ReleaseWire Connect

Technological innovation grows exponentially, and in the field of quant financial careers this means there are always new trends and breakthroughs. When it comes to these trends, candidates and companies will need to align themselves with a leading recruitment agency in order to pivot and adapt to the post-Brexit hiring landscape. Now that freedom of movement has ended between the EU and the UK there will be notable changes within the recruitment industry. As a leading specialist recruiter for banking and financial services throughout the UK, Selby Jennings are ideally placed when it comes to key trends in the sector, as well as leading industry news and updates.

As a whole, the demand of FinTech and technology talent throughout 2020 was steady. While the year was certainly tougher than usual for many businesses, it appeared that most agreed that falling behind on the execution of key technology agendas would only make life more difficult in the long run. Medium and High Frequency Trading firms – often renowned for thriving off instability – accelerated technology hiring to ensure they capitalised on growth opportunities. This was also the case for many FinTech companies and consumer groups in the digital banking sphere. With the post-Brexit hiring landscape well underway, FinTech has been marked for further expansion throughout the UK, which impressively, already has more FinTech unicorns (a startup with a valuation over $1 billion) than the rest of Europe.

Throughout 2020 there were three main areas of growth for Risk Management; Country Risk, Risk Analytics, and Operational Risk & Business Continuity. All three of these areas are set to continue throughout 2021. In the post-Brexit UK market, Country Risk is likely to remain a high priority area for firms with even greater career opportunities for emerging markets. Positive news also extends to roles in Risk Analytics; as the UK continues to see advancements and growth in automation and data-driven decision making, thus, candidates with backgrounds in Quants will be highly sought after.

Despite market disruption in 2020, and numerous comparisons being drawn with 2008, overall, the financial services sector finds itself in a far more lucrative situation than 12 years ago. While 2020 saw many industries suffer dramatically across the financial services sector, there were plenty of examples of unrivalled performance - many High Frequency Trading firms recorded huge profits: Optiver, Citadel, and Jump Trading all benefited from the unpredictability of the market. In addition, some traditional sell-side trading desks in banks such as Jefferies and BNP Paribas posted record quarters. Stay-at-home orders and employee safety concerns led to a sharp rise in remote working, which took some adjusting for both employers and employees.

2020 marked the greatest period of uncertainty and economic volatility our generation has ever faced. As a result, organisations are looking to recruit specialists for a multitude of risk management careers to ensure they quickly adapt to the shifting forces that have short circuited the economy.

While some vacancies within the financial services recruitment industry fell at the height of the pandemic, new figures from Tech Nation indicate a 50% climb as we enter 2021. This staggering recovery emphasises the resilience of the UK’s banking and financial services economy.

The UK is a fantastic country to be located in as you work your way up in the financial services industry. The world’s upcoming and largest FinTech’s currently call the UK home with an average revenue of £20 billion, as reported by Consultancy UK. Hiring managers across the country are competing with significant change ranging from the increases in technological advances to Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are always risks involved in the financial services sector in the UK as advances in technology have created operational disruptions in the form of cyber-attacks, disruptive FinTech’s and legacy IT shortcomings. Risk management professionals are vitally important to the daily running of financial businesses as they work to identify, evaluate and prioritise these risks to ensure the adverse events are controlled and minimised wherever possible.

Are you a problem solver who thrives on finding solutions? Risk management might be the career path for you as professionals in this industry are responsible for advising on the complexities of today’s financial world.

There has never been a better time to join the financial services industry in the UK. Hiring managers up and down the country from London to Manchester and Birmingham are searching for bright-minded professionals who can step into roles immediately.