Looking Back

The first quarter of 2025 has seen a slightly renewed momentum in hiring activity across compliance and financial crime functions within brokerages, FX firms and commodity houses. After a reasonable uptick in Head of Compliance opportunities coming to market towards the end of last year, we’ve started to see the fruits of those processes coming to bear as a number of Compliance and Financial Crime leaders have now taken up their new mantles. Naturally, we’d expect these new senior appointments to serve as a precursor for wider team changes and new strategic direction, as the wave of downstream hiring is triggered. We can expect to see the number of new opportunities in these businesses for Analyst/Associate and Manager level talent grow and, in this regard, the openness for typically passive candidates to engage in conversations and explore new options has been at the highest levels I’ve seen for a good eighteen months.

How to secure this talent

There has probably been an all too common case in recent years of looking for that unicorn candidate who ticks every single box, and then some. With teams being typically lean in this space, I understand the importance of finding that individual who is going to bring the perfect balance of being the right hire from both a technical and cultural perspective. A few pieces of advice to hiring teams to ensure you’re not missing out on that next great hire:

• Promotion of your brand and culture. For any compliance professional, the perception of compliance within a firm is going to be critical in their decision to join. The best talent doesn’t want to be there to tick boxes, they want to contribute and add value. Sell to candidates what you are doing better than the rest and why they should be excited about joining you.
• Spot the potential. I’ve always advocated to more junior candidates to chase the experience, rather than the title, then hopefully the latter just becomes a bi-product in time. But, this also needs to come from the Hiring Manager by spotting those who want that experience and perhaps haven’t been in the right environment previously to flourish. Ask the right questions, understand their motivations and why they perhaps haven’t had that exposure previously.
• Provide feedback. To both the candidate and their Recruiter, feedback is critical. For them it will ensure they’re developing and even if they don’t secure a role, there’s something to hopefully take away from the experience. For us, it’s important in ensuring any future candidates aren’t lacking in the same areas and keeping that all important time to hire to an absolute minimum.

Hot property and abundant talent

One of the most resilient skillsets across the market in these firms has been in Trade Surveillance and Market Abuse, which, despite the varying market conditions so far this year, continues to be an area firms look to strengthen and invest in. Speaking to senior leaders in this space, this is largely down to the firm’s continued pressure to ensure robust surveillance frameworks are in place, particularly as trading strategies become more complex and regulatory scrutiny around conduct risk intensifies.

First line financial crime roles continue to be a hiring area where little external support is required, given the strong, active pool of talent available. However, we have seen demand for those whose experience  spans both first and second line roles increase. These are those often described “1.5LoD” type roles, with firms favouring individuals who can combine regulatory expertise with hands-on knowledge of surveillance systems and data analysis tools.

Away from industry, the demand for talent in consultancy continues to grow, with a number of key clients in this space hiring at all levels, due to increased demand for their own clients. This is typically a good sign of purse strings being loosened and a good barometer of what will be happening from a wider hiring perspective across Financial Services. Away from the BAU support these firms will consult on, we’re also hearing that they’re receiving high demand for specialists in technology and AI, for larger projects, with automation being such a high priority for firms and likely one of the key causes of what was referenced in the previous observation.

Looking Forward

With all of the above taken into account, we also have the FCA’s recently published, five-year strategy for 2025–2030 to provide a useful lens through which to view further potential future hiring trends. The regulator’s focus on preventing serious harm, setting higher standards, and promoting innovation signals a broader shift in expectations—not just from a governance perspective, but also in how firms are expected to build and scale their compliance functions. This strategy will likely drive increased investment in areas such as ESG compliance, consumer duty oversight, and the intersection of financial crime with digital innovation, as mentioned before.

The companies who are doing the below are going to be in the best position to build best in class compliance and financial crime teams across this space:

• Be proactive. Those who will align hiring needs in compliance and financial crime with emerging priorities and regulatory developments, rather than just reacting, will be getting the better pick of the bunch.
• Building the right teams. The best compliance teams I work with all have one thing in common, the teams’ strengths all compliment each other. There are those with a more technical focus, those who cover broader areas of compliance and are the real “team players” and those can lead and manage effectively. Striking a good balance is critical.

To discuss any future career opportunities or anything similarly related with pipelining talent and potential future hiring needs, please reach out to shane.cassidy@coopman.uk.