Hedge funds hiring IT contractors

Man Group has been spending freely on technology over the last year, and is expected to continue to do so going into 2010. To carry out the new projects, it's been hiring an ever-growing team of contractors, a tactic other hedge funds are also employing.

Operating costs amounted to $275m in the financial year to March 2009, and the hedge fund giant incurred a "significant increase in technology costs", with projects being rolled out to "increase the scalability and robustness of our infrastructure and to support the growth of our business in the future".

It added in its annual report:

"To accomplish this we have grown our temporary headcount, as by using people on short-term contracts we can access the technical expertise we require while maintaining our cost flexibility."

Simon Walker, director of financial technology recruiters Project Partners, says hedge fund contractor hiring has picked up this year.

"A couple of years ago, hedge funds were rarely in the market for IT contractors," he says. "Now, however, many view technology as an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage and we're seeing a spike in taking on contractors for new projects. Even the boutique funds are taking on contractors, albeit in small numbers, often to implement off-the-shelf products, usually around order management systems."

But Alistair Singleton, managing director of tech-focused recruiters 7 Fifty Two Solutions, believes Man Group may be the exception.

"We're certainly seeing a lot more contractor hiring in the City generally at the moment," he says. "But a lot of the larger hedge funds we speak to are doing little or no hiring for either contract or permanent staff."