eFinancialCareers

As fund managers struggle to prevent defections to hedge funds, top staff are increasingly being offered equity stakes in the companies they work for. By way of examples, Reuters reports that Martin Currie has set up a new company which will be half owned by two of its China fund managers, Chris Ruffle and Shifeng Ke. Liontrust is setting up a new European fund management joint venture in an attempt to retain... Read more

While many of London’s investment bankers are busy spending their bonuses for 2005, Scotland’s fund managers have several months still to go before payday. It should be worth the wait. Recruiters say Scotland’s major fund management employers, such as Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP), Britannic Asset Management, and Standard Life Investments, delay paying bonuses until March. Among the investment banks, only ABN Amro, UBS and SG Securities are similarly late in... Read more

London-based corporate financiers disillusioned with their end-of-year bonuses might want to contemplate relocating to Scotland. Recruiters say corporate finance roles in the country are proliferating. But at senior levels at least, pay is unlikely to lift the spirits. “We get a lot of Scottish corporate financiers returning,” says Colin Weir, a consultant in the Glasgow office of the Professional Recruitment Group (PRG). He says: “The skill set is eminently placeable –... Read more

There is an increased demand in Edinburgh’s fund management community for experienced accountants in the fund accounting function, according to headhunters. On offer are not only full-time positions but also jobs for those interested in contract work. Alex Phillips, manager of Morgan McKinley’s Edinburgh office, says third party administrators are looking to hire fund accounting staff on a permanent and contract basis after they win a large mandate and need the... Read more

Pay rises may always be at the top of employees’ minds, but increasingly other factors, such as career development and training, are becoming more important in determining whether finance workers stay or switch firms. These are the findings according to the spring salary survey conducted by Robert Half Finance and Accounting in conjunction with Accountancy Age. Dave Jones, UK managing director of Robert Half Finance and Accounting says, “The days of accountants... Read more

Asset management operations in Scotland continue to attract more premier managers than many other parts of Europe, according to recruiters. Earlier this week, a European fund manager conference in London reported that some of the largest Euro funds are complaining about a dearth of alpha-rated managers – those able to outperform the market and take risks. However, Margaret Dyer, director of Joslin Rowe, says Scotland’s financial centre appears to be bucking the... Read more

Highly paid executives from the financial services sector relocating to Edinburgh are fuelling house prices north of the border. Estate agent Rettie & Co has sold one £1 million-plus property a week so far in 2006, double the volume of sales at the top end of the market in 2005. James Whitson, director of private sales said that the rapid growth in multi-million sales was down to highly paid executives relocating... Read more

Directors of Aberdeen Asset Management, the UK money manager, have received £3.4m (€5m) between them in bonuses following the successful integration of Deutsche Asset Management's former UK business, which Aberdeen bought last year. Mergers in fund management have not traditionally gone well, but Aberdeen has retained 95% of Deutsche's London and Philadelphia-based fixed income business, and over 50% of the equity and balanced-mandate business, above analysts' expectations. As a result, chief executive... Read more

A spurt of recruitment is said to be encouraging migratory Scots accountants to come home. This is despite pay for accountants in Scotland being more than a third lower than in London. Graham Burns, director of recruitment firm Robert Walters’ Edinburgh office, says Scottish accounting jobs are proliferating at a rate of around 6% a year – and not just in the financial services centres of Glasgow and Edinburgh; Perth and... Read more

Royal Bank of Scotland's ambition to become a top-tier force in corporate banking and markets is pushing up salaries for investment bankers. Traditionally the giant US banks are the best payers in the sector, but RBS is joining the high pay club. "RBS is buying its way into the market,” says one headhunter. “And when you do that you have to pay a premium to get people." Last week, the Scots... Read more

Thinking of moving further afield in search of higher pay? It may not be worth the bother. At least, it may not be worth the bother relocating to Dublin. New figures indicate that Dublin’s fund professionals are paid less than or the same as their Scots counterparts. A fund administrator in Scotland can earn a salary between €28k and €39k (£19k to £26k), according to a survey from recruitment firm Robert Walters.... Read more

RBS supremo Sir Fred Goodwin may have earned £3.9m last year, but the City's strict corporate governance means his earnings are dwarfed by US rivals. Goodwin's Wall Street arch-enemy, Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein, pocketed £27.2m (US$53.5m) over the same period. And the pay of even the lowest earner of the top 18 bank chiefs in America makes Goodwin's wages seem paltry: William Osborn, head of Chicago-based Northern Trust, earned £5.6m... Read more

Forget cash bonuses, fund managers are increasingly keen on receiving stakes in the companies they work for. "More and more people are looking for equity to move," says Paul Groarke, a fund management consultant at headhunter Hannover Search. "Three to four years ago we would not be asked about it by candidates or even notionally given permission to discuss equity. Now for senior hires we certainly discuss that," he adds. It's... Read more

Judging by the figures disclosed in annual reports it clearly pays to run some of Scotland's best-known financial institutions. Not everyone is happy, however, that pay for top jobs is rocketing. PIRC, a corporate governance consultancy, dubbed executives packages "excessive", while the Association of British Insurers (ABI) – which speaks for a lot of the UK institutional investors – has asked Royal Bank of Scotland to meet it to explain RBS's... Read more