London could soon be devoid of wealthy headhunters
It's not only investment bankers and hedge fund managers who feel the pull of Geneva. Wealthy headhunting types are also eyeing up Switzerland according to law firm Withers.
The Financial Times says Withers ran a survey of, 'wealthy individuals including bankers, accountants, independent financial advisers and headhunters', 75% of whom said they were 'likely or somewhat likely' to move abroad in the next 12 months.
Who were these wealthy headhunters? And is the City in danger of a terrible headhunting brain drain?
We spoke to the head of one financial services headhunting firm (currently on the ski slopes), who said he numbers among the people contemplating getting out of the UK.
"To be honest with you, I've been thinking about moving to Switzerland for the past 10 years. It's something that annoys my wife every time we go on holiday - I spend three days of the week looking at houses," he says.
Nevertheless, a spokeswoman for Withers suggests the risk of a headhunter exodus might be somewhat exaggerated. The figures quoted in the FT came from a vote taken at a seminar held by the law firm which was titled, 'Should I stay or should I go', making it hardly surprising that so large a percentage claimed an interest in going.
The spokeswoman also said headhunters made up only a "handful" of the 172 attendees, and some of that handful were attending on behalf of their clients.
If there are inordinately wealthy members of the London recruitment community who fancy moving to Switzerland, they're probably CEOs rather than mere search executives. "A lot of people, including headhunters, have done very well over the past decade," confided the search CEO we spoke to. "But it would be very difficult to deal with clients if you're based in Geneva," he added.
