Asset managers increase IT spending and hiring

Investment banks aren't the only ones on a techie recruitment drive.

Leading fund management companies have increased spending on IT business development by a generous10 percent year-on-year. Little surprise, therefore, that their demand for IT staff is also on the up.

"There has been an increase in IT spend at asset management companies each year, since lows of 2003. The highest rise has been in 2006, when IT spend grew by 10 percent year-on-year," says Karen Andrews, head of recruitment at fund management consultancy Investit.

She says IT spending is focused on business development investment rather than business-as-usual costs and that headcount is increasingly correspondingly.

"At the moment it is harder to find good candidates than vacancies," says Andrews. "Clients have to move quickly in this environment. And they are required to pay well for the best quality staff."

Echoing her views, Brent Harris, permanent recruitment manager for IT at Aston Carter, says: "Recently, we have been approached by a significant number of hedge funds looking to build IT teams." He said these hedge funds are finding that in order to improve such things as speed to market, some of the analytics, or pricing systems, they need to build new bespoke systems.

"They are looking to hire strong analyst programmers, specifically from the investment banking community to develop them," said Harris.

How much will fund managers pay you? Analyst programmers can expect six-figure salaries, say consultants. Asset management IT staff with good business-facing skills are most sought after, particularly if they have experience in client reporting, OTC derivatives, testing and trading system upgrades.