Recruitment News

Exchange Street Christmas message

If our 2008 Christmas message was tinged with caution about the future, our 2009 message felt as though there might not be much of a future to look forward to. For the financial services jobs market 2009 was particularly brutal with a raft of redundancies and bad news the order of the day. Suffice to say that this year has also posed its challenges, but perhaps we can at last begin to look forward to recruiting within an industry that has survived and pushed on.

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence from job surveys, economic data and the front pages to give us an indication that the worst is behind us, although the road ahead is long and uncertain. The number of IFA jobs, paraplanner jobs and administration jobs registered by Exchange Street Financial Services is up by 24% on 2009, with the even better news that this is still some way down on the number of positions registered in 2008. Similarly, the amount of candidates registering their details has again risen, with paraplanner jobs and administration jobs of particular interest.

Previously we have written that many business models are changing, with smaller advisory teams being supported by a larger number of administrators and paraplanners. With thousands of IFAs to leave the industry prior to 2013, it could be argued that some firms won’t be in a rush to replace them, but will be aiming for their remaining advisers to focus on writing business and developing it, not undertaking paperwork. Commercially it could also be argued that such a model represents greater value for that business, with the cost of employing technically strong paraplanners and administrators much less than their IFA counterparts, but perhaps freeing up the time for such advisers to write substantially more income.

The number of IFA jobs registered in the past 12 months has stayed fairly consistent as many of the larger national practices (IFA and multi-tied) have not been as active as they once were. The hardest role to find right now is an employed advisory position, with clients/leads in place. A high proportion of vacancies still require our candidates to take some form of client base with them which, for various reasons, is not possible for the majority of them. However as the industry gears up in earnest for the post RDR world, expect to see this change as organisations look to build again, possibly by adding restricted divisions to advise those clients where charging the usual level of fees may well be a problem.

Whatever happens over the next two years, Exchange Street will continue to work closely with our candidates and clients alike to provide the best quality advice and guidance possible. Our aim is not just to find suitable matches, but to give all parties up to date market information that enables individuals to make informed decisions.

So in 2011, whether you are looking for IFA jobs, paraplanner jobs or administration jobs, do not hesitate to contact us.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas Period.

Andy & Robert
Exchange Street Financial Services

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