eFinancialCareers

Is the Chartered Financial Analyst program a victim of its own success, awarding so many charters that its market value is diluted? In a word, no. Several eFC readers responded to our past stories about the CFA designation by asserting the charter is no longer viewed as a mark of distinction by finance industry professionals. So, we put the question directly to a number of financial-career professionals. None voiced any reservations... Read more

We met with Bob Johnson, a managing director at the CFA Institute, the organization behind the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charter, the world’s most gargantuan financial services qualification. Over 100,000 sit the three levels of the qualification annually, in locations as far afield as Dublin and Shanghai. Johnson promotes the Charter as a great way of kick starting a financial services career. - Read to the bottom to see whether recruiters... Read more

What'll it be - a graduate degree in finance or a CFA charter? A growing number of universities have set out to provide the tools to acquire both. Around the world, some 41 educational institutions have signed on to a partnership program that the CFA Institute initiated in April 2006. The schools embed in their graduate curricula at least 70 percent of the "body of knowledge" that forms the basis of... Read more

This is a good time for financial professionals who are fluent in Chinese, Japanese or other Asian languages. Why? Consider: Big Japanese banks may pump billions of dollars into struggling Wall Street firms, says the Times of London. The trade deficit with China continues to break records and Chinese markets attract U.S. investors worried about volatile stocks. South Korea's economy continues to be strong, as is Taiwan's. Though there are openings... Read more

Independent headhunters and investment bank HR staffers say they can't find good candidates fast enough. So, you'd think recruiters would be pointedly charming in their efforts to woo financial professionals. An episode from across the pond suggests this isn't always the case. An e-mail exchange between a Tim Seymour of UK recruiter Seymour Chase and James Kennedy of the recruitment firm Robert Half reveals the less attractive side of the recruitment... Read more

The good news: Booming Middle East markets are cushioning investment banks' head counts. The bad news: To keep your job, you might have to move there. For years, bank executives have focused expansion plans on emerging markets. Now, as record oil prices propel Mideast wealth while prospective deal business in Europe and the U.S. slows, the bright spot on management's globe is revealing a dark side for some Western bankers' career... Read more

The proportion of new MBA holders worldwide who received a job offer before graduation climbed for a fifth straight year, edging up to 53 percent from 52 percent in 2006. Demand is up dramatically since 2003, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council. In that year, just 36 percent of new MBAs had a job offer by the time they were awarded the degree. The average respondent to this year's GMAC Global... Read more

2006 could be a good year for anyone interested in working with Sharia - or Islamic law - compliant banking products on both sides of the Atlantic. Recruiters in London and New York say investment banks are showing an increasing interest in the fast growing Islamic banking market. “It’s definitely a growing area,” says Aiden Kennedy, a partner at Armstrong International in London. “All the bulge bracket banks are looking at... Read more

News that Morgan Stanley has fired four employees - and withheld their bonuses - for attending a strip club suggests the days of Wall Street bankers living fast and loose are over. The Wall Street Journal reports that Morgan Stanley gave the four notice after they visited the club with clients during a free period at a Morgan Stanley technology conference in Phoenix last November. Should strip joints be off-limits to bankers... Read more

Are fundamental equity analysts doomed to be replaced by machines? That's the implication of a recent Reuters story by Dane Hamilton. The sources quoted are mainly quantitative investment experts from the hedge fund community, but also include Brad Hintz, an influential financial services analyst at AllianceBernstein who was once Lehman Brothers' CFO. "At an increasing number of Wall Street investment banks, hedge funds and elsewhere, computers are churning out investment analyses culled... Read more

Trading up for talent, banking boutiques are feasting on Wall Street's castaways. While many laid-off bankers seek a new home within the vibrant hedge fund sector, smaller sell-side firms also are dipping into the pool of top candidates unleashed by the industry downturn. A recent Reuters story points to Thomas Weisel Partners, Wedbush Morgan Securities, and Evercore Partners as boutique firms engaging in opportunistic hiring lately. San Francisco-based investment bank Thomas Weisel... Read more

Candidates for high-level openings at financial services firms can expect psychological testing to be part of the hiring process. In recent years, such testing has increased, and observers say the trend will continue. Investment firms, after all, like basing their decisions on in-depth analysis. With billions of dollars at stake, they want to ensure they hire the right people to manage staff and make important strategic decisions. "All firms are trying... Read more

Some say packaging is everything. But if you're a male, highlighting or dyeing your hair could be a mistake. Seriously. "We live in a society where most females above a certain age dye their hair," says Joseph Ziccardi, chief executive of Cromwell Partners, a New York-based executive search firm active in financial services and other sectors. "That's widely accepted and I don't think anyone even thinks about that." On the other hand,... Read more

While investment banks hemorrhage jobs, hedge funds continue to hire. But crossing the aisle is no easy task. One William Street Capital Management, a new asset-backed securities hedge fund launched by ex-Lehman securitization chief David Sherr, is one of at least 10 fund startups that plan to raise more than $1 billion each this year, according to Bloomberg. To be sure, the job opportunities within these funds are dwarfed by the more... Read more

Citigroup reportedly is reshaping its bonus system to emphasize divisional cooperation and overall corporate performance. "We have to put a premium on partnership-like behaviour," an unnamed Citi executive told the Financial Times. The FT describes the change as a key plank in Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's strategy to revitalize the "universal banking" model by fostering synergies among investment banking, commercial banking and wealth management. Pandit reportedly asked Citi's HR chief to... Read more

If you're a financial services professional hoping to land a job in a bulge-bracket institution, your prospects just nosedived. And if you've been aiming for a slot in a hedge fund or in one of the many boutique banks that are still hiring, get ready for a flood of new competition. Monday's bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers Holdings and the surprise deal for Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch will... Read more

Although Wall Street observers are keenly aware that industry hiring moves in cycles, few think the current up cycle is close to a peak. For more than a year and a half, amid persistent concerns about the health of the economy, both the buy-side and sell-side have been chasing talent. The market for talent is "definitely the tightest I've ever seen, and I've been through the tech boom," says Alison Seanor,... Read more

The hedge fund job market is robust in the Chicago area, particularly for mid-level professionals in due diligence, risk management and hedge-fund administration. Experienced professionals with Ph.D.s in sciences or math are also in demand. "So far this year, there is still strong hiring," says Scott Ruoti, Vice President at Harmer Associates, a Chicago-based recruiting firm. His firm is seeing a "surprising amount" of hedge-fund hiring activity, he says. Industry insiders agree... Read more

As the credit markets continue to deteriorate and large financial institutions tighten controls, a number of Chicago firms are seeking risk management professionals in many specialties. "Risk management is certainly an area where there is hiring," says Gene Starr, president of New York-based E. D. Starr & Company, a recruiting firm that specializes in management consulting and risk management. "Risk management is counter-cyclical and right now there is a strong need."... Read more

You think investment banks are hot for trading talent now? Just wait. The latest CBI/PwC financial services confidence barometer says the number of traders employed in securities has increased rapidly over the last three months, marking two years of uninterrupted job growth. It predicts the trading boom will persist into the summer, with recruitment levels reaching record highs. Banks’ seemingly insatiable appetite for traders reflects rising trading volumes and the hefty profits... Read more