Market Intelligence Archives

2025 has posed many challenges for the hedge fund industry. You would have thought that following 2024 where they say that half of the world went to vote, that this year would accelerate hiring needs following quite a vanilla year of recruiting in 2024. Whilst 2025 has been certainly been more buoyant, it is fair to say that attracting talent comes with higher salary costs and more competition for the standout individuals.

We have seen most businesses try to make good of the staff they have, investing in automations and improving efficiencies with the added the buzz of AI sweeping across the industry. To top it all, there has been a reappointment of President Trump who is doing his best to try and make America great but has caused so much volatility in the markets that most firms have sat on their hands whilst they fathom the potential outcomes. We also have a new government here in the UK, causing financial implications to both individuals and businesses, and not forgetting a much-delayed budget announcement adding to uncertainty.

When there is so much volatility in the markets, the experienced Portfolio Managers and Traders just sit tight and wait for market corrections to take place. The key thought is when do these corrections take place, as volatility is more aggressive these days, especially where trend-following or algorithmic / systematic strategies continue to cause extreme market movements as the computers all jump on the same trend-following curves and duplicate trading patterns. There is a still a sparse number of mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs in the market, meaning the event driven and arbitrage strategies still struggle. It’s Equity Long/Short strategies that have really had it tough, with most becoming more focussed on being long. Hedge Fund Benchmark Indexes have dropped, and some companies are satisfied to hit their High-Water Marks in the current climate and not just aiming for double digit performance like years gone by. But can we blame them given how much market uncertainties there is out there?

Macro funds appear to be the most stable given their ability to change direction when needed, but it is Fixed Income strategies (Private/Public, Open Ended/Closed Ended, Credit, Long/Short) that really continue to rally, and these types of funds are showcasing the better performances in the industry. We are now starting to see Digital Assets becoming more prominent across the sector, both as a fund strategy or being used as a hedging tool (stable coins as example) in a wider Macro strategy. What is for sure is that week by week we could have written something completely different, the markets are moving so drastically that there has been opportunity for some funds out there to be on the right side of the markets. We know of some incredible performances in 2025 and fully expect them to receive accolades in the industry and of course offer noticeable performance related bonuses to their staff soon.

We have held many conversations this past year where smaller funds still struggle to raise assets, but the bigger funds get bigger and bigger. There is still a distinct lack of new fund launches (that are not just pod spinoffs from major funds), and our communication with Prime Brokers and Law firms all show solidarity that there is pipeline of new firms wanting to launch, but many never actually get off the ground given the level of compliance required and the overheads. This is making the use of outsourced support more favourable at the beginning of their journeys, and luckily, we have some well-established relationships in this space.

Outsourced models are becoming far more prominent overall, and many businesses have either already entered agreements or are looking to outsource their back / middle office functions (and potentially their fund accounting services) to major Fund Services providers or platforms that can achieve this. Many of the Fund Service providers have been hiring Business Development talents to help them take more market share, as supposed to just targeting what has historically been a lucrative “new launch” market here in the UK.

We are witnessing growth in the Middle East, where Dubai and Abu Dhabi are starting to attract established firms and offer lucrative tax-free earnings for their staff to help build offices in a new time zone, but with focus on revenue generators or front office staff at this stage. What is encouraging is that we can see this landscape changing dramatically and understand there are many new startup funds and even family offices looking to launch in that region. Compliance professionals are already in demand to make sure they accommodate local regulations, but we expect infrastructure hires in Operations, Middle Office, and Fund Accounting to rally over the course of the next 18months.

At the time of writing this article, the BBC have reported that unemployment is at a high following COVID. There is always a number of redundancies towards the end of the year because most companies start doing the budgets for the following year. But this year it feels much higher than usual, especially for the more experienced employees and likely the most expensive. We are going through a period which I have seen many times in my 22-year career, where businesses want to get rid of the more mature and bring more youthful employees through the door thinking it will be cheaper for them, and to build layers for the future. Where there is a distinct lack of senior roles in the market, it means there are many more senior individuals looking for work and applying for less responsible roles, yet they get overlooked as companies worry, they might be overqualified and treat it only as a stop gap.

The main issue is with salaries for junior hires at such high levels is that when they realise, they then want someone youthful but with the knowledge of someone far more experienced, to potentially justify a higher and unexpected junior price tag. Even if they tend to bring advanced technology skills as standard, and in comparison, to the experienced Operations staff who know how to build robust and enhanced controls to their functions based on experience. When a company has not had to hire in recent times, they are shocked to hear how the landscape has changed in our post-Brexit world, not forgetting the many negative work-ethic questions, expectations, and opinions of the said inexperienced demographic.

