Jordan O'Neill

The reliably interesting Joachim Klement covers MiFID2 in his excellent Substack today. For a suite of regulation that cost tens of billions to implement, I have never heard one positive thing said about MiFID2. Unfortunately, Joachim doesn't buck that trend and instead points out the research showing how it has led to increased costs and reduced liquidity. Perhaps someone can explain how MiFID has improved my life. https://lnkd.in/dTVUKZqb

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𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 📈 We often tell candidates and clients that as a Rec2Rec, we are a pretty good barometer of how markets are performing. After a really tough 2023, one of the biggest turnarounds in terms of hiring, has been across my investment banking clients. Very little hiring was done across the board last year, so there is a big appetite to hire and catch up on headcount targets, as well as using remaining budgets. I've seen a big spike in hiring, particularly across ESG, emerging tech, and investor relations/distribution in London and New York. There will be a lot of passive candidates on the market that have been sitting tight in a tough market, and there will be movement this year. If you are one of these candidates, get ahead of the curve and have conversations now before the market is saturated with good recruiters. Get in touch to hear who is hiring and how a move could look for you. 📱07909622418 💻[email protected]

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Wondering what our programmes actually look like? Enter: Visionpath's brand new case studies... First up: find out how we worked with Berenberg, one of Europe's leading privately owned banks, to outline a strategy for increasing social diversity within UK financial services – including the challenge we faced, the approach we took, and the results we got. (Spoiler alert: it was a huge success.) Read the case study here: https://lnkd.in/eaNDHr4Z #apprenticeships #financejobs #diversityandinclusion

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🚀 International & UK Acquisitions – 170+ Off-Market Deals on DealDirect in Q1!🌍 🥁 I’ve been banging the drum at Virtualnonexecs about the momentum around off-market deals, and it’s clear the market is responding! 170+ deals listed in the first quarter alone on DealDirect, covering both UK opportunities and international acquisitions. 🥁 These opportunities are exciting for a number of reasons but largely because they are not brought to us by brokers; they are delivered directly from the boards of the companies themselves. OFF MARKET! One exciting opportunity: A confidential market leader in financial software solutions, established in 1993, that’s ready for the next phase of growth. With a solid foundation in Turkey, it’s primed for international expansion. Key Financials: - Turnover: £2.1 million (68% YoY growth) - EBITDA: £1m (65% YoY growth) - 103 highly educated employees (46% hold engineering degrees, 33% informatics) With prestigious ISO certifications and a portfolio of clients extending credit to their customers, this business is a standout in its field. Whether you’re looking at international acquisitions or seeking homegrown UK opportunities, now’s the time to explore. If you're an adviser or buyer looking to get involved in off-market deals, reach out - there’s plenty of opportunity! #MergersAndAcquisitions #DealDirect #BusinessGrowth #InternationalExpansion #OffMarketDeals #Virtualnonexecs #BoardAdvisors #BusinessBuyers

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🚨 GP Clawbacks in Private Equity: What You Need to Know 🚨 🔍 1 in 14 PE funds at risk According to a recent study, one in every 14 private equity funds is at risk of triggering a clawback provision, with almost $80bn potentially owed back to Limited Partners (LPs). This usually happens when General Partners (GPs) have received carried interest upfront but struggle to exit investments profitably, or experience a fall in exit profitability. 🔗 ➡ Full study here: https://lnkd.in/e36tZWXT 📉 Market pressures intensifying clawback risks Macroeconomic challenges, including rising interest rates and inflation, are making it harder for GPs to achieve profitable exits. In fact, there was a 35% increase in GP inquiries about clawbacks between 2022 and 2023. 🔗 ➡ Read more details at: https://lnkd.in/ehksw__n 💡 Mitigation strategies GPs can manage these risks by introducing mechanisms like carried interest escrow accounts, restructuring waterfall payments, and scenario modeling. Check out this article on key mitigation tactics: 🔗 ➡ https://lnkd.in/erH7nJGn The question isn’t if clawbacks will happen, but when — and how well-prepared funds are to handle them. What’s your take on the impact of clawbacks on the GP-LP relationship? Let’s discuss in the comments 👇 Thank you Hannah Zhang, CFA for sharing! #PrivateEquity #PrivateEquityFirms #LimitedPartners #LimitedPartner #Clawbacks #GP #LP #RiskManagement #Investing #Macroeconomics

