Are new ACAs firmly relegated to product control?

It's the private fantasy of many a new ACA: to escape the tedium of audit and break into the excitement of equity research or maybe M&A. For many, however, the reality of a move into banking is a career in the middle office. Most roads lead directly to product control.

Unfortunately for this year's new ACAs, product control is occupying a larger space on the map than usual. Banks hired a lot of new ACAs into front office roles in early 2010. That process may not be repeated in 2011.

"I don't see much hiring of junior M&A people into bulge bracket houses in early 2011," says one recruiter specialising in the area. "In M&A, 2010 was very much about hiring at the junior and senior end. Next year, we're expecting a lot more recruitment activity in the mid ranks - at senior associate, VP and director level."

Any deterioration in ACAs' prospects is down to banks' historical hiring trends. In years when banks don't hire many graduates they typically need to top up with ACAs a few years' down the line. In years when banks hire sufficient graduates, they don't.

Hence, in 2008 banks didn't hire many graduates. And in 2010 they needed to bring in ACAs as second year analysts to work in M&A and equity research. In 2009 banks increased graduate hiring, so the need for an ACA injection is likely to be less acute.

Some recruiters insist ACAs are still as sought after as ever, however.

"We're finding that there's still significant demand for ACAs in front office banking right across the board," says James Heath at Greenwich Partners. "There are a large number of roles in M&A, research, and private equity."

Logan Naidu, a Partner at recruitment firm The Cornell Partnership, says there's still some demand for ACAs to go into equity research. However, he adds that the number of ACAs who achieve front office banking roles is small in any year.

"We're talking tens, not hundreds," he says.