Hedge Funds -- All Investment Funds -- Will Be Hiring More in 2014
Regulatory wrangling and legislative lags aren’t hampering investment management executives who say they plan to hire even more people next year, thanks to rising revenues and growth prospects in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific.
The vast majority, or 81% of U.S. senior executives representing mutual funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, trusts, managed funds and other type of funds, say revenues have grown over the past year, up from 60% last year, according to KPMG's 2013 Investment Management Business Outlook Survey released Tuesday. Next year’s outlook is even brighter, with 84% predicting revenues will continue to rise over the next year, up from 69% optimism last year.
Executives are equally bullish on hiring with Nearly half (46%) of more than 100 executives surveyed say headcount has increased over the past year, and 48% anticipate more hiring over the next year.
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The majority (57%) say the U.S. is the most promising region for asset growth, following by 28% bullish on Asia and the Pacific region.
"While economic, political and regulatory uncertainty remain issues for asset managers, they appear more focused on investing in their infrastructure, geographic expansion and growing their businesses," said Jim Suglia, national advisory leader for investment management.
The overall outlook will be further bolstered if SAC Capital’s billionaire founder Steven A. Cohen shakes off criminal charges as expected. You might say Goldman Sachs is betting on SAC’s survival. The Wall Street titan plucked star salesman Jack Johnston, who does big business with the hedge fund, from top competitor Morgan Stanley.
High profile moves over the last week include:
- Guggenheim Securities, which has more than $180 billion in assets under management, on Tuesday said it hired an eight-member investment banking team led by Senior Managing Director James D. Decker.
- Moore Capital Management, the $12.1 billion hedge fund founded by Louis Bacon, reportedly hired Morgan Stanley credit trader Anthony Wainer.
- BlueCrest Capital Management, the $36 billion hedge fund run by Michael Platt, is said to have added three credit traders: Simon Gee, previously a managing director at Goldman Sachs; Sid Gowda from Credit Suisse Group; and Daniel Escobar, formerly of Arrowgrass Capital Partners.
State Street Ambitiously Recruiting (eFinancialCareers)
The U.S.-based global giant is using a direct sourcing model to meet its goal of filling 27% of senior management roles with women. The approach is already benefiting banks and Big Four accounting firms that are turning away headhunters.
Advisers Stay Put at Brokerages (Reuters)
Fewer financial advisers are fleeing the biggest U.S. brokerage firms, fostering a positive forecast for the firms. Some 200 teams of veteran advisers moved through the end of June, down from about 300 during the same period last year, based on Reuters data of teams that manage $100 million or more in client assets.
Private Equity’s New Frontier (eFinancialCareers)
With a slowdown in Asia, and tough competition for jobs in the U.S. and Europe makes Africa an attractive choice. The continent’s largest economy, South Africa, continues to flourish as the hub of activity.
RBC Builds New York Desk (Bloomberg)
RBC Capital Markets has hired co-heads of its energy futures desk in New York from UBS. William Argiriou will be responsible for client coverage of energy producers, refiners, banks and hedge funds, and J. Chris McCormack will focus on large-cap oil companies, banks, trading companies and hedge funds.
Extra Pressure for Biggest U.S. Banks (Reuters)
J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York Mellon and State Street would need to hold twice as much equity capital as required globally under proposed regulation. The Basel III rule would impose a leverage ratio, requiring them to hold equity capital equal to 6% of total assets.
NYSE Euronext Wins Libor (DealBook)
The disputed benchmark interest rate that helps determine the cost of short-term loans around the world stands to benefit from the deal. The banks that help set the daily rate have been accused of conspiring to rig the rate, resulting in billions of dollars in fines and arrests.
Buzz Around the Office
UK telecom provider O2 is hoping that encouraging feline types to embrace their inner canine will win business.
List of the Day: Praiseworthy Workplace Rules
It’s important to know who and when to praise at work.
- Don't hesitate to praise people who get a lot of praise already. (It could win you praise in the end.)
- Look for something less obvious to praise; even the little things count.
- Never offer praise and ask for a favor in the same conversation.
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