Redundancies and offshoring to Singapore hurt Aussie quants, but banks now want to retain those that remain

The drive to cut costs by financial institutions in Australia is now even affecting the job market for quants, with roles being chopped or moved overseas.

Jason Bohringer, manager, banking and finance, Profusion, says some quants have been laid off this year as part of company-wide reductions. Oliver Spiers, director, BlackOcean Recruitment, adds that increasing numbers of Australian positions are shifting to Singapore, an important Asian hub for the function.

But there is some good news for those who’ve kept their jobs: employers would rather pay more to retain your skills than face the high cost of replacing you. The big proprietary trading firms, such as Optiver and Boronia Capital, who employ most quants in Australia, want to kept their knowledge in-house.

“Quants are very hard to dislodge if they are settled in a good role, and employers are going to great lengths to retain skilled staff,” says Bohringer. “There has been a significant rise in compensation for quants and developers this year, and bigger bonuses than ever before for those who have developed profitable systems.”

Raising the recruitment bar

When firms do hire, their standards are more stringent than ever – niche skills are needed. “They have incredibly specific asset class and modelling requirements,” says Spiers. “Linear modelling techniques are favoured over more exotic methods.”

Banks are generally looking for at least five years’ experience, particularly for those in specialist financial-markets roles, says Bohringer. However, proprietary traders still tend to employ junior quants.

Spiers says candidates are more cautious, too. “The subject matter of the new role used to be the most important factor, but it is now about stability. Building enduring relationships with clients has also become essential – without long-term relationships, there are no roles.”

Bohringer says the demand for quants won’t slow down in 2013 as firms still need to keep on track with new technologies.

Spiers believes there will be a greater focus on commodities and interest rates next year, but less demand for high-frequency trading in Australia may affect quants who work in this field.