Recruiting Demand Slows
Hybrid Work Programs Present Complex Long-Term Challenges
”C Suite” recruiting in the asset and wealth management business remains strong, but the pipeline for future work has significantly slowed as a result of the market downturn of Q1 and the unsettled geopolitical and macroeconomic environment. This has not eased the challenges of existing recruiting work as candidates are more resistant to both the risk of job changes in volatile markets and relocation in the era of hybrid work regimes. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these issues are more pronounced at junior levels.
Demand for executive leadership remains strong in selected markets. These areas include strategic marketing (particularly digital), technology, board governance, and RIAs/ultra-high net worth/family office, and investment professionals in less efficient, higher volatility asset classes such as global macro, private equity, venture, solutions-based modeling, and ESG/sustainability.
As most firms have now adopted flexible hybrid work schedules, clear challenges are appearing for management to do more with less frequent in-person, co-located work, which is critical to any organization’s success. Our final blog on hybrid work is focused on the importance of co-located work on a wide variety of business performance factors that are longer-term in nature and harder to measure. The potential for hidden attrition and depreciation over time in key areas such as teamwork, trust-building, ideation, culture development, engagement, and training and development is real. Managers must redouble their efforts and train the firm’s leadership with new skills to do more with less time in the office or other in-person work environments.
Diversity Recruiting
We continue to be a leader in diversity recruiting, with nearly half of our successful candidates representing diverse cohorts. Our success is not about a diverse slate on each search, as we believe this is a poor measure of progress. It is about results.
Diverse successful candidates are the result of the extra time we spend coaching our clients on sub-conscious biases and unintentional micro-messaging that negatively impact recruiting outcomes. We have invested significantly over the last decade networking with a wide range of minority support associations that give us a much broader source of prospects and referees in important target markets, as we regularly “get out of our comfort zone.”
Mission-Driven Search Work
Our work with mission-based organizations continues to drive our business. Recent examples include relationships with True Link Financial, Greenbacker Capital, and Morningstar Funds. It is exciting for our team to work with these clients who are making the world a better place while serving clients in a highly competitive way.
“Wilbanks Partners brought strong knowledge of the operating issues for our investment business and helped us navigate our organizational structure, define the job, and then recruit a great business leader to head our registered investment advisor. They were quick to read and understand our culture, and their sense of urgency matched ours and led to an amazingly quick solution without ever having the sense that we were missing a step or cutting corners. We had a great partnership.”
— Kai Stinchcombe
Co-Founder & CEO
True Link Financial
- President & CEO – $40 bil RIA
- President & COO – $5 bil RIA
- CEO – $4 bil Family Office
- Board Member – $2 bil Renewable Energy Yieldco
- Board Member – $110 bil Global Asset Manager
- Board Member – $10 bil Mutual Fund Complex
- Division Executive & Head of $2 bil Investment Business – Mission-Driven Payment Services Fintech
- Partner & CFO – $2 bil Renewable Energy Yieldco
- Managing Director & Head of Retail Distribution and Product – Major Global Private Equity Firm
- Partner & Head of Retail Product Division – $2 bil Renewable Energy Yieldco
- Chief Investment Officer – $3 bil Endowment
- Partner & CHRO – $40 bil US Asset Manager
- Managing Director & ETF Division Manager – $70 bil US Asset Manager
- Partner & COO Trust Services Business – Large Regional Law Firm
- Managing Director & Head of Client Service – $40 bil RIA
- EVP & Chief Marketing Officer Retail – $1 trillion Global Asset Manager
- Partner & Chief Marketing Officer – $10 bil Global Institutional Asset Manager
- Head of Digital Marketing – $1 trillion Global Asset Manager
- Head of Retail Channel Marketing – Large Global Asset Management Firm
- Head of Channel Marketing – Mid-Sized Specialty Asset Management Firm
- Head of Talent & Deputy Head of HR – $70 bil US Asset Manager
- Product Manager – ETF & Blockchain Asset Classes – $70 bil Asset Manager
