2024 Recruitment Market Update – Investment Funds

General Economy

At the time of writing it’s predicted by some that the UK economy may have suffered a technical recession in 2023.  This week’s release of December GDP stats will confirm one way or the other, but for those of us working in industries like the investment funds sector and directly exposed to the vagaries of the economy, the second half of last year certainly felt like a downturn.  All of that is now history and we can focus on expectations for the year ahead.

Recruitment Market – The Year Ahead

Initial signs are that the handbrake is starting to come off for some of those employers who were in a recruitment freeze or go slow last year.  Not a glut of jobs coming onto the market, more of a trickle.  Some appointments being made under the radar, not all opportunities being advertised.  Recruitment budgets seem to be in positive territory and we have to assume that willingness to recruit will follow the direction of business activity and AUMs.

2024 will continue to be a period of change – the ongoing business trend is outsourcing, offshoring and rationalisation.  Anecdotally, we hear that some of last year’s re-engineering projects resulted in end of year redundancies.  Good candidates are subsequently snapped up, others are potentially lost to the industry for ever.

Working Arrangements

Hybrid working arrangements are no longer a stopgap, hybrid is here to stay for the foreseeable future.  Candidates like the flexibility of hybrid and the balance of colleague engagement that it offers.  Employers have firmed up on working patterns, so that the mandatory minimum number of office days per week is likely to be pre-defined.

Using a Specialist Recruiter

Candidates and hiring Managers continue to see the benefit of using specialist recruiters in niche markets.  Specialist recruiters should be genuine SMEs as regards their particular niche and be prepared to employ a mix of technology and elbow grease to bring target (often passive) candidates to the market.  AI is here and will have an impact, but it won’t build relationships or be at the end of a telephone to provide advice.