Investment banks are in the midst of the business recruitment season of the year. New hiring budgets have been signed off and there are plenty of exciting and potentially lucrative opportunities available. And yet, there are still jobs available that have been lingering on banks’ career websites for many months.
Some roles appear difficult to fill, either due to competition for talent in a hot business area or because the skill-sets are simply hard to find. We’ve scoured the publicly available vacancies at J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and Barclays to give you an idea of the roles banks’ are struggling to find suitable candidates for.
The usual disclaimer applies here – it may be that the jobs have been filled and simply not taken off the websites, but ostensibly they’re still available to applications.
UBS:
Research Analyst – US Refining Sector, New York
Live since: 12 August 2014
In line with its traditional strength in equity research, the majority of front office opportunities at UBS are in this area. However, one role stands out as being difficult to fill – an equity research analyst covering the US refining sector. UBS wants at least three years’ of equity research experience, together with a degree in finance, economics and accounting and ‘knowledge of the refining sector’.
Barclays:
Quantitative portfolio strategies associate, New York
Live since: 14 March 2014
Barclay’s QPS is a small band of researchers – 10 in total, six in New York and four in London – that provides quantitative support to institutional investors’ portfolio choices. Most have ‘years of experience’, it says, and will work closely with hedge funds, pension funds, asset managers, sovereign wealth funds and insurance firms.
Front office IB conformance, New York
Live since: 10 July 2014
Not surprisingly, a compliance job makes the list. The ‘conformance’ team at Barclays makes sure that the banks’ governance and control systems related to front office activity are working effectively. One of the main duties of this job is to “design and implement control tests and review and challenge the front office risk and control framework”.
Credit Suisse:
IBD healthcare associate, San Francisco
Live since: 12 August 2014
Associates in investment banking are particularly difficult to retain and hard to recruit for currently. Healthcare as a sector is also an area where a lot of banks are looking to build. This role at Credit Suisse combines two hot areas and has remained open for some time. Credit Suisse is only interested in hearing from candidates who have completed an MBA.
J.P. Morgan:
Interest rate quantitative research, VP, New York
Live since: 3 August 2014
J.P. Morgan wants to hire a quant with excellent C++ skills, a PhD in either maths or physics and working knowledge of “probability theory, stochastic processes, partial differential equations, and numerical analysis” in order to risk and price its interest rates derivatives. Oh, and they need good communication skills so they can explain these models to traders.
Morgan Stanley:
Equity derivatives structurer: financial engineering, associate/vice president, London
Live since: 28 August 2014
Morgan Stanley isn’t asking for a quantitative PhD for this role, but it does expect candidates to come with at least a Masters degree in a mathematical subject. As the name suggests, the bank wants somebody to design and execute structured products across its equity derivatives desks for insurance and pension fund clients.
Citigroup:
Associate IB, energy, Houston, Texas
Live since: 12 May 2014
Working outside of Wall Street isn’t every investment bankers’ idea of a good career move, so perhaps the prospect of working in Houston is a hard sell for a lot of junior bankers. Add in the fact that associates are among the most coveted profiles in investment banking currently and it’s easy to see why the role has been open for so long.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch:
Analyst/associate trader, CEEMEA illiquid and loan trading, London
Live since: 6 October 2014
BAML wants someone with excellent Excel modelling skills, great credit analysis abilities and experience in structuring. So far this seems like a standard investment banking role. More challenging, though, is finding the language skills required – Turkish is a prerequisite.
Deutsche Bank:
Analyst, media and telecoms, New York
Live since: 16 October 2014
Deutsche Bank is hiring at the junior level in both the UK and the US, but one New York-based position appears particularly difficult to fill. It’s not entry level – at least 1-2 years’ experience is required.