Market Overview
Throughout 2021 we have witnessed an unrelentingly high volume of roles across all levels of the business and this has persisted into Q4, culminating in a busy and exciting year for financial services recruitment.
Post covid we are still experiencing a buoyant market, with many asset managers looking at increasing headcounts within their sales team in order to generate higher revenue as the market recovers. This includes roles regionally, nationally and internationally with European languages remaining a bonus for any aspiring candidates.
As predicted in Q3 there has been a steady return to face-to-face interviewing with one or more steps of the process now taking place in person. Despite recent government announcements this hybrid method is an aspect that appeals to a majority of firms and we can see this continuing into 2022. Going down this route holds benefits for both organisations and candidates for a number of reasons. Interviewers can get a better understanding of the candidate, reading their body language and reactions, through which typically video calls cannot convey.
In person, candidates are also taken out of their comfort zone and can be under more pressure having interviews in an unfamiliar location. Management of this situation gives an indication to the interviewers of personality and attributes that can ascertain their suitability for the role and overall company. Candidates can also hugely benefit from this face-to-face interaction, giving them the opportunity to assess if the firm is a place they want to work. They can get a sense of the company culture and office atmosphere and have contact with multiple persons within the business rather than just the interviewer. These interactions are invaluable for a candidate when searching for a new role and the lack of this during Covid could have impacted the surge of new roles and job seekers.
There can be some uncertainty as to whether the mix of video and in person meetings has an effect on the speed and efficiency of the process. One or multiple additional stages are being added into the process to allow for both forms of interview which could possibly contribute to companies losing out on some of the top candidates, particularly in such a competitive market. Another contributing factor detailing the competitive nature of the current market was apparent into early December as employees took annual leave that normally would have been used on holidays abroad. This, even small, lag in proceeding has resulted in many of the best suited candidates securing new roles quickly having been in multiple processes at once.
Covid has contributed to significant changes within the modern working world and following the so called “Great Resignation” candidates are seeking a variety of new opportunities that can offer better alternatives to their current situation. Some are seeking a better work-life balance with more flexibility in working arrangements allowing hybrid and fully remote roles to, in some cases, appear more appealing than roles that require a return to a five day working week in the office. Candidate desires in this area can often conflict with firms that might stick with a more traditional set up but, on the other hand, also hinder their own prospects. Another factor in this is compensation packages. Many candidates are seeking higher renumeration and in many cases, good candidates are succeeding in securing better overall salaries due to the current nature of the market.
Here at Bruin we use our PROBE assessment tool which is sent out to every candidate we work with. It is designed to gauge candidate motivation against a number of metrics to determine company culture fit. This has found that a work life balance and the company are the most important to candidates while remuneration falls slightly behind in candidate desires. Through this data we can see that company culture is becoming more and more important. If you would like to hear more about our PROBE assessment tool then please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the team.
Now we move onto the pivotal topic of ESG. Following COP26, green and sustainable material is now at the forefront of conversation and we can see this reflected in the market. Roles with a specific focus on ESG are appearing thick and fast and more and more candidates are expressing an interest in this area increasing the popularity for these roles. We expect this to continue into 2022, and further, as climate issues continue to be a focal point.
Movers and Shakers
Asset Management
The last quarter of 2021 has seen a succession of exciting senior moves across Sales and Marketing positions in Asset Management. To start with significant sales appointments, HSBC Asset Management has seen the creation of an ETF & Indexing division which will be co-driven by HSBC’s investment and sales teams. Thorsten Michalik will co-lead this team, and this will act on top of his current position as Global Head of Wholesale Business and Partnerships. In addition to this, Olga De Tapia will expand her current title to envelop the role of Global Head of ETF and Indexing Sales.
Franklin Templeton have had some significant intake in their EMEA alternatives sales team, with Tatiana Lazareva making the move from Schroders over to Franklin Templeton to a position as Senior Alternatives Sales, EMEA. In addition, James Peoples has moved to the firm as Senior Alternatives Sales Specialist. James previously worked at CQS as Principal in UK distribution.
Mizinich and Co have named Andrew Douglas as their Head of Institutional Sales, UK and Ireland. Andrew has moved from a director role at AXA Investment Management, having previously worked at BMO Global Asset Management and Nordea Investment Management.
Moving over to major Marketing positions, NinetyOne, previously known as Investec, have seen some senior movement. Leanne Barnham will be joining the team in January coming from her role over at Architas as Global Head of Marketing.
After a successful eight-year period at First Sentier Investors, Una Simmons moved to a new position at IFM Investors. This move happened in November and her new position is Associate Director, Marketing.
Insurance
Within the Insurance market, we have seen some impactful moves over the past year, with more to come in early 2022. The first of these noticeable moves having taken place in March 2021, with Nick Dudman being appointed as the Interim Head of Brand Marketing for UK Life and Savings & Retirement at Aviva. Nick was previously the Head of Brand at Kingfisher. He then took started his own consultancy company, which he worked at for just under 2 years. Nick has a wealth of knowledge in the branding space and surely has made an impact with Aviva during this time.
