eFinancialCareers

A fair value is that at which the buyer and seller will trade. But with no buyers, how are banks' derivative products to be valued? It's a question that's been exercising the Big Four accounting firms, which are being forced to make some difficult decisions. "Present market conditions have reduced the amount of information available to make valuations," says Caroline Britton, a partner in Deloitte's City financial services team. "People have... Read more

Glasgow and Edinburgh are increasingly attractive to City accountants – and even Aussies and Kiwis are making Scotland their first port of call. Fidelity's recent announcement that it was to build an equity portfolio management team in Edinburgh is the latest example of jobs that were traditionally the preserve of London shifting to Scotland. Elaine Peacock of recruitment firm Joslin Rowe says accountants looking for meatier financial services careers no longer... Read more

Leveraged finance is powering ahead in Scotland, undeterred by the anxieties in other parts of the financial markets. In mid-August, Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance sealed its second large buyout in three months: the acquisition of a minority stake in Keepmoat, a Doncaster-based community housing business, for £783m. Mike Leeman, manager at Michael Page Financial Services, says companies such as Barclays, HBOS and Clydesdale are very strong in the leveraged finance... Read more

Scotland has become a magnet for wannabe accountants from some unlikely locations. While Glasgow and Edinburgh are accustomed to transient Aussie, Kiwi and South African accountants, recruiters say the respect with which Scottish accounting qualifications are held is also drawing accountants to the country from such places as India, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria and China. Many of the incomers are qualified accountants whose qualifications are not recognised; they arrive in Scotland with a... Read more

Employment in Scotland's financial services industry is booming, but jobs in the country are still mostly in the back office. According to a Bank of Scotland report released last month, business and financial services employment accounted for 65% of the net increase in Scottish jobs over the past five years. Fidelity is among those hiring – the fund management group recently poached David Urch from Scottish Widows to lead institutional UK equity... Read more

Quant strategies may have performed badly in recent weeks, but recruiters say Scottish funds' demand for quants remains robust. Paul Travers, a senior consultant at recruitment firm Morgan McKinley, says Scots fund managers' demand for quant analysts is higher than ever before. Andrew Welsh, senior consultant on the investment banking desk at recruiter Joslin Rowe, says investors seeking downside protection "when markets go belly up" mean risk analysts now accompany fund... Read more

Exactly what do Scots fund houses look for when they're hiring trainee fund managers? Will Brydon, human resources business partner at Martin Currie, says numeracy is vital, as is the need to assimilate a huge array of information about the way markets are going. But, he adds, what ultimately makes the difference between a good or bad fund manager is their ability to take calculated risks. Richard Fletcher, of fund management headhunter Fletcher... Read more

Quakers founded Friends Provident, but its takeover by Resolution could cause quaking amongst staff in the two organisations – and all life and asset management companies. Resolution and Friends Provident agreed an £8.6bn merger last month, creating the UK's fifth-biggest life assurer. But what's good news for business may not be such good news for jobs. Nick Boakes of Friends' press office is sanguine about employment prospects in the newly-named 'Friends... Read more

Scottish investment consultants are paying top dollar for scarce actuarial talent. These are good times for the actuarial profession. Pension fund deficits and an ever-more stringent financial services regulatory regime are fuelling demand for this higher breed of bean counter, according to Scots financial services recruiters. Add to this the fact that Scotland's booming life insurance industry has a hefty actuarial appetite and you can see why what amounts to a... Read more

What with the shortage of ACAs in England, it seems banks are going for CAs in Scotland and ACAs in Singapore instead. "The Scottish finance community has a continual battle to keep hold of CA staff," says Tristan Dunkley, a consultant in the Glasgow office of accountancy recruitment firm Poolia. "Scottish accountants are being poached more frequently now than they have ever been – a newly qualified CA from one of... Read more

Does Scotland really need to pay for its financial services jobs? A war of words has broken out in Scotland after the SNP-led administration awarded £6m to US investment bank Morgan Stanley, as long as it creates 600 jobs in Glasgow. The handout from the Regional Selective Assistance scheme, which amounts to £10k per job, was blasted by both opposition politicians and groups who look into how taxpayers' money is spent,... Read more

Tying fund managers down isn't easy. But big money and big buybacks are proving helpful sedatives. "The really good people are always bought back," says Kim Yates, director of headhunter Principal Search. "Employers are fighting hard to keep staff. I've seen hundreds of thousands put on the table." The impetus behind the £100k carrots is very clear when you consider that Bloomberg reports Fidelity International has lost about US$3bn of funds since... Read more

Scotland's fund managers are finding it hard to recruit enough women. Talented women are being put off careers in fund management because asset management firms are still failing to do enough to differentiate themselves from the testosterone-fuelled, long-hours culture synonymous with some areas of the investment banking world. Scottish asset management firm Baillie Gifford has been actively trying to increase the number of women fund managers it hires, even going so far... Read more

Edinburgh fund managers might have to start polishing up on their Japanese as Scotland prepares to woo Japan's billion-pound pensions business. Last week, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International held meetings with Japanese bankers in an attempt to gain access for Scottish-based firms to manage funds from Japan's lucrative, but traditionally low-return, asset management market. Will the move prompt demand for dedicated Asian fund specialists north of the border? Probably not,... Read more

Scots companies look to be going on a hiring spree – and if you've got international experience you'll be laughing. According to the bi-annual Robert Half Scotland Employment Index, one in four Scots employers intends to up staffing levels over the next six months. Nearly half of employers surveyed – 43% – said they wanted candidates with overseas experience because of their knowledge of different cultures and languages and the fresh... Read more

Scotland's fund management industry is booming – and it's not just the big operators who are looking to snap up new talent. Fund manager Resolution Asset Management, which manages £40bn of funds, has just signed a 15-year lease on a new headquarters in Glasgow and has said it plans to bring its headcount in the region to 415 staff, up from 385 currently and 297 at the end of 2006. According to... Read more

Scotland, Ireland and the north of England are emerging as key destinations for 'near-shoring', as much as Manila and Mumbai are now known for offshoring. Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and, to a lesser extent, Manchester, are all building reputations for expertise in back- and middle-office support, particularly in areas such as asset management, operations, investment management, fund administration and IT, says Chris Gentle, associate partner in financial services at Deloitte. It's good news... Read more

Working so hard you don't have time to do anything else? It may be time to try a concierge. In the drive to win and retain top personnel, some UK financial services groups are bringing the services of 'lifestyle management' companies for their top employees. They do everything from the dry-cleaning drop-off and pick-up finding and waiting on repair men and parcels, or organising holidays. Ben Maxmin, an account director at... Read more

Scotland's banks are scrambling to hire property specialists. Irish banks are at the forefront of the move – Anglo Irish Bank recently poached 30-year Royal Bank of Scotland veteran Jim Brydie to head up its Scottish lending team. Brydie was recruited after the former head, Ken Hillen, left to join Bank of Ireland. Last year Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish and Allied Irish all surpassed £1bn in Scottish commercial lending. Scotland's... Read more

Salaries in Scotland are rising faster than ever, and financial services temps are riding the wave. The new Scottish Labour Market Report, published this week by Bank of Scotland, shows salaries in the country increasing at their fastest level for four years. The report highlights soaring demand for contractors in the financial services sector, where it says pay is rising particularly rapidly. Tim Crawford, group economist at Bank of Scotland, comments: "The... Read more