What has become more popular for the more experienced staff is the buzz word “Fractional.” Where companies are trying to reduce cost of senior staff salaries, and with many more experienced candidates on the market, fractional roles are becoming more popular with many firms turning to consultants on shorter working week hours to deliver their minimum requirements. We have seen an increase in contracting, permanent fractional or part time opportunities coming to market.

What has not stopped is the sheer demand for junior talent. Even though we still must remind many firms that no graduate schemes were run in 2020 and 2021, making the identification of a candidate with less than 4 years’ experience a near on impossible task. When identified, many have already found new careers given the volumes of hiring at that level over the last couple of years. Not forgetting that the candidates have a kaleidoscope of options to choose from. With the continuous demand for candidates with 3 years’ and under experience, it is obvious that those salaries and total remunerations have increased, making the very junior market lack value because demand is outstripping the supply. You can see the difference in the salary survey data when comparing year on year results. Its flabbergasting how much they can command on average.

External hiring has become expensive. There has been so much hiring in the previous few years that higher salaries have already been paid to attract them, and an incentive needs to be on offer to get them to move again. This means that all levels of experienced hedge fund candidates now come at premium, sometimes to unfathomable levels for their experience, but the demand is there!

What does appear to be an issue is not keeping your current staff in line with comparable market earnings and especially considering the cost-of-living increases. A few hundred pounds increase is just not enough these days, especially when considering the average salary increase to move role/company is now just over £9,000. Internal salaries have fallen behind, disappointingly for those who have remained loyal. The big issue comes when a team loses someone, and they need to replace, then because of the current financial setup in their team, they struggle to find someone with similar experience for the same value as the person leaving. And then when the person leaving tells their team how much more money they have achieved with their new role, well this is when companies start to see a bigger staff turnover and gain a reputation for paying under the market.

Clients’ expectations in search of a perfect CV have not yielded. In fact, it has become harder to convince some hiring managers to meet candidates at times. Whilst strong academics will always remain prominent in the Alternatives sector, it is now very realistic to expect candidates to have programming skills with advanced Excel or VBA as an essential requirement with every job brief. There is still focus on companies using Operations or Middle Office hires to further their expertise of programming skills (VBA, Python, SQL), and use this department as a way of trying to improve processes and enhance efficiencies. However, this is not to be confused with hiring a Quant, which some funds think they can achieve in Operations / Middle Office as a cheaper solution instead of utilising the demanding and buoyant Quant recruitment market. Candidates with this skillset can command 30% higher salaries and have the pick of the more exciting of roles in our sector, as they look to enhance and support their automations, without enduring further expensive resources in their Dev Ops or Quant teams. Not forgetting they could also be contenders for a Quant role simultaneously.

An appreciation for Data is now becoming extremely useful in Operations hiring, especially those who can manipulate large data sets as part of their role, leading to an appetite for Controls or Risk Mitigation being key topics of interview questions during the process. Other regular questions include demonstrating a time where a candidate has improved a process, enhanced efficiency or help automate a workflow, as well as highlighting if they have been a valuable collaborator or assisted with technical situation or difficult client as example.

We are seeing a staggering amount of interview processes becoming exceedingly long and not giving opportunities those who really want the role and do not tick every box. Whilst it is a hiring managers prerogative to chose what they want to justify a new hire, sometimes they are a victim of not hiring because they just took too long, asking for too many people’s opinions, or was too precise with what they needed. We always encourage a fluid, timely and transparent recruitment process. And be open on the background of where you hire from – you will pay more to attract someone from a competitor hedge fund, and you might yield more cost-effective solutions hiring from long only managers or prime brokers as example. Giving someone a chance reaps many rewards, most noticeable is that they will be skipping through the door to work as they will be learning, and not just doing the role because they are earning more.

It would not be a sincere recruitment reflection if I did not bring up Linked In. Yes, the overused and completely un-unique tool that everyone thinks can yield magical recruitment results on the cheap, and most of the time without employing or using a highly trained or skilled recruiters to manage their processes. Recruitment is a difficult skill, it is not just identifying talent, it is then managing the interview process and experienced recruiters know how to circumnavigate the challenges and hurdles that are presented. Linked In is great for the unemployed, especially where they have the time to dedicate trawling the site and must be seen to apply to as many roles as they can to earn their benefits. However, the best candidates are typically not using Linked In for a new role, because they do not have the time to trawl pages of adverts in hope they stumble across something perfect. The best talent pools are using recruiters, either actively or passively, to make sure their search is accurate, and they have someone to help them manage their process and share valuable information to help them achieve a successful outcome. Not forgetting sharing valuable insight into market conditions.

