eFinancialCareers

With a historically low unemployment rate of about 5% in Australia, the financial services sector continues to boom ahead at a great speed. That’s good news for candidates but a tougher market for employers out recruiting as the talent pool is thinner on the ground. According to Angus Price, a partner from search firm Derwent Executive, it’s not just investment banks and fund managers that are actively hiring but also corporates growing... Read more

The Australian corporate finance market remains very ‘candidate poor’, partly fuelled by the resources sector boom. So says Jon Michel, principal of Jon Michel Executive Search. “Certainly, the resources sector is very buoyant in terms of corporate advisors and we’re struggling to find people with that experience.” New front-office investment banking recruits can expect to earn a base of up to A$100k for the new financial year, plus bonus. Associates with... Read more

An international shortage of financial services talent is creating a brain drain from smaller markets according to one recruiter. “Whenever conditions are strong in Asia, London, or New York, analyst and associate level bankers who are seeking a more international career make the most of the opportunity to move on,” says Victoria Biggs, a consultant at Sydney-based Jon Michel Executive Search. “We are seeing a real exodus at the junior level,”... Read more

Credit Suisse is gearing up in Asian prime services. The Swiss bank has appointed Jupiter Asset Management’s Kevin Meehan as director and head of Asian prime services coverage in Hong Kong, according to Finance Asia. The bank’s Hong Kong prime services team now numbers 10 and further hires are forecast as the bank seeks to grow the business in Hong Kong, as well as in Australia, Singapore and Tokyo.

The Australian job market is crying out for financial planners and paraplanners, with demand up nearly 100% according to some reports. Recruitment specialist eJobs noted 460 advertised roles for Sydney, Regional NSW and ACT in May, an 80% rise on last year, MoneyManagement.com reports. According to eJobs’ report, Australia is also short on candidates. This is bad news for employers, but good news for candidates, who can command higher salaries for their... Read more

National Australia Bank is building up its institutional markets and services division. The bank will spend an extra $10 million this financial year on diversifying resources and adding staff, the Australian Financial Review reports. National Australia Bank's restructuring of its institutional banking division will provide the next leg of growth. The bank is turning its attention to growth and the marketing of new products, and expects the restructuring of its globally focused... Read more

With strong market conditions set to continue, local and international investment banks are performing well and growing their teams. The strongest demand is at associate and manager levels, says Oliver Darkes from recruitment firm Carmichael Fisher, and that demand is from all investment banks. The Australian Financial Review says, “Firms are hiring again as market and M&A activity picks up.” There is no lack of talent; instead the problem lies in getting... Read more

Employees of ABN AMRO’s Australian operations have become part owners of the company. ABN AMRO’s Australian staff are set to buy out 25% of the equity in the local business, according to The Australian. The paper says all staff at the bank have received a share of equity, with each receiving $1,000 of shares per year of service and senior staff having the option to buy more. ABN’s Australian operation is following in... Read more

Westpac Financial Planning is looking to hire an unspecified number of financial advisers, in anticipation of increased demand for professional advice, reports MoneyManagement.com. Westpac expects demand for their services to increase as a result of the superannuation changes handed down in the 2006 Federal Budget. Alongside technical skills, the company is reportedly in search of people who fit with company’s values of teamwork, integrity, and achievement.

The number of people planning to leave England has doubled in the past three years, and Australia is high on their list. The number of people planning to leave England has doubled in the past three years, and Australia is high on their list. 13 per cent of Brits surveyed by research company ICM said they wanted to leave “in the near future”, up from 7 per cent in 2003, and a... Read more

With booming conditions globally, is an MBA still required to get to the top of the pile? Richard Lyons, from executive search firm Carr Lyons, says that MBAs are more valuable at the associate level than at the assistant-director of VP level. At the associate level an MBA from a good university will separate people from the crowd. At the higher end, employers are looking more for solid experience in their... Read more

RBC Capital Markets is the latest to establish an infrastructure finance team in Sydney, which was announced on Wednesday. Reuters reports that the new team of four infrastructure specialists come from Rothschilds. Who is on the new RBC team? Dominic Hudson comes on board as managing director and head of infrastructure, Stan Nikiforou as director, Tim Foy as vice president, and Matthew McKenna as manager. Salaries have been increasing in recent years,... Read more

Paul Masi, as Merrill Lynch’s new chief executive officer and country head for its Australian operations, shares striking similarities to his counterpart at UBS. Announced Wednesday, Masi’s appointment is effective immediately, following Kevin Skelton stepping down from the role. Having joined Merrill Lynch in Australia in 2000, Masi was previously country co-head and head of Australasian equities before relocating to Hong Kong in 2003 to become head of Asia Pacific region equity... Read more

Which is the hottest area of Australian finance recruitment right now? Look no further than leveraged finance. With buyouts a big feature of the mergers and acquisitions scene down under this year, both foreign and domestic banks are in the market for leverage specialists as part of structured debt teams. Germany’s HypoVereinsbank and Mizuho of Japan are believed to be recruiting while another German bank, WestLB, recently hired a specialist from... Read more

A vibrant M&A market in Australia, spurred by sudden rush of private equity deals, has sparked a rush for talent in the investment banking industry, with at least one major international bank turning to the legal profession to fill senior positions. Last week, Andrew Clarke, a partner with law firm Allens Arthur Robinson, announced he had resigned to take up a role as managing director and head of M&A at Citigroup... Read more

When the going gets tough, wannabe bankers start showing their moves. Over the past few weeks the global financial community has been following one UBS candidate’s innovative approach to nabbing a job. His was no ordinary application – it featured an 11 page CV and a sharply edited video featuring him ballroom dancing, breaking bricks with his bare hands. Observers are treated to nuggets of wisdom like ‘To achieve success you... Read more

Soaring Australian private equity activity is prompting Australian-based investment banks to boost their financial sponsor teams. All leading investment banks tell us they have and are continuing to build their financial sponsor teams which help private equity firms arrange and execute M&A deals. Scott Perkins, the Sydney-based head of Global Banking for Australia and New Zealand at Deutsche Bank, has a nine person team and says he is still recruiting. “We... Read more

Bankers on Wall Street and in the City of London are expecting bumper bonuses this year. How does the Sydney market compare? Quite well, seems to be the answer. Australia may have a market cap of just US$854bn – 20 times smaller than the US, but our research suggests financial services salaries in the market punch above their weight. According to the office of New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi, finance... Read more

Australia’s banks have been quietly trying to hire more women, but the industry is still a bastion of masculinity. “We have some employers who are still concerned that their executive ranks remain something of a boys club,” says Matthew Gowan, a Melbourne-based specialist in banking at recruitment group Hays. “They say if they have male and female candidates of the same quality, then they may pick the female to balance things... Read more