On average, financial services candidates currently need to interview for 2.5 roles before receiving an offer. At least that's the assertion of recruiter Marks Sattin, whose research suggests that five interviews generally elicit two or three job offers. "Obviously, this has to be put into context; if you're not at all suitable for the role, candidates could apply for hundreds of positions and their success rate will be limited," says Tim Hedger,... Read more

If you're an energy trader, it's a safe bet that you're a bit worried about your job. Overall, due to tech and the big players taking over, there's fewer jobs. Plus, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is just about ready to announce position limits for physical commodity derivatives as mandated by Dodd-Frank. That, and expected regulation in the EU, is sure to shake things up. "There's been some downsizing already, but... Read more

Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Bank of America aren't holding holiday parties this year. For some banks, this is the third straight year they'll take a pass on year-end festivities. [TheStreet.com] Spending at expensive restaurants in New York is up as traders and executives are feeling more secure. [NY Times] Flush with extra funds, investment managers are spending it on technology executives who can cut costs. [InvestmentNews] Crédit Agricole is seeking to capitalize on... Read more

IT budgets are soaring as banks prepare to meet new compliance requirements, with one technology executive saying his budget is up 30 percent this year. [Financial News] Goldman Sachs is preparing to launch an exchange-like trading platform to increase transparency in equities trading, joining others such as Nomura and UBS who have done the same thing. [Financial News] Spanish banks Santander and BBVA are moving into new products and markets such as... Read more

Hedge fund compensation is up for the second straight year, according to a new report by Glocap and Hedge Fund Research. Here's some samples of total compensation, which varies based on job title, fund size, and performance: - Senior Trader: small and mid-size fund, middle performance - $365,000 - Chief operating officer: large fund - $800,000 - Portfolio manager: small fund, top performance: $1.23 million - Portfolio manager: larger fund, top performance: $4.85 million -... Read more

Wall Street staffing is showing signs of life: Both bulge brackets and boutiques - soem of them, anyway - are hiring, while laid off bankers are landing temportary assignments. [Crain's] Citigroup is hiring hundreds of bankers and other staff in its European securities and investment banking business. [WSJ] Nomura is vying to become a bigger player in U.S. investment banking by targeting new acquisitions and growing its North American staff, which has... Read more

Hedge fund bonuses could rise 5 percent this year, according to a new report. [HedgeFund.net] Wells Fargo has launched a hedge fund and private equity administration service, and is adding staff in accounting and portfolio servicing. [Marketwatch] Standard Chartered could increase headcount in derivatives and sales by 10 percent next year to manage opportunities in commodities. [Bloomberg] MBA talent is once again in demand, with placement rates bouncing back from recession lows. But... Read more

Fueled by a shriveling buyout market and new opportunities in the terrain inhabited by investment banks, private equity firms are branching out. KKR is doing it. So is Blackstone. The Carlyle Group could soon join them. That means downsized investment bankers may be able to take their game elsewhere. Having poached a team of prop traders from Goldman Sachs, KKR could launch a hedge fund next year. Blackstone boasts a hedge... Read more

Declining assets and uncertain business models have resulted in the departure of more than 7,300 brokers from the largest banks. [Bloomberg] JPMorgan launched several new treasury services offerings to help financial institutions as part of its expansion of its clearing business. [Marketwatch] Man Group could lay off 10 percent of its sales team, after its acquisition of GLG Partners created redundancies. [Finalternatives] IT contractors at UK financial institutions are seeing fewer permanent job... Read more

UBS is launching a group devoted to capital raising and deal advice for the renewable energy and clean technology sectors. An internal memo says the group will be led by Jim Schaefer as global head and David Dolezal as Americas head. [Deal Journal] Wealth management recruitment is taking off despite many participants maintaining a freeze on hiring in investment banking and asset management. Many of the business's big names are scrambling... Read more

Finance Tech Jobs Flee Japan Finance tech jobs in Japan have been steadily moving to other parts of Asia for some time, and now it seems Tokyo is losing out to Hong Kong and Singapore in more sectors than ever before. [Japan] BNY Mellon Enters Canada BNY Mellon is making its first foray into Canada’s wealth management market, hoping to tap into the fifth-largest population of millionaires worldwide with the planned acquisition of... Read more

Describe your career path. I began my career as a consultant with Andersen Consulting and spent three years there. I was hired by my client, a predecessor to Wells Fargo. I've been with the bank for 23 years, working in various technology groups and culminating in trust systems management. I moved into trust operations, where I've been for the past 17 years. Initially my role was to assist with the conversion... Read more

Equity researchers are on the rise [Japan] Foreign firms in Tokyo are beginning to increase their equity research hiring. And though much of the current activity is for replacements or upgrades, recruiters are hopeful that some serious expansion might be just around the corner. Get set for a fixed-income talent fight [Singapore] The People’s Bank of China’s recent announcement allowing RMB held offshore to be invested in its domestic bond market is... Read more

Banks in China need more techies [China] Banking IT professionals are in demand in China. Standard Chartered is, for example, hiring for roles including CSS technical managers and senior technical analysts. But firms have high standards about the type of people they want to take on. ECM picks up again, but talent is scarce [Japan] ECM recruitment has been picking up in Tokyo. Question is: will it stay that way? Oh to be... Read more

Wells Fargo is getting back into the commercial mortgage-backed securities that helped fell Wachovia Corp., the bank it bought in 2008. Wells Fargo has added more than 20 bankers and support personnel over the past three months to increase loan originations and bundle them into CMBS. It now has 70 to 80 employees devoted to underwriting and packaging loans for securitization, down from a peak of 120. Other firms moving... Read more

The technology skills most sought by financial employers are C, C++ and C#, followed by Java/J2EE, according to an analysis of current eFinancialCareers job postings. "Companies are looking to recruit programmers, database administrators and project managers in various operations including algorithmic trading, risk management and wealth management to name a few," observes Constance Melrose, managing director of eFinancialCareers North America. The next-most frequent skills the postings ask for are database administrator, SQL... Read more

BlackRock plans a major expansion of its advisory and exchange-traded funds operations, particularly in Asia, now that it's nearly digested its acquisition of Barclays Global Investors. The advisory business, BlackRock Solutions, is understaffed at present, in the view of Chief Executive Laurence Fink. “We see huge opportunities with BlackRock Solutions," he told investors during Wednesday's second-quarter earnings conference call. "We’re hiring quite a few people in building it out.” Signaling both... Read more

Jessica Mazor, a recruiter with KForce Finance & Accounting Professional Staffing, speaks to eFC's Emma Johnson about placing finance and accounting professionals in new media companies. Before the recession, those in the financial sector wanted to say on Wall Street, but that is changing. There are a lot of weird little startups popping up – especially in publishing and social media and the technology that backs such projects, and they... Read more

In financial IT, experienced candidates are plentiful but there is a shortage of new college graduates for junior or entry-level positions, says BNY Mellon's new chief information officer. John Fiore told Wall Street & Technology: If we’re looking for talent that has some amount of time in the workforce, a particular expertise over an extended amount of time with certain technology or subject matter, the available talent pool is good. Unfortunately,... Read more

It's not the mistake or even the crime that slaughters your reputation – it's the cover-up. Richard Nixon learned that lesson the hard way. Now it's Barr Rosenberg's turn. The famed quant's ouster from the influential fund company that bears his name is a sobering reminder that promptly owning up to errors – even costly ones – is essential for both businesses and individuals. Rosenberg's firm, owned by Paris-based AXA S.A.,... Read more