Recruitment News

Financial Services Market Commentary

June 21st marked the longest day in the 2011 calendar and a reminder that the countdown to Christmas starts here. Whilst we all ponder where the last six months went it is perhaps a good time to reflect on the year that has been within financial services recruitment and our expectations for the future.

The job market has mirrored the wider economic climate perfectly as we see good news and bad news co-existing on a daily basis. Broadly the situation has improved in line with the brighter outlook, but issues such as Greece just won’t go away and continue to play heavily on the stock market. That said an analysis of the number of vacancies registered by Exchange Street Financial Services paints a more promising picture.

The number of financial services jobs registered by Exchange Street rose by 131% when comparing the first six months of 2011 against the last six months of 2010, with each quarter generating a roughly similar number of new positions. Analysed further administration jobs and paraplanner jobs have both seen healthy increases, whilst the number of IFA jobs has remained fairly consistent throughout the past 18 months.

This is certainly of no surprise to our recruitment consultants. Firms that had throughout 2008 and 2009 made major cuts, particularly to their technical support functions, have begun to steadily build once again in these areas ahead of the major changes of the Retail Distribution Review. We have also reflected before that companies may in the future retain a smaller IFA sales-force than previously (whilst growing their back office) and this seems to be borne out by the figures, with IFA jobs continuing to be registered but not at a significantly faster rate than last year.

Fundamentally the main issue driving the IFA jobs market is the ability to provide financial advisers with clients and ultimately that has been difficult for many to do. Those firms that can have tended to be those who have engaged in ongoing acquisition work and include both regional and national IFA firms.

It is therefore vital that candidates align themselves to recruitment companies who have access to such practices. When applying for IFA jobs individuals need to hear strong reasons for considering each option, and the ability to generate leads for their sales-force is of the utmost importance to most advisers that we speak to. Similarly those firms that grow their advisory numbers need to keep pace behind the scenes to enable each consultant to maximise their time in front of clients. Again for those seeking administration jobs or paraplanner jobs the right recruitment partner is vital.

With a cautiously optimistic outlook taking hold across the industry it is perhaps time for those who have delayed seeking a new role to contact us at Exchange Street to discuss their options. So whether you are looking for IFA jobs, paraplanner jobs or administration jobs, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Andy Taylor
Director – Exchange Street Financial Services

• homepage

• More News Articles