Private banks on the lookout for derivatives expertise

Derivatives specialists looking for a change from life in investment banking, are increasingly sought after by private banking operations.

Christian Sulger Buel, a headhunter at search firm Sulger Buel and Co, says private banks are looking to boost investment teams with staff conversant with derivative products. "Clients are proposing these products," he says. "And banks need people who can buy, identify and structure them."

In some cases, he adds, derivatives sales people can even make the transition to private banking relationship managers: "Only the biggest and bravest banks will do this."