Competition is heating up for investment operations staff in Scotland
State Street's decision to add another 90 staff to its Edinburgh office adds further fuel to the view that investment operations is this year's growth story in Scotland. However, is there a sufficient supply of candidates to support this expansion?
The US asset manager is set to take its headcount in Edinburgh to 840 by the end of this year, after announcing plans to recruit a further 90 people.
It's not the only asset servicing firm building its team in Scotland. BlackRock is recruiting for an additional 250 people this year, JP Morgan is also hiring in Edinburgh, while Morgan Stanley is building its team in Glasgow.
We're still a long way from the massive job churn seen in the sector in 2006-07, but competition for candidates is heating up.
"When these large hiring announcements are made, there's usually a lot of movement, with some people willing to move for an extra couple of thousand on their salary," says Mike Leeman, manager - finance recruitment at Bright Purple in Scotland. "Competition is tight, but companies are still being very exacting with their requirements and have to be willing to compromise if they're recruiting in volume."
While the pay for these roles isn't tiny, anyone looking to move into the sector should be aware that salaries are below what you'd normally associate with a high-flying financial services role.
Graduates come in on around 18k, rising to 25-33k after two to three years' experience and 27-40k for a supervisor/manager role, suggest recruiters. It's only when you make it to VP status that salaries of 55-60k are on the table.
Nonetheless, the recent hiring announcements have helped boost the profile of investment operations in Scotland, and more people are looking to gravitate towards the sector.
"We've been holding various career events for graduates and they're better attended than they ever have been," says Alan Thornburrow, chief executive of Scottish Investment Operations. "It may not have been a sector many in Scotland would have considered before, but our members' graduate schemes are now over-subscribed."
