eFinancialCareers

A surge in quantitative investing from the buy-side is driving an increase in technology spend for the sector and moving quant analysts’ roles into the front office. Hedge funds and asset managers are increasingly turning to the quant approach in the face of unprecedented volatility in financial markets. This is fuelling appetite for new algorithms and the technology that can assist in the selection and creation of portfolios, according to... Read more

Quantitative hedge funds might have taken some big hits over the last few months, but they’re keeping the faith with the computer-driven trading approach. However, hiring has become even more selective. A survey by the CFA institute, which took in responses from 31 firms with a combined $2,194 trillion in assets, reveals that in spite of the current tough conditions the quant approach is still popular, albeit with a new focus. Key... Read more

Lost your job in an investment bank and want to work on the buyside? You’ll be lucky. The Financial Times ran an article yesterday which said that Pimco, the world’s biggest fixed income fund manager, has been approaching Wall Street banks that are making redundancies in the hope of hoovering up a few of their cast-offs. But before anyone gets the wrong idea, moving from an investment bank to the... Read more

Compared to quants, model validation specialists were paid atrociously last year. Might models have been better if this weren't the case? Buried deep in the Napier Scott salary survey, which we (admittedly) wrote about on Monday, are some interesting figures that illustrate banks’ parsimonious instincts when it comes to anything to do with risk. According to Napier Scott, the average director-level model validator was paid £140k in salary and bonuses last... Read more

Which banks and bankers are suffering the most? No prizes for guessing… ACUTE PAIN 1. Merrill Lynch Share price: down 44% since January 2007. Bonus per head*: $181.3k, down 25% on 2006. Net profit for the first nine months of 2007: $1.9bn, down 61%. Redundancies: none announced so far, but exit of chief exec Stan O’Neal is imminent. 2. Bear Stearns Share price: down 38% since January 2007. Bonus per head*: $407.6k, down 20% on 2006. Net... Read more

Spare a thought for the classes of 2007 and 2008. It seems investment banking jobs are proving hard to come by. A student at a leading European business school says banks are still coming to present on campus, but that with the exception of Credit Suisse, few appear to have any full-time places left for 2008: “Places have already been filled by last year’s summer interns. If you missed the boat... Read more

Most people sit around passively waiting for the pink slip. Has Stan O’Neal gone for pre-emptive action? Ever since Merrill revealed a $2.3bn 3Q net loss earlier this week, there have been calls for Stan to step aside. Now the New York Times says Stan’s head has moved closer to the block after he allegedly broached a merger with Charlotte-based Wachovia without first getting the approval of Merrill’s board. Putting aside the... Read more

Rising taxes and falling returns are taking their toll on the co-investing craze. “The amended capital gains tax rules will impact people participating in company co-investment schemes that qualify for business taper relief,” says Chris Sanger, head of tax policy at Ernst & Young. “Assets disposed of before 6 April 2008 will be taxed at 10%, while those disposed of from 7 April 2008 will be taxed at 18%.” Co-investing is nothing... Read more

As the dollar falls, so does the allure of taking a job in the Middle East. Last week, the US dollar dropped to an all time low against the euro and three-month lows against the yen and sterling. With the US Federal Reserve expected to carry on cutting interest rates and the US economy suffering particularly painfully from the sub-prime crisis, the dollar's demise is expected to continue. What's good for transatlantic... Read more

An analyst at UBS in New York appears to have resigned in style. The analyst, apparently part of UBS' US global healthcare group, sent an email to his bosses at 7am last Sunday informing them he was leaving the bank immediately to go do something less boring instead. His grudges centered on the fact that it was Sunday morning and he had another 14 hours of work that, "will not be fulfilling,... Read more

The worst run on the banking system in living memory, US banks expected to take big 3Q hits... but it's really not so bad. At least, this is the opinion of analysts, who think the banking downturn in 2002 was infinitely worse. "What we have now is a fixed-income problem," says Brad Hintz, banking analyst at Sanford Bernstein in New York. "This is not a widespread downturn that will prompt broad job... Read more