eFinancialCareers

As institutional investors seek a greater number of asset management firms, many are turning to emerging money managers, including more women and minority-owned firms. The growth of these firms will provide more opportunities for a diverse base of investment consultants and asset managers, many pension advisors believe. Speaking at Rainbow Push's Wall Street Project Economic Summit in January, Joseph Haslip, assistant comptroller for the New York City Pension Fund, said smaller start-ups... Read more

With more traders facing job cuts and lousy bonuses, is now a good time to consider trading for yourself? The temptation to go it alone may be there, especially if your products have made money while others in your firm are losing cash, says Drew Mandler, a Connecticut-based managing director for Smith Hanley Associates, an executive recruiter. In those situations everyone shares in the pain, so your bonus isn't as fat... Read more

Do you and your mentor need to be of the same race or ethnicity? Twenty nine percent of the financial professionals surveyed by the Robert Toigo Foundation indicated their firm's mentoring efforts were valuable to their career trajectory. The survey, Retention Returns: Insights for More Effective Diversity Initiatives, polled MBA graduates of color from top 25 graduate business school programs in the U.S. More than 60 percent were African-American, 24 percent... Read more

Investment bankers specializing in healthcare are finding opportunities at boutique and middle market shops in New York City and beyond. Debra Feldman, founder of JobWhiz, an executive talent agent based in Greenwich, Conn., is just one of the observers calling the healthcare arena "hot." While she says many professionals in investment banking "simply haven't landed" after the tumult that began a year ago, those on the healthcare side don't seem... Read more

As trading becomes increasingly electronic, exchanges merge, competition on the floor increases, and layoff threats increase - what's a trader to do? Survival Tip #1: Take Lemons, Make Lemonade. Traders need to be a resourceful bunch, says Scott Saunders, managing member at FM Brokerage, a specialist firm in ETF executions. "I think you have to spin the upheavals or changes going on and see them for any opportunities that may exist," he... Read more

New York and New Jersey CPAs are finding growing opportunities at specialized tax and business consulting practices. To succeed, accountants must learn to play up their marketing, communications, and negotiation skills. Branching out into consulting is often a way for accountants to open up new possibilities for their careers. Today, tax and business consulting practices continue to grow in leaps and bounds throughout the New York region. "It's a commodity type of... Read more

Accounting professionals in New York and New Jersey are often seen as immune to changes in the financial markets, bumps in the economy and even employment changes on Wall Street. Skilled CPAs, after all, are always in demand. Aren't they? Not necessarily, says Frank Fusaro, president of the Forum Group, a New York City-based recruiting and consulting firm. A CPA for 36 years, Fusaro is hearing rumblings of regional CPA... Read more

Wall Street's troubles make diversity networks more critical than ever. Certainly people are concerned about the shakeups going on in the finance world, says Ann Marquez, executive director of the New York chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting. However, diversity initiatives are still firmly in place at most financial firms, and that's not likely to change, she says. Of course, when layoffs are threatened and bonuses... Read more

Globalization of operations, products and services means multinational financial services firms must redefine the nature of their diversity programs. But morphing inclusion policies present benefits and challenges to both companies and local employees. Globalization has changed the dynamic for firms looking to employ an old definition of diversity, notes Gerard M. Lupacchino, senior vice president for product development at Novations Group, a Boston-based provider of consulting and training services. In a... Read more

Wall Street is making an effort to put the policies and procedures in place to discourage discrimination and sexual harassment. But as far as gays and lesbians go, do the words on paper stack up to real results and changes in attitude? With the industry under pressure, many are concerned these programs may become less of a priority, leaving employees much more vulnerable. In the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's recently published... Read more