GCC wealth management hiring picks up again

In the first quarter of this year, recruitment in the Middle East wealth management sector had more or less ground to a halt. Now, however, with a bulk of talent to choose from and new entrants to the region, there are signs that an appetite to hire is re-emerging.

Obviously, in the current climate it would be slightly overly-optimistic to describe it as buoyant. The number of millionaires in the UAE fell by 13% (or 10,000 people) last year, according to the latest Merrill Lynch/Capgemini World Wealth Report, and even Saudi lost 10% of its high-net-worth individuals.

However, the GCC did comparatively well, says Amir Sadr, the head of Merrill Lynch's global wealth management business in the Middle East: "Given the difficulties in the Middle East region, it has actually outperformed many western regions, particularly in Saudi Arabia."

In the last two months, recruitment in this sector has suddenly perked up. Standard Chartered has just hired David Inglesfield as regional head of its private bank, Bank Sarasin-Alpen took on three senior hires for its Qatar office, and the Royal Bank of Canada has been expanding its wealth management arm in the region.

Then there's Emirates NBD, which is one of the first local players to enter the wealth management fray. Last month it hired a team of 50 for its new private banking division, following on from some key senior appointments in April.

"A lot of companies either let go of staff or left the region altogether towards the end of last year," says Ian Giulianotti, associate director, HRM consulting at Nadia Recruitment. "Now, however, there's a lot of talent available - including from international markets - and firms are realising the value in building their teams."

Sebastian Dovey, managing partner of wealth management advisor firm Scorpio Partnership, adds: "The appetite to expand sales distribution in the Middle East among the HNW sector is high. However, there is a significant constrain on the supply of true talent. The historic response of the industry has just been wage inflation caused by poaching people. But this is critically damaging. The real issue is more about building up talent from the ground up."

But salaries in the region are on a downward trajectory. After earning healthy amounts in 2008, Giulianotti says packages being offered now are around 15-20% smaller.

James Mackenize, managing director of Mackenzie Executive Search, says as competition heats up for a smaller pool of assets, the focus is on recruiting proven relationship managers rather than product specialists.

It's not entirely positive sentiment around the wealth management sector - Fortis Bank Suisse has closed its office in the DIFC. Still, this is more likely because of problems with the parent company rather than regional issues.