No counting on Scots quant managers

Quantitative fund managers are hot property in London and New York. But not, it seems, in Scotland.

"I'm scratching my head to

think of anyone doing it on a large scale," says Lindsay Gardiner, head of PricewaterhouseCoopers financial services practice in Scotland. "Quantitative fund management is not part of the 'long-only' Scottish investment management tradition."

He adds that investment trusts, rather than the more recently arrived (and more quantitatively focused) hedge funds, are the bedrock of Scotland's history and culture of investment. Not that this is a problem - Scottish funds like Baillie Gifford, Standard Life and Artemis peform favourably compared with quant funds, just with a little less in the way of mathematics.

But this is certain to change, says Professor Amin Rajan of Create-Research, an asset management consultancy firm. "I think things will change as Scottish fund mangers decide to go into alternative assets like hedge funds and need quant capabilities," he tells us. "Hedge funds are underdeveloped in Scotland where managers take a long, cautious view, compared to the high-risk appetite of hedge fund managers."

However, if and when quant-focused funds do push into Scotland, they may be met by a dearth of talent. Karen Rogerson, a senior consultant at recruitment firm Poolia, says one Scottish client took a long time to find the right candidate for a quant role last year.