Now that many of the rich have lost much of their money, they need talented people to manage what's left of it. So it's no surprise wealth management and brokerage hiring has started to heat up over the past two months.
In late September, Standard Chartered bank signaled its ambitions to go global when it said it was planning to hire 850 managers to handle high-net worth clients in China. Two days later, Credit Suisse and BNP jumped on board: Credit Suisse announced hiring 200 for its wealth management group, while BNP would look to add ten managers in Germany.
Cue the beginning of fall and slight changes to the industry: retail brokers began heading for the hills -- that is, Main Street. The steady flow from Wall Street corner offices to Main Street windows began in earnest when brokerages like Edward Jones set up shop around the corner. The Missouri-based company, which didn't make headlines in the financial crisis, has opened three offices in Redlands, California, and intends to add 250 advisers each in Anaheim, Calif., Phoenix, Ariz., and Toronto, Canada. Similarly, Florida-based Raymond James bulked up its roster, adding 400 advisers over the past year, with plans to maintain the hiring momentum for the next few years.
HSBC got in the mix as well, with the goal to become one of the top three prime brokers in Asia within two years. Merrill Lynch poached some UBSers for its wealth management office in Chicago, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management said it would hire 200 financial advisers over the next three to five years, and retail brokers all pretty much earned the same amount at top firms.
And just when you thought the industry was reaching capacity, JPMorgan's Bear Stearns Private Client Services (a remnant of the formerly fearsome Bear Stearns) wants to amp up its brokerage force from 380 to 1,000. In addition, it will open two or three new offices in 2010.
Not a bad precedent for spring.
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