Cut backs in commodities, dissatisfaction in investment banking and (of course) offshoring in operations – finance careers in Asia Pacific are in a state of flux.
As a result, recruiters in Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney say an increasing number of finance professionals are looking to make major career changes into new departments, companies and sectors.
Earlier this week, we explained why quants are abandoning the front office in Asia. Today, we reveal nine other big switches that are shaking up the employment market in financial services.
Related links:
Bankers in Asia quit banks for corporate M&A jobs
Skill shortage alert: Banks in Singapore struggle to source cyber security staff
Why front-office quants in Asia are increasingly keen to have middle-office careers
1) Bulge-bracket MD to emerging-markets consultant
As they have in London and New York, global investment banks in Hong Kong and Singapore have been trimming their MD ranks over the past year. “As a result, a number of displaced directors and MDs have taken consultancy and training contacts, often as sole proprietors, at small local banks in developing markets like Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam,” says Pan Zaixian, general manager of Singapore search firm Kerry Consulting. “Their assignments include developing business strategies, compliance frameworks and trading platforms. It takes some adjustment to move from head-honcho positions at IBs, where they enjoyed great infrastructure support, to now doing their own PowerPoints and booking their own flights.”
2) Sell-side operations to buy-side operations
With large foreign banks offshoring back-office roles away from Singapore and Hong Kong, some sell-side operations professionals are seeking sanctuary on the buy-side. “We recently had a candidate who moved from an investment bank to an investment-management firm at a mid-senior level, focusing on derivatives operations,” says Orelia Chan, manager, financial services, Robert Walters Singapore. “The employer initially preferred someone from the buy-side, but they came to realise that some operations skills are transferable, so with the right product knowledge, managerial experience and personality fit, they became more receptive to banking candidates.”
3) Ops professionals quitting financial services
It’s not only front-office folk who are quitting the finance sector. “I have seen more and more people move out of operations and start up non-FS businesses,” says Kate Harper, associate director, risk and compliance, Asia Pacific, at recruiters Eximius Group in Hong Kong. “Business managers in operations have set up internet companies in Hong Kong; a former heads of operations is running an app-development start-up. It seems their creative flare has been repressed and the entrepreneurial ops guys are venturing out alone. Of those I am in touch, everyone seems very happy to have made the decision.”
4) Infrastructure bankers into Aussie infrastructure funds
In Australia, both domestic and global infrastructure funds are attracting talent from investment banks and M&A advisory firms, a trend being driven by the strong pipeline of infrastructure assets coming into the country, says Jacob Smith, director of JS Careers in Sydney. “In most cases they come from the infrastructure advisory team of an investment bank. They are motivated to move to the buy-side to enjoy continued involvement in a deal after it’s executed and because their job is expanded to include asset and business management and in some cases capital raising involvement and investor relations,” adds Smith.
5) M&A bankers into corporate-strategy jobs
As we reported in April, an increasing number of disgruntled investment bankers in Asia are quitting banking to take advantage of a spike in in-house M&A jobs at acquisition-hungry companies in the region. “These are mostly junior to mid-level corporate-strategy and business-development positions,” says Han Lee, a recruiter at Lico Resources in Singapore. “Traditionally, those roles are a good fit for IB candidates, utilising their analytical and due-diligence background. However, the sometimes significant pay reduction can be an obstacle.”
6) Compliance generalists into very niche AML roles
Anti-money laundering compliance in Asia Pacific has become an increasingly specialised discipline over the past year. “Professionals who previously covered broad AML compliance duties have been taking on more specialised roles addressing trade, economic and financial sanctions, and anti-bribery and corruption,” says Smith from JS Careers. “Compliance professionals are now presented with opportunities to focus on interesting global regulatory issues. In Australia, the compliance professionals we have been sourcing for these niche AML roles have in some instances gained experience overseas, or are coming from broader AML positions locally.”
7) Global markets to corporate banking
“I’m seeing more salespeople from financial markets/global markets switching to corporate-banking relationship management,” says Angela Kuek, director of search firm The Meyer Consulting Group in Singapore. “It’s quite apt as most of these sales folks cover the same client segment – it’s just that they were previously product-centric, but now they’re a product-neutral relationship manager. As an RM, you look after all aspects of the client relationship, so the switch takes some getting used to, but I’ve seen several successful cases in the past year.”
8) Commodities salespeople at banks into commodities companies
Fixed income currencies and commodities salespeople at banks are moving to in-house roles at commodities companies in Singapore, according to Kuek. This career change combines both push factors away from banking (redundancies ravishing FICC teams at global banks) and pull factors into the corporate sector (commodities firms continue to expand in Singapore, the industry’s Asian hub). “They usually go to an ex-client and look after the financing structures for the company, liaising with banks on its behalf,” says Kuek.
9) Commodities traders at banks into commodities brokerages
Joining a commodities brokerage is an option in Asia for commodities traders and salespeople who’ve been laid off by banks but don’t want to leave the finance sector altogether by going in-house. “With a limited number of commodities-trading opportunities and a large excess of candidates, the majority of brokers have relished the fact that once-superior bankers are now knocking at their door for broking jobs – that wasn’t imaginable 18 months ago,” says Nicholas Wells, managing director of search firm Webber Chase in Singapore. “But those same banks will be back hiring in 18 months, as the commodities markets are predicted to recover in 2016, and the brokers will be pitching for opportunities as traders.”