clients might not be induced to move so easily.

Stephen Heal, managing director of financial executive search firm, HB International, said that although banks are definitely still hiring, particularly the big names, it is now taking longer to move from a verbal offer to contract as the sign off process is more onerous.

Mr Heal also said firms are putting non-essential hiring on hold and concentrating on recruiting front line staff that impact the bottom line. However, smaller banks are doing very well, Mr Heal said. There are instances of individuals with 15 years experience leaving big firms to join smaller firms where they have the opportunity to be more autonomous and entrepreneurial, he said.

Whilst the credit crunch might be having little impact on salaries, client bases are generating less revenue, which eats into the profits of the firm, so the expectation is that bonuses will be lower as a result.

Firms are still willing to pay top dollar for big producers, to induce them to move: We will see bonuses beginning to be affected at the start of next year, but the top performers will always be treated well, Mr Heal said.

Edward Blomfield-Smith from Abercromby Appointments said current tough market conditions dictated that both recruitment firms and private bankers are taking a cautious line even though there are various factors creating activity in the market.

However, where private bankers and investment managers are concerned that wealth management is not core to their current businesss activities, then they might look to jump to a safer ship, Mr Blomfield-Smith said.

Mr Blomfield-Smith does not believe the industry will continue to see massive salary inflation that the industry has experienced over the last two years. But he believes that most wealth managers will continue to hire in all markets where they see an opportunity to grow their businesses.

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