Market volatility over the past few months increased significantly. With all eyes fixed on these shifting fortunes, the impact of this volatility on an individual firm’s human capital is difficult to gauge with any certainty.
 
The market for accomplished professionals remains strong. The Asset Management Practice at Sextant Search Partners continues to work with traditional and alternative/non-traditional asset management firms to attract leaders, investment professionals, capital raisers and infrastructure professionals.  Sextant kicked off 2007 with a powerful start, cultivating relationships with some of the most prestigious firms in the industry.  

In January, we highlighted emerging industry trends in State of the Union: Asset Management 2007. As we move into the second half of the year, we’d like to underscore the following themes as being particularly dominant:

• In the first half of the year, we saw increased interest from alternatives/non-traditional clients in attracting investor relations and/or business development professionals.  Recently, however, the trend has shifted to a focus on portfolio management/analyst professionals.

• While it’s premature to predict how the choppy markets will affect hiring trends, we’ve found that investors are increasingly focused on managing their portfolios. Distracted by recent turbulence, PMs/analysts have largely de-prioritized recruiting discussions. With that said, a minority of opportunists with market fatigue have lifted their heads to investigate how this volatility might impact their careers. Sextant’s assessment process remains focused on producing results and on the candidate’s ability to impact our clients’ business.

• The re-emergence of multiple year guarantees demonstrates that the employment pendulum continues to favor the most talented - and firmly ensconced - professionals. Sextant’s Asset Management team has an average of over eighteen years of industry and recruiting experience, making us well positioned to identify and attract that talent.

• As the markets struggle to find equilibrium, talent will continue to be increasingly guarded. The most sought-after candidates will gravitate toward money managers that have demonstrated – and continue to demonstrate – stability, calm, and an ability to negotiate volatile markets. We work in tandem with our clients to best position their strengths to a highly discriminating candidate universe.

• The demand for professionals able to navigate within a “converged” strategy is growing. As traditional institutional money managers acquire and build their alternatives capabilities and use financial engineering to port those new sources of alpha to a variety of betas, the traditional talent barriers are quickly being redefined.  With over a third of our assignments in the converged space, Sextant believes that this trend will remain strong in 2007 and beyond.

In a recruiting environment that demands a demonstrated ability to manage money through turbulent markets, skillful positioning and an in-depth understanding of the candidate universe are vital to attracting the best talent.  As a result of this ever-fluctuating environment, Sextant’s recruitment approach continues to adapt in a manner that places an even greater emphasis on talent assessment.  2007 has proven to be a fascinating and prosperous year for Sextant’s Asset Management Practice—we look forward to finding a way to collaborate with you in the weeks and months ahead.

  
Paige Scott, Partner