eFinancialCareers

Insurance underwriters in Scotland have seen big salary hikes in the last year, as a shortage of candidates drives demand. The latest salary survey by recruiter Joslin Rowe paints a different picture from last year, when broker mergers meant insurers were more likely to lose their jobs than land a large pay rise. But with new firms setting up in Scotland this year – such as Ace Insurance which created 200 jobs... Read more

Scottish financial services workers are more in the dark about their bonuses than any other country, according to our survey. The eFinancialCareers.com global survey, which took in responses from 18,000 financial services professionals worldwide, revealed that a huge 47.4% of Scottish respondents don’t know whether to expect a higher or lower bonus this year. Meanwhile 34.6% anticipate more money than last year, and 17.9% expect to see a slide. The respondents were spread... Read more

The gloves are off in the Scottish fund management industry, as newcomers to Edinburgh have sparked a war for talent. “There’s a lot of poaching going on – it’s a dog-eat-dog world. The cosy deal that once existed in Scotland where they wouldn’t touch each other’s people has long since been ripped up,” says one headhunter in the region. The traditional culture of loyalty in the fund management industry harks back to... Read more

Scotland may have been left relatively unscathed by the credit crunch, but analysts advise financial services employees to watch their back (office). Merrill Lynch has revealed that it is to axe 65 jobs in its Mortgages Plc division in Glasgow, and with other banks with back-office units in the city posting losses, could this herald more redundancies? “I think generally there is a poor visibility at the moment in the markets,... Read more

Glasgow has aspirations to compete as a financial centre, but will its back-office focus leave it wanting on the global stage? In a recent ranking of global financial centres, Edinburgh scraped into the top 20, but the report’s authors say they have received numerous requests for Glasgow to be added to the mix. Michael Mainelli, one of the report's authors from Z/Yen Group, says: “Some people think that it has the potential... Read more

Newly qualified accountants in Scotland are in the privileged position of being able to cherry-pick the best roles, such is the current demand for their services. A report by recruiter Joslin Rowe is the second in as many months to suggest the financial services industry in Scotland is thriving to the extent that roles simply cannot be filled. New permanent roles have rocketed up over the past 12 months by nearly 43%,... Read more

Scotland’s financial sector continues to boom. But where are all the people to fill the jobs? The most recent Bank of Scotland survey of the Scottish labour market, published in October, reveals finance and accounting employers are facing acute skills shortages – they rank second behind engineering and construction as finding it hardest to fill roles. The gaping hole in the supply of talent might be down to the fact that Scotland... Read more

Is Edinburgh a world-leading financial centre (and commensurately good place to develop your career)? Only just. The city has slipped five places in a survey of top financial centres, but scraped into the top 20 cities in the world. In the second report from the Global Financial Centres Index, commissioned by the City of London Corporation, Edinburgh ranked 20th out of 50 centres, down from 15th in a survey earlier this year. The... Read more

Forget cash, it’s the right corporate culture that Scottish financial services employees want. In contrast to their money-hungry counterparts south of the border, 88% of financial services workers in Scotland rate an organisation’s culture as more important than remuneration, according to a survey by recruiters Badenoch & Clark. Margaret Hare, recruitment consultant at Qualitas in Scotland, says: “I would say that we have seen a move towards candidates looking towards the more... Read more

Worried that investment banks culling staff in London will send a flood of City-slickers cap-in-hand to Scotland? Fear not. The Centre for Economic and Business Research’s forecast of 6,500 financial services job cuts in London have understandably left City workers hot under their pink collars. In light of this revelation, we asked our readers where they would go if they were to lose their jobs. A total of 1,070 responded and... Read more

With contemporary art prices rising 55% in the past year, Scotland’s private bankers would do well to know their Monet from their Manet. However, while London’s investment scene appears convinced of the benefits of art as an investment class (witness this week’s Frieze Art Fair, which is expected to raise £145m), Scotland may be falling behind. The Bank of Scotland is sadly lacking in art expertise at its private banking arm, while... Read more

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

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

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

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