Rosy outlook for Scottish Fund Managers
Following news of Merrill Lynch's plans to swap Merrill Lynch Investment Management (MLIM) for a 49.8% stake in Blackrock, The Times reported yesterday that the two companies are planning to expand their operations in London and Edinburgh. The paper said Blackrock currently employs 96 people in Edinburgh, while MLIM employs 700 people in London.
It's too soon to quantify the extent of the expansion. Nicola Malinowski, head of recruitment at Blackrock in Edinburgh, told eFinancialCareers that she didn't know precisely how many people might be added in the city: "Right now, we're all in the dark."
MLIM did not return calls on the subject. According to Morningstar, an investment research firm, the deal won't be finalised until September 2006.
Reports of the intentions of MLIM and Blackrock coincide with the release of a new survey from Scottish Financial Enterprise, showing that Scotland's investment management industry benefited from unexpectedly high profits in the last quarter of 2005. 39% of Scottish financial services companies said they expected to add staff in the first quarter of 2006.
The survey showed that fund administrators were most positive about the prospect of adding jobs. Earlier this week HSBC received a 1m grant to add 247 fund administration jobs in Edinburgh. David Bond, head of recruiter Cairns Bond, said the market is particularly buoyant for junior administrative roles.
Joanna Black, managing director of Edinburgh-based search firm Black Appointments, said jobs are most likely to be added at the lower end of the market. "Scottish financial services may be expanding overall, but it's certainly not booming when it comes to big ticket fund management roles," she said. "The biggest growth is going to be in low paid jobs in the back office."