In May of 2021 we saw Aviva again, appointing its new Chief Customer and Marketing officer, Cheryl Toner. Cheryl was previously a Non-Executive Director at Royal Mint for just under 3 years and has a long history of influential marketing roles within the financial industry.
Finally, Constance Hunter will be Joining AIG as the Global Head of Strategy following 8 years as Chief Economist with KPMG US. Constance has previously worked with AXA and several asset management firms, and she is excited to see what this new opportunity will offer her, as she mentions through her LinkedIn page.
Role Profiles
Asset Management
There has been an incredibly varied requirement of roles in Q4, with both the sales and marketing side keeping us busy. Within the asset and investment management industry, we have seen an increase in the number of junior sales roles across both the intermediary and institutional space. Whether it be candidates looking to take the step up from sales support/internal business development roles, or those who have been doing a sales role for a couple of years, there has certainly been a push on distribution growth.
On the marketing side, ESG focused roles have very much come to the fore. We saw the start of an increase in channel marketing roles in Q3, but have now seen positions in RFP, product marketing and investment writing. With COP26 taking place in Glasgow recently, we can only think that this trend will continue long into 2022.
Digital marketing is also a significant focus area for asset managers; in particular user experience and digital content focussed positions. Ensuring client experience is engaging and seamless seems to have become a key area of investment for many managers, where differentiating factors such as cost pressures and investor base shifts can mean companies need to present themselves as the best investment option. Also, a shift to more online and mobile investing through companies such as AJ Bell’s recently announced Dodl means digital investment is more important now, than ever.
And finally on the asset management side there has been a large amount of product marketing roles, across both traditional and alternative asset classes. A focus on creating dedicated content and marketing literature for product suite, targeted at suitable client bases has been the direction that many fund managers have taken. These have also been with relation to existing financial products, as well as new product launches.
With our insurance clients, generalist marketing positions have been highly sought after, particularly those supporting marketing strategy across a digital and collateral creation. We believe that this aligns well to what we have been seeing on the buy-side, with social media and website management being incorporated into the day to day responsibilities of the marketing generalist role.
And once again, sales roles within the insurance industry have become more apparent. Working alongside their counterparts in the broking teams, business development managers and director have been highly sought after to win new business and broaden the reach of the underwriters. In particular we have seen pushes on the real estate and infrastructure industry being focus areas for new business opportunities.
Insurance
Throughout the year we have seen a large amount of environmental and global change marketing roles which shows the insurance market is pushing to be more environmentally aware.
As well as this we have seen several roles focussing on internal communications with an emphasis on employee communications, intranets and benefit sites. We believe that this shows the working from home period due to Covid has raised awareness to employee’s mental health and individual importance, and it seems jobs are being created so this can be made a priority.
In addition, insurance companies are hiring significantly for digital marketing professionals to modernize their company offering and keep them updated against their competitors. There is a common theme within insurance companies and brokers that there is a push to become more accessible, and socially aware.
Predictions
As we move into the new year, and the nature of work adapts and evolves to the changing pressures of COVID – more specifically the OMICRON variant, we expect Q1 of 2022 to come with more restrictions and emphasis on remote/hybrid working compared to ‘return to the office’ we saw in Q3/4 of 2021. However, as the market remains incredibly busy, with many firms continuing to recruit heavily in Sales & Marketing, we expect that an increase in restrictions/COVID cases won’t impact recruitment plans going into Q1 of 2022. The main factor in this change in comparison to when restrictions were first imposed on COVID is how well the industry has adapted to remote working and continued confidence in the economy. Many firms have well established remote working processes and infrastructure – which allows them to remain flexible with changing Government policy and restrictions to continue with business as usual.
Whilst we expect job volume to stay consistently high in Q1 of 2022, as bonus period comes around and closes we may see a larger influx of candidates looking to change positions, resulting in an increased candidate pool within Sales & Marketing which could lead to a less candidate led market.
Another driver in the change in the candidate market that we believe we’ll see in 2022, in the context of the COVID restrictions and remote working, is the decreased emphasis on candidate location. Many of our clients we have seen have become more location agnostic, opening up their search criteria from much further afield from their office location, which therefore increases the talent pool for roles in Sales & Marketing.
As we have seen an increased emphasis in the recruitment of senior leadership positions within the digital space (specifically in marketing) across our clients, we may see in the New Year further emphasis on team build outs, as these senior leadership personnel take on their roles.
Post Cop26, we further expect to see more ESG focused positions in Sales & Marketing as firms across the industry continue to highlight and sell their positions and offerings within the ESG space. Especially within larger asset managers which look to capitalize on their direct involvement in Cop26 to promote their business and ESG offerings.