Why hybrid working is a key candidate driver in wealth and asset management

What motivates professionals in wealth and asset management these days? While financial drivers will always be important, along with career development, culture and the quality of the manager, flexibility is increasingly emerging as a key factor for candidates looking at new opportunities. 

In fact, roughly 75% of professionals still view hybrid options as essential in considering a new role, making flexibility a key part of talent attraction and retention strategies. In line with trends in alternative finance, hybrid working continues to shape both candidate expectations and broader market commentary, with the prevailing norm in the industry currently three days a week in the office. How does this break down among different organisations? 

The larger asset management firms with significant assets under management (AUM) have been particularly responsive to employee preferences, with many recognising the demand for flexibility. A significant portion of the workforce – particularly those with young families – want to work from home two to three days per week.  

Offering flexible working is the perfect way for large institutional and retail funds and wealth managers to differentiate from hedge funds and private markets funds, who, while often offering higher salaries, expect their people to spend four days a week in the office. In fact, hedge funds are increasingly requiring their people to come in five days. From a cynical point of view, the larger institutions have shareholders to think about, and their higher profile underlines the importance of positive publicity. 

While flexible working will help many firms retain staff, they also risk losing that talent if they decide to adjust their working from home policies in the future. The irony here is that offering flexibility in the first place could prevent them from flexing their working practices further down the line. 

For candidates who don’t demand that flexibility, the rewards of working for a smaller corporate can be a significant motivator. There’s an assumption at these firms that employees will want to come into the office so they can more easily learn from their colleagues, rather than purely to enjoy a pleasant office environment. 

Traditionally, the smaller corporates have always asked their people to spend more time onsite, and possibly even to work longer hours – and this is often reflected in the pay. Whether or not a potentially higher salary will offset work flexibility will depend entirely on where you are in your life, and where your current priorities lie.  

Conclusion: a question of choice 

In the past, everyone worked five days a week in the office. But now, people have a choice of where they work – and this can have a significant impact on who they choose to work for. For those not averse to four or five days a week in the office, potentially for greater remuneration, the smaller corporates might be more suitable. For those looking to spend more time with their families, while still frankly being rewarded pretty well, the flexibility of the larger firms may be more attractive. Whatever they choose will depend very much on the individual, their ambitions and how these tie into their chosen lifestyle. At the same time, employers have a choice of their own: offer the balance people are asking for, or risk missing out on a significant portion of the market. 

Our UK Buy-Side Market Report and Salary Benchmarking guide takes a comprehensive look at the current trends and employee preferences across finance, compliance and in-house legal. Find out more by downloading our report here.