eFinancialCareers

Technologists with experience of developing FX platforms are hot property at the moment, as investment banks look to gain a competitive advantage in this sector by pouring more money into IT.

Independent banking and technology consultant Bob Gifford says that a rise in electronic trading in the FX space is spurring more and more firms to look for low latency solutions.

"Spending in these areas appears to be increasing as firms begin to connect to more venues and advance the sophistication of their trading infrastructure," he says.

In fact, a recent report by tech vendors StreamBase suggests that nearly 90% of buy- and sell-side firms are aiming to increase FX IT spend this year.

Oliver Hinchliffe, who leads the technology team at recruiters Project Partners, says: "We've seen more hiring activity from investment banks around FX than any time over the last 18 months. Firms are looking for technical business analysts and project managers to help develop trade order management systems and reduce the latency of existing platforms."

JPMorgan stated in its first quarter report that enhancing its electronic trading facilities within its FX division is one of the priorities for 2009. However, it's rumoured that majority of hiring is currently coming from Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

Andrew Barber, head of strategic accounts at Hays Finance Technology confirms that the FX space is creating "massive business" at the moment.

"We're seeing demand for two key areas – technologists with the development skills to build the new platforms, and then for the more quantitative skills required to formulate the algorithms," he says.

Most of the key technology skills are around Java, says Barber, but specific FX domain knowledge is essential. A senior developer can command £85-90k, he says.