If only Team Managers knew how often their staff have been approached on Linked In by recruitment companies trying to persuade them to leave. This is because Microsoft has monetised Linked In so well that people can easily send an approach to anyone, and every firm now feels they have an external database of candidates looking for work. Which it is not. Only 5% of people on Linked In want to hear about new opportunities and displaying the “open to work” badge. What is not realised is everyone is fighting for that same small pool of talent, and most people making offers to the same one standout candidate and then the majority missing out to more competitive offers. This is unfortunately very common. Many Hedge Funds have direct Talent teams based in international locations, and do not have day-to-day knowledge of the local recruitment market, and certainly not aware of what their competitors are doing simultaneously, yet they are not afraid to send a message to anyone and everyone in hope that one might stick.

This will all naturally cause staff retention issues, constantly turning employees’ attentions believing they can achieve more elsewhere, even more so when large salaries are dangled in front of them. What is omitted from people’s realisation is this is causing many people to spend less time on Linked In, because users are getting fed up with the continuous number of unsolicited approaches from all types of salespeople or robots. And if you’re not on Linked In at precisely the right moment, then you can’t see the role being advertised, and by the time you do then 200+ people have already applied for the role and you’re likely to not be considered. Let alone any kind of response or communication back from the company you have applied to.

This all causes huge frustrations, complications and hiring delays, much to the annoyance of hiring managers who typically want to use a trusted recruitment partner, and not just rely on a company-wide stance to try and do recruitment on the cheap via Linked In. Yet most times they are unable to influence a HR team, which is counterintuitive when you consider a Talent team is there to support the Hiring Manager and their needs to deliver quality Operational support to the business.

Many firms we speak to want 2025 out of the way given all the volatility and 2026 is looking positive in terms of hiring needs. With 2025 boasting many recruitment strategies because of replacement needs we have many firms already talking to us about hiring to support expansion and increase in trading volumes. Many businesses we are speaking to have increased their front offices, determined to drive revenues further, and the subsequent knock-on effect is to have a robust Middle Office and Operations function to support this.

This is exactly where CassonX can work alongside you with your hiring needs. Be prepared that most candidates will have three months’ notice period, even the inexperienced staff, and we are also witnessing many companies willing to buyout bonuses to attract the staff they want, of course with proof of their previously paid total compensations. Face-to-face interviews are once again the norm, and it is also expected that most Hedge Fund employees are in the office 4 or 5 days a week, with hybrid working conditions starting to become a thing of the past in this sector and certainly in the $5bn+ AUM funds.

We are advising all candidates looking for work in this sector to make sure their CV details all the asset classes and strategies they have supported, to make sure that hiring managers can make an informed decision accordingly about transferable skills. During COVID, the introduction for more awareness to DE&I became very prominent, it is now expected that each shortlist of candidates that CassonX provides is considered as diverse as possible, giving equality to the hiring process and an inclusive decision based on merit.

We are delighted to let you know that CassonX has produced its annual salary and total compensation survey for the Hedge Fund sector and it separates the detail via company size and type of role. This is not a mass-produced salary survey, it is live, it is specific, and it is produced without AI. Most importantly it is free and gives a realistic snapshot of our market.

Should you wish to see a copy then please go to our contact page, click on Clients, select salary benchmarking and fill in your details accordingly – don’t forget to include your work email and contact number.

This information is available to all those who have hired or are thinking about hiring, and we will be happy to send you a copy via email or even catch up over a coffee to discuss further. If you are a curious candidate wanting to see this information, please do let us know and we can arrange a separate conversation, as this data is designed for hiring managers and clients who are looking to benchmark their own teams.

CassonX are not only honoured to be working with some of the best candidates in our sector, but we are proud to partner with a vast range of clients. We typically meet all our hiring managers to gain an insight into what is essential for any hire’s that they might want to make. We do not only listen to their requests but we offer sound market knowledge and intelligence because of our specialism. We can educate clients with what is trending within their talent acquisition market, including availability of suitable profiles, what their competitors are doing, and even simple economics of the industry. We believe this is paramount to building a strong working relationship with our clients.

Recruitment is a tough job. We represent individuals who have emotion’s and opinion’s, and sometimes the perfect candidate profile may not want to do the role that is on offer, or even work for the company we are representing. However, recruitment without its challenges would be boring and there are certain situations that can be extremely rewarding to overcome.

The are many hurdles as recruiters we must overcome when instructed to fill a role, we have outlined below the ones we come across most frequently.

