Middle office and trade support market update

Recruitment trends and skills in demand – half year market update 2011

The recruitment market in the operations area in 2011 has remained steady;
The general trend away from external hiring of generic roles (settlements, corporate actions, loans administration etc.) continues, due to large scale off-shoring;
Hybrid roles with a focus on risk and/or change as well as typical line duties are more common and the market is evolving quicker than the candidate pool in this sense;
There is a huge demand for strong business analysts and project managers, particularly those with derivative product knowledge. We are also seeing an increase in roles working within client money and transaction reporting;
Compensation has on the whole remained flat this year. The only exception is within projects where contractors have been able to command high increases to move to new roles;
A related trend in 2011 is the number of permanent candidates who are looking to move into contracting. Poor bonuses being paid for the second year has further emphasised the lucrative nature of contractor rates for those capable of managing projects.

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