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My colleague Simon Roderick gave his thoughts in this article on whether asset management bonuses could bounce back after a dire 2023 - read his views below. #assetmanagement #financialservices #bonuses https://lnkd.in/gXgNhurh

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Are Asset Management Firms Merging into “Meaningless Blobs”? An article in this morning’s FT, written by Toby Nangle, highlights fee collapses, the passive surge, and how firms like Schroders and LGIM are diversifying and strengthening their alternative capabilities. One paragraph that stood out to me: “Since then [20 years ago] a series of mergers and acquisitions have resulted in many firms huddling together for warmth, seeking some combination of better economies of scale or expertise to navigate the new environment. But as Mark Burgess, an independent non-executive director at Aviva Investors, put it to me, this has seen “big, and indeed small, firms merge to mediocrity”, morphing into “meaningless blobs”.” The FT thinks the institutional market may shrink by a 6th by 2034 due to the surge in "buyout" deals and consolidations. Yes, but there will also be a surge of new firms, either those with fresh technology, or those who are taking advantage of new regulation or simply asset management entrepreneurs who recognise that there’s a growing demand from investors for diversity in their investment portfolios, not just in terms of asset classes, but also in the diversity of fund management teams… as Mr Burgess might say, meaningful blobs. #AssetManagement #FinancialServices

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What do hedge Funds look for in an initial intro... Activity is high moving into Q4 - PMs looking at new seats for '25 and funds looking to capitalise...the mood is generally positive On that basis, if you're thinking about a new seat, what type of information will people look for... 🔵 Resume - an obvious one but should have at least the basic info (have written a post on this in the past) 🔵 Pitch deck - usually firms keen to see a pitch deck, including as much colour as possioble on proposed strategy, markets traded, asset classes, holding periods / frequency of trades, infrasturcture / tech / support needed 🔵 Track record - $ PnL, *NOT* % and where possible, monthlys 🔵 Why are you moving / considering a new seat? 🔵 What would it take for a firm to get you? 🔵 Have you got deferred? 🔵 What is notice period / non-compete? 🔵 Above all, honesty and transparency There is no point trying to sugar coat or mislead, even if you end up securing a seat, you may end up the wrong place... Thanks for reading and hope it helps. Get in touch if you'd like to discuss further Please like ❤️ / share ♻️ / comment 🗣️ for wider reach. Thank you #hedgefundrecruitment #hedgefundjobs #PortfolioManager #careeradvice

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Navigating salary and incentive benchmarks for front-office positions within the funds and investment management sector can be challenging for both professionals and employers. There tends to be a lot of frustration around the broad salary data sets available in the market, which often include a mix of different product teams or, even more problematically, data from back- and middle-office positions. To address this issue, we are introducing an in-depth Remuneration Study specifically targeting front-office institutional investment positions in Australia. This collaborative, crowdsourced initiative will require significant effort, but we believe it will deliver essential insights and alignment. Please check the link in the comments to participate in this remuneration study, and you'll receive a complimentary copy once it’s completed. The more data received, the more valuable the insights become, so please share widely. Thank you in advance for your contribution!

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Railsr, a UK-based provider of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions, has approached Equals Group, a London-listed payments firm, for a potential merger. This move is seen as a strategic effort to combine their financial technology services and expand their offerings. Railsr specialises in solutions like card issuing and virtual wallets, catering to the growing demand for embedded finance, while Equals Group focuses on secure, scalable payment platforms for businesses. This merger would allow both companies to leverage each other's expertise and better meet market demands.

