Investment Operations, Middle Office and Fund Accounting

The last 12 months have seen an increase in hiring in the Private Markets space. With industry Super Funds increasing allocations in infrastructure, real assets and private equity, the demand for mid-level talent with Private Markets experience has gone up. In contrast, actively managed public funds continue to face outflows, driven by consolidation and insourcing within the superannuation sector and so hiring across this segment has remained relatively flat.

At the senior level, instability from ongoing mergers continues to reduce the number of permanent leadership roles. Due to questions marks over long term operating models and team structures, many firms have chosen to hire senior positions on a fixed term contract basis as they value the increased flexibility that this allows them.

Across all levels there has been a rising demand for candidates with strong data analysis skills and a process-improvement mindset. Candidates with purely operational BAU experience are increasingly being encouraged to broaden and enhance their skills in this space while new hires who can challenge existing processes and with experience in Aladdin, Charles River, SimCorp, and Power BI/SQL/Python are being prioritised. Overall, Investment Operations roles are increasingly becoming data-enabled, not just BAU-focused.

On the candidate side supply is highest at senior levels but demand strongest at mid-levels. Heads of Investment Operations and COOs have been the most affected by recent organisational restructurings with many remaining on the market for 6–12 months and being forced to explore more junior positions or pivot into consulting.