We understand why client’s want to hire someone who is doing the same role in a competitor firm. But this is not necessarily enticing for a candidate. Unless they are being made redundant as example, it is very rare for a candidate to want to make a sideways step in their career, most candidates will always want to further themselves. Therefore when hiring we always recommend that a client chooses a candidate who can demonstrate they are competent in 70% of the role which leaves 30% for them to learn. This will leave the candidate excited at the prospect of joining your firm and giving them the chance to develop further.

Whilst many roles within financial services require specific levels of education and qualifications, our Operations and Middle Office sector doesn’t always dictate premium education. Those from top tier universities with STEM education as example, don’t necessarily want to forge careers in the back office. We encourage clients to meet those who don’t stand out with their advanced educational requirements, because often having practical experience within their field, or offering logical common sense is more valuable in the Operations world.

Often due to budget constraints, firms will try and find a candidate who is able perform multiple job functions. Whilst this can be an exciting prospect for a potential candidate to grow their knowledge and skills, finding those with specialisms in multiple functions can be extremely difficult. Whilst we appreciate that candidates who work in smaller firms tend to offer a more varied skillset, we encourage clients to put emphasis on the most important part of the hire, and give opportunity for someone to be keen to do a wider role as part of their move as a bonus.

Whilst there are many benefits to hiring those at the start of their career, the junior end of the recruitment market has been challenging for a few years now, largely down to the lack of graduate schemes run during the COVID pandemic. My previous blog (https://cassonx.com/the-difficulties-with-hiring-a-less-experienced-operations-or-middle-office-candidate-in-the-current-market/) details most of these issues, but fundamentally there is no value in hiring those with less experience right now. Given the ever-increasing demand for youthful talent, and the sheer lack of graduates or school leavers starting their careers in the last 4 years, (not forgetting rising cost of living and individuals trying to get on the property ladder) this has forced the salaries up of those in the junior category. Surprisingly, firms are still willing to wait patiently and pay for them!

Many firms now use Operations or Middle Office hires to help automate their processes. In many of the smaller firms we recruit for, who don’t have budgets to invest in major technology systems from vendors, they typically use Excel to manage their data. Whilst being proficient with Excel and sometimes VBA are justifiable in those instances, some firms try and hire Python/SQL/Alteryx programmers as example. A programming role is very different from working in Operations or Middle Office. In fact a programmer can not only take on a more front office focused role programming algorithms for trading strategies as example, but these roles pay substantially more! Front office roles are certainly more attractive, as they are more aligned to revenue generating. But the main issue is that they are two sperate roles, requiring two separate skillsets which tend to be much harder to correlate. We always recommend that where possible, budget should be found for 2 separate hires to attract the best possible candidate for each role.

Budgets are always the toughest part of any recruitment process we have to manage. It is rare that companies want to overpay their own staff in comparison to their competitors. Some firms do, but typically you are expected to work much harder in return. However, unsurprisingly it is a common theme that candidates want to earn as much as they can, and companies want to pay as little as possible. The most complicated challenge is when a team has been built on budgets that are outdated and not in line with the rest of the market, consequently it shocks hiring managers to see that candidates with less experience than their current staff are commanding higher renumerations that some of their experienced employees. There is nothing we can do to change this and have sympathy for those hiring managers as sometimes, they will experience a high turnover of staff due to financial constraints. Our only advice can be to make sure you are creating an environment where people don’t want to leave, with excellent working conditions, strong leadership, and above all, job satisfaction. This is turn can help attract suitable talent when explained.

There is always a fear that someone could be too overqualified for a role, and that they might want to leave soon after joining when a more senior role becomes available in the market. There is sometimes even a hesitance to hire them because the hiring manager is worried that they could challenge their own role. Many talented and experienced individuals don’t want to take on a demanding, high pressured role that carries a lot of responsibility. We always say to the clients that if we are sending their profile, then the candidate understands the level of role they are applying for, and are comfortable with it, thus willing to commit without causing complication to their team or department.

We believe that these roles should always be offered to internal staff first. Many people now days are looking for job shares, or reduced hours to fit in family or other commitments for a healthy work/life balance. This is something that their existing staff may be looking for. Many clients want us to lower our fee to represent the reduced salary vs the amount of days or hours they work, but we must remind clients that we are not working part time and that the fee should be reflective of the full time work we are doing. We always embrace recruiting part time roles when required, we do however make sure our clients have explored all internal options first before embarking on this type of search.

This shouldn’t be a competition! Specialist recruiters should be working in partnership with internal Talent Teams. Given we have a vast understanding of our specialist sectors, we should be encouraged to try and find profiles that their own resourcing teams can’t find. Many internal teams just use Linked In these days, to post a role and hope the ideal candidate applies. However, recruiters are trained in many ways to attract and identify candidates for all our clients. Some candidates even prefer using recruiters to act as a broker, and not directly with hiring firms. Having good communication with the internal recruitment team will achieve optimum solutions and give them the chance to make sure they can make the most informed hiring decision, by having a larger pool of candidates to choose from.

