Executives in the Financial Services Sector
In the Swiss financial services and banking sector, there is a long war of attrition for executive talent.
In Zurich, Basel, Lugano and Geneva, the search is feverish and the lifestyle is excellent. Currently, talent is being drawn from a very wide, global base of highly mobile professionals seeking executive jobs in Switzerland or Swiss-based managerial roles.
The investment firms all need ‘rainmakers’ – the top professionals who make the difference in creating value for the bank or company and its clients. The rainmakers have the savvy and the skills in investment, marketing or delivery. Financial services structures need staff who flourish under stress and thrive in a changing environment. Top Swiss-based managers achieve even as the ground moves under them.
Change is much faster than it used to be in the investment industry because of the advanced technologies which underpin the accumulation and exploitation of knowledge. Now, innovation occurs and matures much more rapidly than previously.
The best talent now works at high speed, multitasks, and integrates multiple discplines with startling ease.
Compensation packages in the Swiss financial services sector have been a strong force in the ongoing war for talent, particularly in the alternatives areas such as hedge funds. The high fees and margins of these sectors have bid up the prices of top talent and the same thing is now occurring in the private equity field.
Rising compensation is welcome news to the individuals at Swiss financial services firms: the new culture of compensation imported from the US is all about payment for results. In principle this practice aligns the interests of the companies and the top talent, but effective implementation of this is key.
The Swiss marketplace for financial services talent, which is currently drawing from talent around the world, does not yet suffer from the phenomenon found in other financial capitals of self-delusional specialists, under-talented and over-expectant, who believe their skills deserve high rewards and are prepared to change jobs for a better package if it doesn’t match their expectations. In Switzerland, the financial services sector, particularly in management combines compensation with professional fulfilment, a strong culture, and personal development.
While the levels of financial compensation for top managers in the financial services sector remains a good distance away from the astronomical sums of the US, the executive lifestyle in Switzerland’s financial services companies leaves little to be desired.
