Jobs starting to come back to investment operations

After a recruitment freeze for much of last year, Scotland's investment operations employers are beginning to recruit again.

It's still a far cry from the hiring frenzy of 2008, but the word 'recruitment' is starting to re-enter the vocabulary of asset servicing and investment operations firms north of the border.

"There are quite a number of members that are thinking about expansion. And there is more willingness from candidates to step out and look at other jobs. It's not a huge sea change but there do seem to be more openings," says Alan Thornborrow, chief executive of Scottish Investment Operations.

Margaret Dyer, managing director of Joslin Rowe in Scotland believes that things are beginning to look up again.

"There is more optimism about investment operations and Scotland is increasingly being seen as a centre of excellence for asset servicing. Whether that will attract any more international players is difficult to say, but it would of course be fantastic," she explains

Scotland's asset servicing industry, led by the likes of BNP Paribas, JP Morgan, HSBC, State Street, Morgan Stanley and Citi, will still be "a big part" of Scotland's future, said Owen Kelly, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise in a recent blog.

And last month Steve Smit, a senior director at State Street, said that further consolidation in UK financial services over the coming years could benefit the industry in Scotland, with the company expecting to expand its operations substantially in Edinburgh as a result.

"In the past six months we have started to see more senior level jobs come back, sort of vice president and associate level, as well as mid-ranking, middle manager-level jobs," adds Thornburrow. "There has also been some entry-level recruitment going on. There does seem to be more optimism and quite a few firms now have plans for the next 12 months out."

Dyer, meanwhile, suggests that fund administration, settlements, reconciliation, custody and investment accounting roles are all likely to be in demand.