Some new hope for unemployed asset managers in Ireland

It's not been a great couple of months for the 30 employees of the LBBW Asset Management (Ireland). Its German parent company, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, announced it was closing its Dublin operation in August at a time when fund managers' appetite to recruit has been dampened.

Now, however, there appears to be a little hope. Credit-focused hedge fund Stone Tower Capital has opened a new European HQ on Fitzwilliam Place in Dublin and has hired former LBBW Asset Management chief executive, Tim Richards, as well as an ex-senior portfolio manager, Alan Kelly.

Stone Tower Capital is a relatively boutique operation - it has 72 employees globally - but the move to open an office in Dublin is part of its plans to expand in Europe and it seems likely that Richards would look towards ex-LBBW Asset Management colleagues who are facing imminent redundancy as the firm moves its operations to London and Stuttgart.

Options elsewhere for front office positions look scant. Other credit focused asset managers in Dublin include Avoca Capital and Habourmaster Capital, but the latter's recent acquisition by Blackstone's GSO Capital Partners suggests a period of flux for the firm.

Headhunters insist that while asset management recruitment is slow currently, small international firms continue to view Dublin as an attractive destination for European headquarters and roles are being created. We're also told that Pioneer Investments is hiring again.

Robin Craig, director of finance recruiters Careers Compass, says: "There are a handful of asset managers recruiting and talk of new European operations in Dublin, but front office professionals on the job market currently should consider alternatives."

And, currently, the most plentiful alternative opportunities are cropping up in...the domestic banks.

If you're working in the NAMA or restructuring teams within the banks, some roles are, suggest recruiters, "glorified property and credit asset management". A lot of the skills acquired managing a credit portfolio are transferable to working out banks' soured investments, and firms would consider recruiting asset managers for these roles (although a pay cut should be anticipated).

Banks are also hiring people to help deleverage their balance sheet, suggests Craig, and again fund managers would be considered for these roles.

For people working in compliance and risk management roles in LBBW, there are decidedly more options. Recruiters point to a talent shortage in this area and a range of financial services firms are hiring in relatively voluminous numbers.