Ones at ease with traditional and alternative investments especially prized. The wealth- and asset-management industries are in the grips of competitive recruiting and concomitantly rising compensation packages, according to New York-based global executive-search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.

"This past year has been marked by an industry-wide, global focus on convergence," says Jeff Garrity, managing director and head of Russell Reynolds Associates' U.S. asset- and wealth-management practice. "Traditional and alternative investment houses are evolving and adopting each other's product and investment strategies, blurring the once clear lines that separated the two."

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Russell Reynolds' latest Recruiting Trends: Asset and Wealth Management report suggests that the competitive recruiting has been fuelled by increased turnover over the past year, and companies have begun to look into unorthodox fields to attract and retain talent. In particular, companies have begun to look for investment professionals who can handle traditional and alternative investments with equal ease.

The report also lays out 10 "hot spots," where the industry has witnessed particularly significant changes. These include an increased focus on alternative investments leading to portfolio managers being lured away from hedge funds with the promise of a percentage of profits, the convergence of investment products and streams resulting in heightened demand for programmers and accountants who can help make sense of it all, the emergence of real estate, leading to increased demand for experienced property professionals with strong track records.

Other factors highlighted in the report: demand for advisors who were conversant in stocks, bonds and alternative markets, tax issues, estate planning and liquidity needs, the emergence of liability-driven investing, which requires professionals with experience in derivatives structuring and plan design, baby boomers' demandfor experts who can consult on their post-retirement plans, business owners' search for suitable candidates for succession, demand for mutual-fund managers, individual equity portfolio managers and risk management experts who can navigate regulatory and compliance scenarios.

"Convergence in the marketplace has and will continue to lead to more cannibalization of top talent, as hedge funds, mutual funds, [and] wealth-management companies begin to seek the same cross-functional skill sets," says Garrity. "The era of the broad-based investment professional brings with it the promise of increased competition for talent and, in turn, rising compensation." -FWR

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