There are plenty of jobs in the independent equity research sector. And Standard & Poor’s may be one place to start looking.

The Financial Times last week reported that the rating agency has struck a deal to sell its equity research to Barclays Capital. The bank will use apparently use it to generate its own ideas on equity derivatives trades.

A spokesperson for Standard & Poor’s tells us the company is still looking to bolster its equity research franchise across various sectors and various countries (but declines to tell us which ones).

Jonathan Evans, managing director of equity research-focused search firm, says there are plenty of roles on offer in the independent sector. “A lot of start-ups are still hiring and even at this late stage of the year we’re still seeing recruitment.”

One of those said to be hiring “heavily” is Blue Oak Capital, a London-based independent research outfit.

Research director John Tacchi tells us “opportunistic” is more the word: “We need to find the right people – over ten year’s experience, with a clear entrepreneurial bent, a supportive client base and none of the cling-to-the-wreckage mentality which seems to imbue some people coming to us from investment banks.”

For those who display the right qualities, Tacchi says a (small) stake in the company may be on offer: “We have to offer some kind of carrot to early movers.”