Working with international candidates has many challenges. Mostly the need to relocate and lack of being able to attend a face-to-face interview. But most commonly because they would most likely need sponsorship. Every company, dependant on size, has a limited amount of visa’s they can offer if any, therefore this may not be relevant for everyone. Some roles we see require individuals who are skilled in certain job functions who are typically found in locations internationally. We have experienced it many times where we are approached by those international based individuals, yet the client has no approval to offer sponsorship. Sponsorship requires time, financing, and can make a candidate less attractive in an interview process in comparison to those who are already in the UK. We always advise candidates in this situation to relocate and apply for a visa, before exploring roles here in the UK, and certainty when considering BREXIT implications.

We welcome the opportunity to talk to all potential client’s and candidate’s surrounding their needs. On our website you can find dedicated sections on how best to partner with us or other recruiters. You can also see all of our vacancies: https://cassonx.com/vacency/

CassonX are a specialist operations and middle office recruitment firm based in London. We are a boutique specialist agency, privately owned, giving you friendly and bespoke advice and support for all your staffing and recruitment needs. You can always contact one of our friendly, experienced, and talented recruiters directly via the website or on +44(0)2030565545.

We are approaching that time of year, where the Financial Services recruitment market springs into life. Largely because it is bonus season for many institutions, and that starts the merry-go-round of individuals who have waited for their financial reward to hit their bank account, before handing in their notice.

Here at CassonX, we are proud to say that the start to 2024 has seen substantial job flow, in hindsight where clients are preparing for the above-mentioned eventuality. However, many candidates do not know how to proactively plan and execute a thorough search to make sure they are obtaining the most suitable opportunity available.

First, should you have a “significant other” in your life, take the time to discuss this with them, and understand why it is you are looking to move roles. Decipher what it is that you are lacking in your current opportunity, and how a new role can satisfy anything absent. The most common drivers for wanting a new opportunity are the role itself, a lack of learning, your leader, team / culture, the company, or even renumeration.

Then take the time to make sure that your CV is ready. Even if it is a starting point, having this ready will get you thinking about what it is that you know, capable of, and being able to explain how you go about your day-to-day responsibilities. Remember to include your contact details, typically a mobile number and personal email address.

Also, make sure your Linked In profile is up to date. You can even adjust settings to say you are “actively looking for work” but, be warned(!), this will announce your status to all your network and connections. Regardless, many institutions now have sophisticated internal hiring teams that not only advertise roles on Linked In, but also do searches for relevant profiles, and with an updated Linked In profile you are then more readily identifiable.

Take the time to research and contact relevant staffing firms and create a partnership with recruiters who specialise in your area of expertise. As example, there are a handful of Operations recruiters in the market, but most specialise in an industry or specific role. Here at CassonX, we are London’s Only Specialist Operations and Middle Office recruitment firm, and if you are an Operations or Middle Office specialist then we would love to hear from you so we can help identify a relevant opportunity across the whole spectrum of industries and sectors that our market has to offer.

There are many portals and career websites, like efinancialcareers as example, where we recommend you create a profile, search opportunities, and even be added to their databased for recruiters and organisations to find you. It is also recommended that you do the same for specific companies that you want to work for. Nearly every company has a careers section on their website, or an ability to share your CV and cover letter at least. You can showcase your interest directly with that organisation, and sometimes set up relevant passive notifications of opportunities that may arise. This is a CassonX Top Tip because in fact it eliminates any agency spend for the firm but offers a huge advantage as it flatters said company with your direct interest.

Don’t forget to talk to current and previous colleagues for any hints, tips, and recommendations for your search, but to also see if they can help identify any institutions or opportunities that could be deemed appropriate. Even in the firm they are currently working for as example.

Most importantly, keep a log of all your searches. Make a note of the firms you have contacted directly and introduced to by friends or recruiters too. Keep a progress report of all potential opportunities so you can timely and respectfully follow up, but also to make sure that you are not duplicating any applications also. There is nothing worse than a company or hiring manager receiving your CV multiple times. In fact, this could look rather detrimental – so make sure your CV is submitted to a role you are genuinely interested in, and that is also suitable to your skillset, because with some organisations you could only get one chance to be considered with them within a specific timeframe.

For a tailored search, please do reach out to our talented, enthusiastic, and experienced team of Operations and Middle Office recruiters.

You can find more details of some of our open vacancies, who CassonX are, and ability to contact us on our website.

