Continental Europe, the UK and Ireland continue to face multiple headwinds brought on by geo-political conflict and associated posturing and precipitating a multi-decade escalation in inflation, resulting in Central Banks’ having to raise interest rates aggressively. There was much excitement in the UK Bond market near month end, when UK Gilts imploded, with long-duration bond yields dramatically rising more than 400 basis points in a week, necessitating BoE intervention to the tune of £65billion to stem the free-fall.

SKILLS SHORTAGES COME TO THE FOREFRONT OF CLIENT CHALLENGES

Recent events in the market must be seen as difficult learning lessons for those with less than 10-15 years’ experience in understanding factors including the consequence of inadequate liquidity and collateral, inappropriate risk modelling, a lack of portfolio diversification and the importance of macro thinking to name a few. Having experienced a largely steady decade, many individuals lack the real-life experience required to deal with the extreme changes in the market. This represents a huge skills shortage that will be difficult for employers to counteract.

Clients need to focus their attention on candidates who have demonstrated their ability to position portfolios differently, in a more conservative manner in order to perform effectively in today’s market, and competition for such talent will be rife.

IR35, COMMERCIAL MERGERS & INTERIM OPTIONS

The repeal of IR35 will open the door for significantly more independent professionals to provide their expertise via interim arrangements. On the back of ongoing corporate action, a number of highly-experienced investment professionals have suddenly found themselves in the market, immediately available to support your skill-short requirements.

Moreover, many commercial mergers that were formed in the past 18 months are now planning redundancy for those individuals in duplicated roles, which has resulted in wider access to skills in the market. While many employers are not in the position to commit to permanent hires, interim options are being considered by many to get large projects across the line in the coming months.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RECRUITMENT BUDGETS

It is expected that companies will start actively seeking out those skilled professionals best equipped academically and experientially to assist in mitigating investment risks, and well-schooled economists, macro-strategists and multi-asset/cross-asset specialists are in particular demand. At Coopman, we are well-equipped with a vast network to support you in securing this talent.

Availing of talent on an interim basis is a safeguarded solution to fulfilling project requirements, particularly if permanent opportunities aren’t a viable option in today’s climate.

Given the progressively deteriorating economic environment, firms in the process of making permanent offers to candidates, will need to provide firm assurances that the company is not going to subject incoming talent to redundancy.

If you are interested in learning more about live opportunities, or you would like to discuss how we can support your hiring processes in the current market, please get in touch with Gareth Connellan, Principal Consultant for Asset Management.