Global Asset/Wealth Hiring Hits Highs

NEW YORK CITY-Strength was the most sought after attribute among asset and wealth managers this past year, both in candidates and in performance, according to a report by Russell Reynolds Associates. The results are detailed in “Navigating the New Terrain in the Asset & Wealth Management Industry – 2010 Recruiting and Compensation Trends.”

According to the report, real estate executive compensation was flat to slightly up vs. 2009, but those US handlers of capital saw an up to 15% compensation increase, and up to 25% income boost for the same financial managers in Canada, Europe and Asia. These results are a turnaround after two years of contraction in hiring and pay, said Debra Barbanel, co-leader of the firm’s real estate practice for the Americas. “It’s going to be awhile before we get to 2007 levels, but we continue to see steady employment with jobs added and new initiatives launched. Big equity firms are buying big chunks of real estate, and this creates opportunities for people to come and run these initiatives,” she says.

She says that investors slowly began to allocate capital to real estate again, primarily to core and core-plus assets, leading to a renewed interest at firms for investment talent for executives who specialized in core markets and properties. “There’s tremendous interest in CEO-level candidates, managers of portfolios and leaders who can build teams,” Barbanel tells GlobeSt.com. “Also, a lot of people since 2008 have taken on new roles and responsibilities, and these executives are assuming broader responsibilities.” The most sophisticated institutional distribution executives who have longstanding client relationships and deep product expertise, knowledge of capital markets and familiarity with complex financial instruments are in high demand, she says.

There seems to be a lot of work at the stronger firms that were able to deal with legacy issues and survive, restructuring debt and communicating with the investor base, she says. Also, there’s work at the bottom, where distressed properties are being traded and worked. It’s the managers at the middle-level companies that may be struggling, possibly burdened with significant land holdings or in the middle of a development when the recession hit, Barbanel says.

However, while the global economy is fragile with countries all dealing with distressed assets differently, interest has returned from foreign firms onto US property, especially in core markets. Even the Canadians are more interested in investing here than in Canada. “Europe and Asia are pulling ahead of the United States in attracting and committing capital, and compensation naturally reflects that,” Barbanel says. “Global platforms, and the professionals who run them, are in a favored position.”