By Sarah Butcher, eFinancialCareers
As we slip imperceptibly into the second half of the year, banks are hiring for the sorts of front office financial services jobs that pay big money and generate big revenues. Sales, trading and M&A professionals are hotly pursued, but only if they work with the right products and in the right sectors.
Which products and sectors are these? We’ve analyzed jobs currently advertised across the eFinancialCareers global network to identify the seven roles below. Count yourself lucky if your expertise lies in one of these categories.
1. Equity sales
As equities revenues make a comeback, banks are doing their best to bolster equity sales teams. eFinancialCareers’ data suggests that 32% of sales jobs currently on offer globally are in the equties space.
Equities revenues rose 16% year-on-year in the first quarter according to market intelligence firm Coalition. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank all achieved year-on-year revenue increases of more than 30% in the first three months.
Bank of America made 20 hires across equity sales and trading in New York and London in April and May. Macquarie and Citi are among those filling sales vacancies now.
2. Equity trading
Equity traders are also on banks’ most desired lists: they account for 28% of all trading jobs currently advertised.
Barclays is building its equities trading team and recently hired Mark Dixon, a European equities trader from hedge fund Millennium Capital Partners. Citi just hired Anders Helgesen, an equity derivatives trader from Nomura International, and is looking for a head of emerging markets equities flow trading to cover South Africa, Turkey and Russia, along with an electronic equities trader in London.
3. & 4. Real Estate and TMT M&A professionals
Within M&A, two sectors stand out as stronger than the rest in terms of jobs: real estate and TMT. Our data suggests that 24% of the M&A jobs currently advertised in key sectors relate to real estate, while 17% relate to telecoms media and technology (TMT).
Recruiters in London called the resurgence of the European real estate investment banking market back in March. “There’s a huge lack of real estate talent,” said Andrew Pringle of recruiters Circle Square. J. P. Morgan is the market leader in real estate investment banking globally and is currently hiring associates for its real estate teams in both London and New York.
Curiously, banks are advertising for TMT M&A professionals despite a serious slump in TMT deal-making in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank, for example, is advertising for a vice president in its London-based TMT team. Goldman Sachs is also looking for an analyst to join its TMT team in London.
5. & 6. Experienced analysts and associates in M&A
Irrespective of sector, banks are also continuing their search for experienced junior M&A bankers. Despite reports of resurgent demand for junior vice presidents, eFinancialCareers data suggests the sweet spots for hiring are still at analyst and associate level, while recruiters say experienced associates are some of the most difficult people to find. Goldman Sachs alone is currently advertising for 35 analysts and 29 associates, while J.P. Morgan is looking for 25 analysts and 35 associates globally.
7. Consumer goods researchers
Along with equity sales and trading, research jobs are also making a comeback. Zaki Ahmed, founder of research-focused recruitment firm Financial Search Ltd., said consumer goods equity researchers were hot property several weeks ago. This is borne out by current figures: 33% of equity research jobs currently on offer are in the consumer goods sector, followed by real estate, healthcare and utilities.
Equity research jobs are super-hot in China and Hong Kong, but are also more than tepid in London. J.P. Morgan is currently looking for media and utilities researchers in the City. Macquarie is hiring equity researchers globally, in London, New York and Shanghai.
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