eFinancialCareers

Analysts specializing in fundamental research, consigned to oblivion just a few years ago by proponents of mathematical finance, are regaining favor. In recent survey, JPMorgan Asset Management found more than a third of European institutional investors felt less positive about quantitative equity strategies than a year ago, while 80 percent of the largest ones felt more positive about a fundamental approach. That reinforces indications from elsewhere that the credit crisis is... Read more

When it comes to trading, experience matters after all. So say Cambridge University researchers who measured the risk-adjusted performance of 53 high-frequency traders in a study published in the Public Library of Science journal. Reuters reports that the traders' Sharpe ratios increased markedly with the number of years they had been trading - a result suggesting that learning plays a role in increasing returns, the researchers concluded. The study also found... Read more

If you regularly win at online poker, that's a career asset. The widely discussed correlation between poker ability and trading ability has practical value in the job market, because many hiring decision-makers at hedge funds and other trading shops act on their belief. A recent Bloomberg News story names several prominent hedge funds and other trading shops that consciously recruit successful poker competitors. They include AQR Capital Management, D.E. Shaw, Two... Read more

The kudzu-like proliferation of hedge funds earlier this decade brought a spike in concerns that the sector's overcrowding all but eliminated alpha-earning opportunities that could justify the funds' high fees. Now that conditions have flipped around, a shrinking fund industry will spur both return opportunities for investors and career opportunities for hedge fund professionals, according to a report released last week. First, a caveat: The report's author, Eric Attias of newly... Read more

If your career path meandered at any point, you won't get far with Aaron Patzer, the Web entrepreneur who built Mint.com and who now heads the personal finance group at Intuit, which acquired his company this month. When hiring, "I look for someone who has made conscious, rational, well-reasoned decisions from high school through college to internships to your first job to now," Patzer told Fortune magazine. "If you've floundered,... Read more

As the world climbs back from the brink, India and China loom larger than ever in the growth plans of top-tier financial institutions. As a result, relocating to Asia is returning to the front burner as a career accelerant for bankers. "JPMorgan’s India branch is increasingly targeting intra-Asia regional business, particularly between India and China," reports the Financial Times. The bank plans to introduce onshore private banking services in India in... Read more

A public library program on researching companies and potential contacts tops our weekly rundown of low-cost and free events of interest to financial professionals. All the following events take place in New York City. *** New York Public Library's Science, Industry, and Business Library (SIBL) offers free classes to help job-seekers research companies and locate individuals to contact for job leads. Tuesday, Nov. 24, 3:15 p.m. "Job Seekers Contact Research." Science, Industry, and... Read more

Are complaints that Goldman Sachs overpays its employees finally trickling from Main Street up to Wall Street? Yes, says Friday's Wall Street Journal. Some of the firm's largest shareholders have urged Goldman to reduce the size of its bonus pool, the paper reports. "Their complaints in private conversations with the company and at analyst meetings show how anger over its big-money culture is spilling into the ranks of investors who typically... Read more

While careers related to restructuring corporate debt have been in the spotlight, Thursday's Wall Street Journal spotlights an ongoing hiring boom for the retail equivalent: jobs restructuring home mortgages. Bank of America, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo have collectively hired almost 17,000 people this year, mostly to work with financially ailing homeowners, the Journal says. More important: "With the number of defaults rising, many are planning to keep adding... Read more

Networking your way to a job is hard, but it works. A CNNMoney story this week offers a road map. The article traces the path to re-employment for Ebony Blue, a 24-year old Ithaca College graduate laid off from Citigroup's investment banking division in December, 2008. Although she made contacts through a diversity network, the essential tactics she used can also help job-seekers who lack such access. Blue put in heavy-duty... Read more

Securities industry employment in New York City bounced strongly in September, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says in a report issued Tuesday. However, the reported pickup apparently stems from a statistical adjustment that isn't performed on similar data covering states and cities published each month by the U.S. Department of Labor. Citing a strong profit recovery by Wall Street, the comptroller's report forecasts job losses in the securities industry in... Read more

The prime brokerage business is broadening out, creating career opportunities as smaller U.S. brokers enter the space. The sector is groping toward a new structure more than a year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers led to months in limbo for billions in client assets Lehman had administered. Counterparty risk remains a major concern, which makes for a natural affinity between the largest fund firms and the largest and financially strongest... Read more

The suggestion government-regulated pay will put a damper on Wall Street's ability to attract talent is playing out in the executive offices of Bank of America. The involvement of pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, who'll have to approve the compensation of whoever takes the job, was a sticking point in at least one failed discussion, with William Demchak, senior vice chairman of PNC Financial Services Group. The Wall Street Journal says Demchak... Read more

With financial institutions' hiring widely expected to pick up early in 2010, it's worth thinking about which skill areas are most in demand in the post-crisis landscape. The following rundown is based on my off-the-cuff impressions, gleaned through speaking with headhunters and professional colleagues and keeping tabs on news and rumors about sell-side and buy-side recruiting plans. FIG Bankers While the worst of the financial crisis appears to have passed, it will... Read more

For any professional or middle manager, getting a decision-maker in your company to approve your project proposal can be a tall order. That goes double if the idea is a risky one, market conditions are unfriendly, or you're dealing with a slow, reluctant decision-maker. But it’s not impossible. Utilizing forethought and a dose of pop psychology can dramatically raise your odds, says leadership and communications coach Mike Figliuolo, in a post... Read more

Independent equity research has been a double-edged business niche at least since the Spitzer settlements six years ago. Now the sector's ambiguous position – you could even call it schizophrenia – is coming to a head. Citing data from consulting firm Integrity Research Associates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports that the number of independent research firms in the U.S. has soared to 2,667 from 1,012 in 2006. But the crowded field appears... Read more

If your bank was acquired and you'd like another go at running one, here's a new avenue: raise money through a blind pool to acquire failed institutions seized by the government. Says The Wall Street Journal: "Firms such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG are racing to form investment pools that plan to fund acquisitions by the bankers, who hope to leap into the auction process for failing... Read more

An expected modest pickup in year-end payouts for hedge fund professionals will recoup only a small portion of last year's steep decline, a new report says. Investment professionals in top-performing funds will receive bonuses averaging $652,000, according to the analysis by hedge fund recruiter Glocap Search LLC and research firm HedgeWorld. While 3 percent above the $635,000 mean for that group in 2008, it's far below the 2007 figure, $708,000. Pros... Read more