Recruitment Trends in the Financial Services Industry

Recruitment Trends in the Financial Services Industry

Recruitment Trends in Banking

In recent years, banks have been establishing specialised departments to support their corporate clients with SDG-related initiatives. This trend is driven by the fact that all listed companies are being pressured to comply with the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures). From 2024 onward, companies will face stricter requirements for governance and risk management disclosures. As a result, there has been growing demand for professionals who can assist in preparing integrated reports for businesses, and this trend is expected to expand further beyond 2024.

Additionally, there is increasing demand for talent in areas such as sustainable finance and risk management. There is also a rise in demand for roles that focus on creating and promoting new businesses related to SDGs. In fact, even individuals without prior experience in finance but with expertise in SDGs are being sought after.

Recruitment Trends in Real Estate

The real estate sector is experiencing significant growth due to the rising demand for logistics warehouses, driven by the expansion of daily goods sales in e-commerce. This trend began around five years ago but has rapidly accelerated since 2020. Consequently, real estate companies are increasing their recruitment of sales professionals with experience selling financial real estate products to high-net-worth clients in banks, as well as individuals with knowledge and experience in real estate.

Similarly, companies involved in the securitisation of real estate are also seeing strong demand for talent. As real estate securitisation gains attention and the market grows, there is a growing need for professionals with specialised knowledge in this area.

Recruitment Trends in Corporate Finance

The increase in job vacancies for corporate finance roles can be attributed to the rise in cross-industry participation in financial businesses. When companies from other industries enter the financial sector, they often lack in-housefinancial expertise. This has led to an active recruitment of professionals with financial knowledge and experience to support strategic activities such as new business ventures and M&A.

Recruitment Trends in Asset Management

The rising interest in digital securities is driving new business models and technology adoption in the asset management industry. As a result, there is a growing demand for professionals with experience in digital securities trading and blockchain technology, as well as those with traditional asset management and securitisation expertise.

The asset management industry is also expanding its focus on ESG investment, with firms emphasising asset allocation related to ESG initiatives. This has led to consistent demand for fund managers.

Recruitment Trends in M&A Advisory and Consulting

The ageing of business owners has increased the need for business succession support, which is being addressed by M&A advisory and consulting firms. The increase in companies handling M&A and the surge in M&A transactions have led to a heightened demand for young talent. In particular, individuals in their 20s with corporate sales experience from financial institutions are highly sought after, even if they have no financial knowledge at the time of entry, making the financial services industry accessible to those without prior experience.

Recruitment Trends in Financial Institutions

There has been an increase in support for individual wealth-building. Financial institutions are actively providing "investment education" to enhance financial literacy across a wide range of age groups, from children to seniors.

This has led to increased demand for professionals who can offer asset management advice to individuals, with expertise in areas such as stocks, mutual funds, and insurance products. Additionally, as digital securities exchanges become operational and the range of investment options for individual investors expands, IT and online companies offering investment and asset management services are on the rise. This is expected to drive demand for roles in "compliance" and "auditing."

Recruitment Trends in Fintech

The digitalisation of both new and existing businesses has led to a surge in demand for project managers (PMs) within financial institutions. Many companies are focused on migration projects to update legacy systems, creating demand for IT architects who can define system requirements with a view toward overall optimisation.

For years, financial institutions have relied on external system integrators (SIers) for system development and operations, resulting in a lack of internal expertise and control over vendors. As a result, there is a shift toward in-house development, with digital-related investments increasing. Mid-career hiring is also on the rise. There is expected to be an increase in demand for data engineers, data scientists, and data analysts.

Cybersecurity recruitment is also highly active. As cyberattacks become more complex, an increasing number of companies are establishing their own SOCs (Security Operation Centers).

In the area of new business development, companies are actively hiring professionals with experience in launching businesses from the ground up (0 to 1). Those with experience in launching new businesses in sectors such as healthcare, mobility, and digital at operating companies, and who have successfully monetised these ventures, are highly valued. Financial institutions are also offering numerous positions in these emerging business areas.

Furthermore, many companies are focused on improving and optimising their operations through digital means, leading to numerous job openings in business process reengineering (BPR). Financial institutions have been slow to develop talent with strong problem-solving skills, prompting a surge in mid-career hiring, particularly from the consulting industry.

If you are facing challenges with recruitment in the financial services industry, feel free to consult with us.