eFinancialCareers

One in ten City of London workers would move to Edinburgh, a recent eFinancialCareers.com survey of 1407 financial markets professionals found. But only if they could continue doing what they love doing. Some might say that’s making money. A majority (60.2%) of respondents, however, would take a reduction in pay to keep their current roles but do them north of Hadrian’s Wall. When asked how much of a cut, here is... Read more

Guy Whittaker, group treasurer of Citigroup, was today confirmed as successor to Fred Watt as group finance director of Royal Bank of Scotland. Sir Tom McKillop, chief executive of drug company AstraZeneca, was appointed to replace Sir George Mathewson as RBS' chairman. Banking sources told Financial News last week that Whittaker, who has been at Citigroup for 25 years, was set to be appointed as finance director of RBS. He will... Read more

Scotland may be best known for its fund management industry, but recruiters say there are also job opportunities to be had in the country’s wealth management sector. “Private banking is a growth sector in Scotland,” says Richard Fletcher at Edinburgh headhunter Fletcher Jones. “Several institutions are looking at expanding in this area.” Smith & Williamson, the independent financial services group with a private wealth management offering, is among them. Last month it... Read more

Scotland’s financial services employers are eager to add staff, but there are signs that the staff may not be there to add. Two recent studies underscore the health of Scotland’s finance job market. A November 2005 survey by Joslin Rowe, the middle and back office recruiter, found 82% of Scottish finance companies surveyed planned to add staff in 2006, the highest number for the past five years. Meanwhile, a retrospective study of... Read more

Glasgow may be growing fast as a financial services centre, but Edinburgh still offers many of the best paid money management jobs. “Edinburgh is still the natural home for Scotland’s institutional business,” says Richard Fletcher-Jones, a Glaswegian now working as a financial services headhunter in Edinburgh. “Glasgow will have to work very hard to compete.” The most recent survey on employment in Scotland underscores the significance of the financial services industry in... Read more

For London-based asset managers stuck on packed commuter trains on dark winter’s mornings, emigrating to Edinburgh may seem distinctly appealing. Early hours in the Scottish capital are equally black, but thanks to Edinburgh’s spatial compactness, long (and crowded) commutes are rare. Willie Watt, chief executive of Martin Currie, the boutique investment manager, is among those benefiting from the pleasant environment. “One of the great things about living and working in Edinburgh... Read more

For those suffering the drudgery of a lengthy commute, the idea of walking to work would be daily nirvana. If you’re prepared to up sticks and move north of the Border, you’ll very likely achieve just that. Edinburgh, apart from being a beautiful city, is also Scotland’s financial hub. Almost exclusively buy-side, it manages to combine high-powered finance with a more civilised pace of existence. Accessibility and an improved quality of life... Read more