Finance Jobs Leaving Wall Street for Greener Pastures
Companies located in big cities pay big wages. This is especially true in financial services. The majority of well-to-do U.S. bankers reside in or around New York City, or in other sprawling metropolitan locales. If you’re aspiring for a big paycheck, stick to Wall Street, but do so knowing that there’s better job security in smaller cities where financial firms are adding workers, not cutting them.
Although New York still hosts the greatest number of financial services jobs, employment in the sector has fallen an eye-opening 7.4% since 2007. It’s not likely to rebound anytime soon as banks are becoming leaner in high-profile areas that are typically based in New York, like investment banking and sales and trading.
Smaller cities, meanwhile, are seeing double-digit growth in financial services employment. Richmond, Virginia has seen a 12% uptick in the employment of financial services workers since 2009, according to a list compiled by Forbes. Capital One, SunTrust Bank, Genworth Financial, Bank of America and Wells Fargo contribute to the nearly 48,000 financial services jobs in Richmond.
Pittsburg – yes, Pittsburg – is the second-highest ranked city on the Forbes’ list, hosting over 72,000 jobs with a growth rate of 3.4% in 2012 alone. Cities in Texas and Florida are seeing huge gains in employment, along with Salt Lake City, where Goldman Sachs is adding talent.
The landscape of finance employment is changing for one main reason: money. Cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami host the most expensive jobs – the ones being cut. Plus, thrifty banks are putting more of a focus on operational costs. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper to keep the lights on in Salt Lake City than it is in downtown Manhattan.
And you don’t just have to move there on your own. Plenty of banks are offering relocation assistance for those willing to leave city life behind them.
Must-Ask Investment Banking Questions (eFinancialCareers)
Here’s a list of questions you should be asking during investment banking interviews, along with a few that should never leave your mouth.
Lloyds Choses Asset Sale (WSJ)
Lloyds Banking Group has sold $5.03 billion worth of U.S. residential-mortgage backed securities to help boost its capital position. Banks have been utilizing asset sales or layoffs to meet capital requirements, so this stands as good news for bankers at Lloyds.
Wanna Make $500,000? (Bloomberg)
New York City’s retirement system is sick of paying millions of dollars to asset management firms that oversee its $140 billion in pensions. Larry Schloss, the city’s chief investment officer, says it’s time to hire money managers to work in-house. “I’m just looking for a VP at MetLife who makes $500,000 bucks,” he said. Sounds like a good gig.
Four more Internal Revenue Service employees will sit before a congressional panel to discuss their role in the organization’s alleged targeting of right-wing groups. Each employee in question works at the IRS’s Cincinnati office.
No More Silos (Financial News)
Citigroup has broken down the walls between its electronic and sales trading desks, which have historically remained siloed. Orders sent through Citi's electronic trading desk can now be viewed by sales traders who can fill the orders through their own relationships. It’s yet another effort by banks to combat low trading volumes. Goldman Sachs and Knight Capital have made similar moves.
Banker Bashing (Business Insider)
Bankers “go along with an unthinking sense of entitlement and a mix of self-righteousness and self-centeredness, with just a hint of condescending tolerance for limited criticism,” Reuters editor Edward Hadas wrote in a recent op-ed. Tell us how you really feel, Ed.
Two U.S. private equity firms – General Atlantic and Warburg Pincus – have agreed to buy half of Santander Asset Management. They want to expand into new markets and double assets under management over the next five years. Now’s a good time to drop off a resume.
Buzz Around the Office
Wheel of Serious Fortune (Business Insider)
Enjoy the specter of what may be the most improbable Wheel of Fortune victory in recent memory. Not sure if even Pat Sajak would have gotten this one, and he had the answer right in front of him.
List of the Day: Resume No-Nos
Make sure to leave these items off your resume.
- Your work email or phone number.
- Volunteer experience that isn’t applicable.
- Skills that aren’t applicable.
