With products such as collateralised debt obligations ever harder to value, Ireland’s hedge fund administrators are crying out for derivatives knowledge.

“With minimum investments much higher than those in traditional funds, administrators who work with hedge funds need to be extremely risk-aware; they’re dealing with significant quantities of money,” says Lorraine Shine of recruitment firm Fast Financial. “Transactions are more complex, so administrators must be conscious of the impact that changes in the market can have on trades. Candidates with derivatives knowledge are greatly sought-after for these roles – their understanding of strategies such as short selling makes them ideal.”

The money’s good, too. Hedge fund administrators will consider candidates with a minimum of six months’ experience. “People with derivatives pricing exposure would not have a steep learning curve by moving into hedge fund accounting,” says Shine. “Typical salaries for the industry would be €30k to €35k for fund accountants, €40 to €45k for senior administrators and €45 to €55k for team leaders.” Recruiters say bonuses come in at 5-10%, with managers earning as much as 20%.

People with the requisite skills are hard to come by: “They are out there,” says Geoghegan. “But, like any specific skill set, they’re not as easy to find as traditional funds administrators.”