As our leader James Manders celebrates 20 years as a specialist recruiter in the Financial Services sector, he was asked to share his thoughts and guidance in a series of interviews with the wonderful team at eFinancial careers, as part of their Talent Conversation series.

It goes without saying that James has seen a lot in the last 20 years, and he is immensely proud to be a trusted partner with many candidates, clients, service providers, and vendors, and loves talking about his market knowledge and experiences throughout his tenure.

Should you wish to review these talent conversations, then please see below links:

Mastering salary negotiations in 2024: https://vimeo.com/917965752

Navigating the impact of hybrid working: https://vimeo.com/917965537

The early careers dilemma; challenges & solutions in today’s job market: https://vimeo.com/917965456

Please do take the time to review our other blogs, market intelligence, advice, and all things recruitment in the Resources section of our website

20 Years. Wow, 20 Years! This month I celebrate that I have been recruiting the Operations and Middle Office world for 20 years.

Recruitment is a challenging job. It requires persistence, thick skin, and determination. But nothing beats a good honest day’s work, enthusiasm, and a smile. The cornerstones of how I have lived and breathed my career to date, and how I train others to embrace the hurdles and challenges thrown at you daily. People come from all different walks of life and backgrounds, have unique desires; by being able to give everyone a chance, and to just be honest and try for them, then hopefully your reputation will be positive.

My recruitment journey started following the devastation of 9/11, when made redundant from JP Morgan and had to find my own job ringing around my counterparts and contacting companies directly. A former manager rang me and asked if I wanted to do it for other people as a recruiter. The rest is history. To be a success, you must be able to navigate the ever changing landscape that recruitment throws at you.

During my time I have seen many things. Good and Bad. Smartphones, Social Media, Emojis/Memes, GPS, and Wi-Fi have become prominent. No one watches live tv and streams what they want to watch. Climate change is real, with people buying electric cars and recycling more. Not forgetting Boris telling us to stay home for the best part of two years whilst a pandemic swept the globe.

We are now living in a financial services world where we see computers trading the markets. FinTech firms are more trusted than high street banks. Crypto currencies now exist. We are almost living in a cashless environment. However, nothing will ever compare to recruiting during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Those were the darkest of days, yet I still managed to produce successful high achieving recruitment solutions whilst others struggled. Those times really contributed to deciphering what is needed to be a proven and tenured industry recruiter.

Maintaining relationships is of paramount importance, whether you are a client, candidate, or vendor, and you must treat each person you meet with respect. You will never know when you will need to reengage with them again, and it should then be accommodating.

Throughout the years I have met thousands of people, got to know them, and tried my very bet to make sure I have done everything I can to help. I have seen careers blossom, watch people become well trained, seen many counterparts get married and start families, and proud to have assisted hundreds of businesses and thousands of job seekers with their employment needs. I have worked with some incredibly talented recruiters, supported many inspirational leaders, made lots of friends, suffered with many hangovers, and have some rather hilarious and sometimes flabbergasting recruitment stories to tell.

Without you all, I could not have had the amount of success I have achieved. Whilst I am yet to see England win a major footballing championship or my golf game reach single figure handicap, I am however proudly married with 2 beautiful daughters, and the owner of one of the go-to names in Financial Services Recruitment. I am so proud to say I am the owner of CassonX and how we have built its strong market perception.

Last year witnessed a significant surge in hiring across our specialised recruitment market. In 2023, attrition rates slowed, companies were focused on retention of important team members, acknowledging the challenges of attracting talented individuals who can handle the demands of an Operations role within Capital Markets. It was a busy start to the year for Senior level hires, Q1 and Q2 is where the higher volume of roles at Director level (and above) came to market, ‘BAU’ hires have been more active throughout the year. There has been a focus from hiring managers on finding product specialists, largely with a view of automation in mind, this has driven the need for specialist recruiters to step-in as LinkedIn/direct advertisements are often failing to return suitable profiles.

Candidates with under 3 years’ experience are still the most requested profiles. A desire to attract talent with Excel VBA or Python skills is becoming increasingly popular, making this hire incredibly difficult, with demand showing a noticeable increase in salaries and total remuneration. I believe this has resulted in making this end of the market lack value, as demand is outstripping the supply. We still have to remind many firms that few graduate schemes were run in 2020 and 2021, which has impacted the candidate market at this level. The rising cost of living has also nudged potential candidates, across all degrees of competence, toward seeking new roles with better packages.

