Job vacancy: Senior currency risk expert required

The plunging US dollar is a reminder that it is not only equities and bonds that can fall off a cliff. It is no good choosing the right asset class if at the same time you are stuck in the wrong currency.

The euro's 13% rise against the dollar this year is proof that a good currency risk expert is worth their weight in - well, whatever currency they care to nominate. The Argentine peso's 65% plunge against the dollar, after the collapse of a peg that looked indestructible, makes the case even more strongly.

Russell Adam, of the fund management headhunter Adam Grant, says quite a few currency experts have itchy feet at the moment after a bonus round that was a lot less generous than 2001. Rightly or wrongly, many feel undervalued by their employer.

Adam Grant has advertised for a director-level currency fund manager for the global fixed interest team of a large US firm, based in London. Candidates must have at least 10 years experience of actively managing currency exposures.

'Individuals will also be expected to excel at client presentations,' the job ad says. They will manage a number of key portfolios, including cash, and develop a currency overlay product.

The advert describes the pay as 'top quartile' - which other headhunters say could take the total package to well above 175,000 even in these straitened times. Such vacancies are thin on the ground these days.

Bonuses of investment professionals in the UK fell last year by an average of 35% from 2001, according to the Association for Investment Management and Research. That left a typical total package at 103,502.

More than 50% of those surveyed thought they were underpaid, the survey found.

Wishful thinking perhaps. Fund managers have been making their share of layoffs in recent months. Gartmore announced a 4% headcount reduction in May with the explanation that: 'Business and market conditions are pretty grim for the UK fund management industry.'

Russell Adam said most of the grimness across the industry is in equities, with fixed income staff more in demand - notably portfolio managers and credit analysts. Small firms were some of the busiest hirers.

He added that mid-career staff were most vulnerable to redundancy and found it hardest to move to another firm. The job market was stronger for senior employees and those near the start of their career.

Guaranteed bonuses, he added, were still on the table for outstanding candidates in some positions.

Whoever gets the job will be taking over at an interesting time, with George Soros' Quantum Group aggressively selling the dollar last month and interest increasing across the board in emerging markets.

Job Vacancy looks at advertisements from both eFinancialCareers.com and other sources