INTRODUCTION
It has been encouraging to see that Q3 has continued its momentum; we have been busy across both Financial Crime and Compliance. This quarter has seen us assisting an excess of 40 new hires across a range of clients. The Compliance offering at Bruin was beginning to become stretched, therefore we have bolstered our team to ensure we have the capacity to provide that excellent service we strive for in every interaction.
The sheer volume and range of seniority we have seen in Q3 gives us confidence that Compliance remains a priority and our clients are continuing to grow their functions. The buoyant market has led to candidates having numerous options and we are seeing “speed of process” being the key reason why clients are getting the top tier candidates they sought.
ROLE PROFILES
Q3 has continued the trend of firms splitting their Compliance and Financial Crime teams, there has been a continued emphasis of needing strong AML candidates who have experience in building the Financial Crime Framework. We have also seen an increase in demand for “analyst” level, candidates with 1 to 3 years’ experience in a generalist capacity. These candidates have been well sought after across Financial services specifically within our Brokerage and Investment Management clients.
Q3 has seen requirements in all areas of Compliance: KYC/AML officers, MLRO’s, Compliance Advisory, Compliance Monitoring and Portfolio Compliance roles. As firms continue to work towards meeting ESG requirements we have seen an increased need of candidates with ESG experience/exposure.
Financial Crime
As touched on earlier, we are seeing an increase of firms restructuring and splitting their compliance and Financial Crime functions and this has led to an increase in MLRO’s with strong experience in building the FinCrime Framework. The requirement has been more aligned to deputies to looking to grow into an MLRO i.e. candidates who are keen to hold the SM17 and look to grow the function.
We have had newly created and replacement roles across Asset Management, Investment Banking and Brokerage firms. We have seen both permanent and Fixed Term Contract roles this quarter and this has been across the board, from Onboarding, KYC Analyst to MLRO. Firms are setting up to bolster their teams with strong attention on candidates with strong AML, AB&C and Sanctions experience. Candidates with hands on experience in building/improving Frameworks are highly sought after along with Generalist Financial Crime Compliance candidates.
Compliance Monitoring
This has continued to be busy space across both buy-side and sell-side clients. This seems to be the skillset most sought after at the moment. General Monitoring duties, knowledge of MAR and exposure to Thematic reviews have been on repeat when speaking to clients. There is a requirement of industry experience with a personable nature, these teams collaborate with different departments across the business and they need to be able to build strong relationships with senior stakeholders and be able to face-off to SME’s within technical areas of the business.
Our investment banking clients have expressed interest in candidates who have specific product knowledge, who can conduct reviews within the designated FICC & Equities teams. Once again, they will need to understand the products and stakeholders they are engaging with, as this requires previous exposure to these products. We have also seen a revival on the portfolio Compliance/Guideline Monitoring vacancies. The system experience required has been heavily weighted towards Charles River. Many clients are pulling towards bringing in strong back office candidates who are system SME’s with the ability to code with a view to develop them to grow into the compliance duties.
Senior Compliance Officers
There has been an increased demand specifically on the buy-side for well-rounded senior Compliance Officers. The requirement for candidates with 5 to 8 years’ experience across monitoring and regulatory compliance has been sought after in the latter end of Q3. I fully suspect this to be prevalent in q4.
Compliance Advisory/Regulatory Compliance
Q3 has seen a strong demand for Advisory candidates in both our Broking and Asset Management clients. We have seen a need for Mid senior to “Heads of” teams. Candidates with hands on experience with regulations/regulators across EMEA has been very desirable. In an evolving regulatory landscape, candidates who are able to break down regulations and educate the different business units have been key, Proactive candidates with horizon scanning experience has been repeatedly requested.
Remuneration
Generally speaking the market rate for candidates has remained steady despite the shift to a candidate led market. Within the Junior to Mid-Senior range, we seem to be having less conversations negotiating salaries as the candidates motivators are focused around growth and development, in addition to clients understanding that candidates are in high demand therefore they must offer competitive salaries. Clients approach to Agile working has also played a key role in whether candidates would consider opportunities.