Salaries have seen an increase across all areas, albeit the difference wasn’t as significant as that seen through 2022. The most noticeable area of change this year has been within Controls and Transaction Reporting, where there has been high demand for candidates with broad regulatory scope, strong reporting coverage and an ability to mitigate potential risk within a standard BAU role. We have placed candidates with 2-3 years’ experience on salaries in the £70,000 – £80,000 with many not entertaining a conversation regarding a potential move without seeing a minimum of £10,000 salary increase. The contract market has been busier for FTC (vs PAYE), although many companies have struggled to find candidates quickly, this is often as the salary is reflective to match a permanent member of staff, and not incorporating the added risk of the incumbent taking on a contract position.

It is worth noting that working conditions are changing. We are seeing many companies now moving from a 3&2 hybrid working model, and now implementing at least a 4&1 or more noticeably a 5-day onsite working environment again. We get many candidates on a weekly basis, who have become accustomed to the hybrid model, now approaching us for a new role as their companies are enforcing a non-hybrid model. Largely because it is realised that employees do a lot of non-work-related things during the working hours and consequently distracts from hitting targets and cut-offs as example.

More companies are also holding face-to-face interviews instead of video, and this is why some recruitment processes have slowed to accommodate suitable interview times outside of standard working hours. Many companies are now enforcing a 3-month notice period across Operations staff.

We are delighted to let you know that CassonX has produced its annual salary and total compensation survey for the Capital Markets sector and separates the detail via role type and experience levels. Should you wish to see a copy then please go to our contact page, click on client@cassonx.com, select salary benchmarking and fill in your details accordingly. We will be happy to send you a copy via email, or even catch up over a coffee or lunch to discuss further.

I have been reminiscing on my tenured experience of recruiting into Financial Services. In particular the buzz of the City of London for 5 days a week.

It was only a few years back where one of the most important parts of going to work was to build face time with peers and seniors, to help credibility with career advancements and enhancing camaraderie. Not forgetting the fun factor too. It’s crazy to think that this was almost eradicated when COVID descended upon us.

Times have changed, we are now in a huge transition with working conditions, taking our journey back to pre-COVID times.

We are finding that remote roles are almost extinct, that’s for sure. Most firms are still adopting a 3/2 or 4/1 routine, however, there is a surge in companies now insisting on 5 days in the office, and is becoming normal again.

We get lots of candidates coming to us because their companies are enforcing 5 days in the office, and justified with lots of research out there that proves there is less productivity with companies that adopt weekly WFH arrangements. Employees have become accustomed to the new routine of it all – less commuting time and saving money on commuter costs, and yes, being able to take delivery on that all important item you need.

What I find flabbergasting is that we still get job applications of recent graduates who still want to work fully remote, with no idea of what the City used to be like, and expect to be rewarded and have impatient desires for career advancements

My team here at CassonX have seen that many companies now want to do face to face interviews again, not exclusively video, and certainly with those who have a 4/1 or 5 day in office week policy.

Fast forward 3 years, I think everyone will be back to 5 days in office, except for the much larger firms who want to save on office space, and can have more processing type of roles that can be done at home without supervision.

And just to think, 10 years ago I was reminiscing of working in the City where there was open outcry stock markets, and not just seeing it on Trading Places or The Wolf of Wall Street.

Candidates who fall into the 1 to 4 years’ of experience bracket have always been the most in demand type of profile recruiters are asked to find.

I have recruited during a couple of recessions, including the turmoil of the financial crisis post 2009, and I can honestly say that in my 18 year career specialising in Operations and Middle Office recruitment, the current market for these types of less experienced hires is one of the hardest and most challenging I have witnessed.

The main issue that we are facing is that most companies are only just starting to run graduate recruitment scheme, potentially the first since the summer of 2019, which consequently means that there is a distinct lack of individuals who fall in the 0 to 3 years’ experience bracket. Whilst CassonX has been able to find those who have that level of experience for many companies, because of the sheer demand for this talent, it means that they are commanding salaries that are indicative of those who traditionally have between 4 and 7 years’ experience. It also means that actively searching candidates have a plethora of job opportunities to choose from, with most of these individuals not wanting to just do the same job in a company just for a little bit more money. This has been the typical hiring strategy for many years. Consider that a lot of businesses will give them the chance to move into roles with an opportunity to develop and learn/do more, deemed more of an “exciting” opportunity than the traditional entry level Operations where they might have trained.

Very intriguingly, in most instances where the lucky few have managed to secure a role within Operations over the last couple of years, their working career dictates that they haven’t even been into the office five days a week and only ever experienced hybrid working conditions. Trying to attract this junior talent is very challenging, so the knock on effect mean that those with 4 to 7 years’ experience are the most inexperienced people that most employers can find available, and making that level of experience very demanding and competitive too. Candidates are demanding substantially more when moving for the same type of role. As example, candidates aren’t moving for a standard 4/5% increase, they are able to command £10,000 pay rises with probably rounding it up to the next £5,000 marker. And most companies are willing to pay it to attract the talent they want and be competitive.

