TMT: Generalists and mid-ranking corporate financiers sought

Recruiters report a shortage of equity researchers with a broad perspective on all three telecoms, media, and technology (TMT) sectors. At the same time, the decimation of corporate finance TMT teams in 2001 has led to shortage of mid-ranking sector specialists.

"In equity research there has been absolutely no incentive for people to learn about telecoms and media and technology," says Noel Marshall, managing director of banking and financial markets at recruitment firm Finance Professionals. "This is becoming a problem now that the sectors are converging and we have deals like Telewest and Virgin Mobile, which cover all three sectors."

In an article in yesterday's Financial Times, Colin Pratt, telecommunications and media analyst for Morley Fund Management, said it is now impossible for analysts to cover technology and telecoms without a parallel understanding of content. But analysts like Pratt remain rare, particularly on the buyside.

Corporate finance: revolving door

While equity research recruiters struggle with the lack of generalists, corporate finance TMT teams are apparently suffering a dearth of mid-ranking staff. "In the late 1990s some TMT teams had more than 100 bankers, including specialists in particular areas like fixed line telecoms," says one headhunter. "They were cannibalised in the downturn of 2001, and some teams now only have four or five generalists left."

As TMT hiring picks up, Marshall says the 2001 cuts have left banks with a severe shortage of mid-ranking corporate financiers with TMT expertise. "A whole tranche of experience was annihilated," he says. "People had already left for dot coms and those that remained were let go. If you want to hire someone with four or five years in TMT right now, then good luck."

Some banks have proven better than others at retrieving the TMT bankers they dumped. Marshall says UBS rehired many of its ex-sector specialists last year: "They've been very slick at it. Somehow, despite making people redundant, they managed to make them feel that they'd like to come back." Next time redundancies are on the cards, banks may like to bear this in mind.