An impressive panel of legal and compliance experts provided a fascinating discussion on the hiring environment within the compliance and legal industry at hedge funds in the UK at the HFM Legal Summit. The event was held at Pennyhill Park spa and hotel in Surrey, just outside London, in late November 2022.

The panel comprised: Harry Rogers, Head of Legal and Compliance Recruiting, One Ten Associates; Phillippa Thorne, CCO ExodusPoint Capital; Reggie Dodge, CCO and GC, Emso Asset Management; and Safraz Zavahir, Head of Legal and Compliance, Schonfeld.

They started with a graphic copy of the advertisement first used to entice adventurers to join Ernest Shackleton’s perilous Antarctic expedition:

MEN WANTED for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success. Ernest Shackleton, 4 Burlington St.

The panel said that the challenge was similar to starting out and remaining in asset management compliance but that while Shackleton was oversubscribed, that is not the case right now in compliance within hedge funds.

Remote work is still appealing especially to more junior personnel who have only been working since the pandemic.

The discussion moved on to consider what can attract candidates. Remote work is still appealing especially to more junior personnel who have only been working since the pandemic. Three days remote, two in the office is most common. If an employer specifies the need for five days a week in the office, the candidate pool drops 75%. The more senior the role, the less this applies. Some employees like the social interaction in the office and this is often related to a bad remote experience during the pandemic. They like a balance, and there is an expectation that the employee will have some choice here.

IT teams feel more strongly that there is less need for them to be in the office and that they work to a different rhythm. They tend to ensure their team is all in on the same day. One of the panel said that she and most of her team were TWATs – always in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Ops teams tend to be in three or four days.

Inflation is high, as is the cost of living, and this means that people’s basic salary is important as part of the salary/bonus/equity mix. Some firms are trying to offer nice ancillary benefits such as finishing early on some days, free lunches etc, but often it is employees buying into the growth story of the business, the culture there and the compensation as a combination. Youngsters are often not taking their pension benefit – they are more interested in clearing their student loan debt.

Diversity and inclusion

How do employees value diversity and inclusion? Investors and regulators are tracking this but what about staff? Offering a genuinely diverse inclusive workplace does widen the talent pool but this needs to be something in the grassroots of a firm. Many employers are trying to eliminate bias by removing all gender, birth dates, ethnicity and place of education from CVs and resumes. Others are only taking applications from non-Russell Group universities.

The panellists spent some time discussing skillsets. There is a lot of technology that needs to be deployed now in regulatory compliance, and the ability to evaluate, present and operate this is a core commercial skill. Tailoring the system to match specific market abuse risks is part of this. The review of outdated systems and calibrations while documenting all that is undertaken is also essential. Individuals need to be intuitive, proactive and open to change. The languages required span legal, regulatory and technological.

There is less stigma related to being a frequent mover now. It is still a sellers’ market as the recession has not taken hold totally yet.

How loyal are people during stressed economic times? Panellists felt stressed millennials tend to have a 12-18 month expiry limit, but this is more related to how high demand is right now. The main issue is that the compliance market does not get a new influx of candidates each year in the same way that the legal market does. People are getting big pay rises each time they move even though their experience may not warrant it. There is also less stigma related to being a frequent mover now. It is still a sellers’ market as the recession has not taken hold totally yet.

What keeps people loyal to a firm? In many cases it the extent of trust in colleagues. Recognition and empowerment go a long way too. Respect from others and knowing that your team are all looking out for you is important. Being able to do interesting work and getting recognised for the value that you brought has an impact too.

Access to senior management

Backing from the business in the shape of a decent budget is of value. Feeling fulfilled and being given some flexibility post-pandemic are hugely appreciated. Having the right access to senior management and also having senior management that was honest and trustworthy were deemed the non-negotiables in picking and staying with an employer.

The panel finished by saying that the things that were most likely to help retain talent were: personal development opportunity; excellent communication; honesty and trust from managers. Everyone concluded that the jobs on offer in asset management were better than those offered by Shackleton and carried less risk.

Please note this is not an exact transcription of what was said at this event and has not been approved by the speakers – it is a report of the discussion by the reporter who attended the event.