Trying to educate some potential employers about this current climate and market conditions has been the hardest part of our role as a trusted recruitment partner, especially if they haven’t had to hire for a period of time and seen this recruitment spike. It is also worth highlighting there has be a ton of hiring in the Operations market in the last 6 months, and concequently many previously available candidates are now not available having secured roles. Realistically, there are certainly no large pools of good candidates sitting at home unemployed given the sheer volumes of roles we have seen.

It’s not only enticing that is very difficult, especially if companies can’t offer video style interviews and insist on face to face interviews, but also companies are really struggling with retaining their staff also. I am starting to experience many of my clients talking to me about offering retention incentives and other creative ways they are trying to keep their staff from having their heads turned. Especially as the cost of living has substantially increased this year too. The best advice I have given everyone considering a retention bonus is to make sure that this is on top of what they are already doing, and not, as example, as a substitute to a bonus they are receiving. It is becoming lot more standard in the industry that those working in Operations have a 3 months’ notice period as standard also. Unfortunately this does not fend off interest from other firms though.

Only 3 years ago I recall talking to businesses about people who wanted to only work 3 days in the office, and this was almost laughable. Because of the recent pandemic, the hybrid working model has now become a normality. Can you believe that candidates are now looking for even more flexibility than that! Especially when this is only what they have experienced hybrid conditions with their careers so far.

CassonX have really struggled sourcing talent for opportunities with companies where they want their employees in the office five days a week, or even host interviews in a face-to-face capacity. This is deemed much less favourable and given the huge amount of opportunities available to candidates, they have quite bluntly rejected the chance to even meet with them given the variety of options available. Unbelievably, some candidates are now demanding a chance to work from home at every single day of the week, which is not something CassonX agrees with for many reasons – especially for building camaraderie, but is showcasing and indicative of the new working conditions in the modern world that we are working towards.

We are also now passed the period where people are “lucky to still have a job”, and if an employee hasn’t been rewarded with pay rises or bonuses, then I can almost guarantee they will be looking for a new role, after committing and remaining loyal during this abnormal pandemic period. Even if they aren’t actively looking, then given the aggressive marketing strategies available on social media platforms, and of course LinkedIn, then I can guarantee they would have received communication from at least one recruiter at some stage offering a golden carrot to leave.

It is very much a candidate lead market at the moment, please do consider how the market has changed over the last year before hiring talent at this level.

CassonX are very happy to discuss any of this information with those that are looking to hire talent, and how best to be successful in this climate.

There are three main qualities you need to have to succeed in a job in the City: a corporate mentality, determination and a strong work ethic.

Having a corporate mentality is very important if you want to succeed in this environment. Many people come to work in the City because they want to earn significantly more money, but you have to appreciate that you are working for a conglomerate and that, fundamentally, thriving in that environment takes the right kind of individual coupled with the right attitude.

The City is renowned for hiring the crème de la crème of the market – and indeed that’s the way it should be. To get there, having the determination to succeed should go hand in hand with also having the right work ethic.

You have to try your best and make sure that you surround yourself with good people. You are only as good as the people around you, and having a good boss who you believe in is crucial.

The most important lesson I have learnt over the years is: look after yourself.

To do this, work with a manager who will give you clear and measurable goals that are in line with your expectations.

The best piece of advice I could offer to anyone who wants to work in the City is: don’t try and run before you can walk.

It is highly unlikely that you will land your dream role straight away, so the first job that you have in the City is not the job you’re going to be doing forever. Whilst many people want to land the perfect role immediately, sometimes to achieve your goals you have to do things you don’t really want to do to get there, especially when you’re starting out.

When trying to get a job in the City, it’s really important to ensure that you can clearly communicate why you should be hired above other people.

Competition is fierce. What are your unique selling points? What it is that makes you stand out when hiring managers are looking through countless CVs?

Fundamentally, the City is a great place to work, and the financial rewards can be great.

People who work in the City are paid, on average, 40% more than someone doing a similar role outside of London. However, in order to get here, you need to be at the top of your game. The things that will make you stand out are your personal traits and your ability to you fit into a firm’s culture. So if you want to get a job in the City, don’t be disheartened if you do really well in the interview, but then get feedback that says they don’t think you’ll fit into the team. You have to trust that those managers are making their decisions based on the current make up of their environment. Keep going at it, don’t give up, and do things that other people are not doing. David Beckham didn’t become the best free kick taker by just training with his team mates and kicking a ball all day – it was because he used to do all that work and then stay behind after training every single day to practice 100 free kicks. You need to be doing that.

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