Is Scottish fund management bad for your health?

Should working in Scotland carry a health warning? The Federation of Small Businesses Scotland's annual Index of Success, published earlier this week, suggests it should.

The index revealed Scotland came bottom when compared with ten other similar countries on economic performance, employment rates, health and education. Scotland 's poor ranking was due largely to the country's low life expectancy rate, the lowest in the UK.

But headhunters charged with attracting top-tier fund managers and other finance executives to Scotland insist workers from the Square Mile remain keen to relocate north of the border because it can make them healthier and wealthier.

One east coast-based recruiter, who asked to remain anonymous, said that, far from carrying a health warning, Scotland should have a 'wealth warning'. "Your cash can go further here. Edinburgh is a great selling point for many City workers. It has the attractions of a modern cosmopolitan urban centre and also offers easy access to fantastic countryside and outdoor sports such as skiing, hiking and sailing so you can actually have a very healthy lifestyle if you want it.

"Property remains relatively cheap, with homes costing much less than they would in and around London. Parts of Glasgow are nice too."

The FSB Scotland index examined countries with fewer than nine million people, including Norway, Iceland and the Republic of Ireland. Within Scotland, Glasgow emerged as the worst place with the poorest record in three of the index's four indicators: mortality, education and employment.

Adding to the gloomy news, Scotland also fell in the OECD's table of the world's 24 most developed countries, falling one place to 17th.

The report's author, John McLaren, honorary research fellow at the University of Glasgow, says: "The reason why Scotland is stuck at the bottom of the pile is largely due to our poor health and our low life expectancy." Fortunately, financial services has nothing to do with it.