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New Trader TV #Generationtrader - “Great fund managers recognise this is a team sport” says Mitesh Sheth MBE, chief investment officer at Newton Investment Management. Building and cultivating teams on the buy side is no easy task for those sitting in leadership roles today. This problem is made worse as asset managers are made to compete with big tech or innovative start-ups for such a limited talent pool. Newton IM’s Sheth spoke to Trader TV about what to look for when hiring for the buy side and the critical ingredients for creating a well-oiled front office desk—which includes talent, and increasingly the integration of new technologies. In this episode 🏗 How to build and cultivate a buy side team? 👩‍💻 Creating a well-oiled desk—including humans and machines 🖥 Continuous training and upskilling 📏 The importance of diversity and how do you measure it? ⚖ The balancing act of achieving real diversity and inclusion  🔔That one piece of advice leaders need to know #GenerationTrader explores diversity of thought on the trading desk, and is is supported by MarketAxess. #capitalmarkets #hiring #buyside #buildingteams #technology #diversity #inclusion

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📈 Cavendish Predicts IPO Surge Amid Profit Turnaround 📈 Cavendish, the City investment bank, reports a return to profitability, citing stabilising market conditions and a pipeline of IPOs set to boost London’s financial activity. Read More: https://lnkd.in/efVipQrC #LondonIPO #InvestmentBanking

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THE APPLE DOESNT FALL TOO FAR FROM THE TREE IN TOUGH MARKETS 🍎🍏🌳 Compliance Monitoring VP - Investment Bank London, Hybrid (3 and 2), £90k - £110k One for the capital markets auditors in my network. One of our Top investment banking clients is looking for those who want to make a move into an established team and carve a career in compliance monitoring. The market has proved challenging for candidates this year, fewer opportunities and increased competition. When the market is like this, you’ll hear me say, “the apple can’t fall too far from the tree”. To remain competitive you need to choose jobs that align to your recent experience to be seen. The volume of applications per roles greatly increase requiring a closer match to the job spec to stand out. This can be rather frustrating, we move jobs to progress and learn skills right? Sadly, clients want and need hires that can hit the ground running, they need a close match to the job spec. For this role we are relying on competencies and potential! Hurrah, a chance to move functions! Chris Roots is hiring for this one and will sell the dream as let’s be honest , I’m just a Finance recruiter….. but this is where our team consistently do well , combining networks to solve clients challenges as well as helping our candidates to make “bigger leaps” cross specialism. #internalaudit #compliance #bankingandfinancialservices #growthopportunity

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Huge news this morning as Abound announces one of the largest funding rounds in Europe so far this year! 👏🚀 Led by Michelle He, PhD, CFA and Gerald Chappell, Abound has raised £800m in a mixture of debt and equity to expand into prime lending in the UK and to roll-out Render, it's AI credit platform, globally. Powered by Open banking, Abound and render uses data to better understand customer's unique financial situation and provide tailored solutions. Michelle He, PhD, CFA commented: “Open banking has empowered consumers to take ownership of their data to get more personalised financial products. With Abound and Render, we’re showing that this can often mean they can access cheaper rates. We strongly believe that this is the future of lending. “The credit scoring system is dated and omits crucial pieces of the puzzle, like whether someone can actually afford to repay the loan. For those ready to embrace open banking, Render can offer them more accurate checks and, therefore, lower costs and risk. “Quite simply, the technology works, and that is why we continue to grow at such a pace and why our investors continue to back us.” Well done to the team! Definitely one to watch! 🚀 #credit #fintech #openbanking

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A really exciting read here in the City AM which just shows the sheer size of the fintech market and it's growth potential! Over the last year 2 years the market has grown at a steady 14% per annum, a figure which is expected to increase in the coming years as funding begins to ramp up and investor confidence is coming back into the market. For us on the recruitment front, it's such an exciting time seeing the market we are so passionate about in such a strong position. It's been great to see both our clients and candidates so enthusiastic about the market and making some strong moves, it really shows the positive direction the fintech space is moving in. If you're a business in the fintech space who are looking to bring talent into their team, or a candidate on the hunt for their next challenge, now is a perfect time to get in touch to discuss the market and what we're seeing here ESK Recruitment LTD😁 #fintech #market #growth #ESKRecruitment

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“Money doesnt recognise geography” This is a session hosted by national and international #investors at #climb24 We have over 200 investors from all over the world coming to find great businesses to invest in - and none of them care where they are based I am never going to complain about more money being invested in the region but #founders need to get their businesses in a shape to compete for investment on a national and international level The UK is the 3rd largest country for VC so we do have money on our doorstep Equally with our partners Department for Business and Trade we will be talking about how both funds and businesses can access international investment The challenge i think is that often businesses in the north just dont know what is available and how to access it Join us at climb24 on 5th and 6th june to lean - honestly everything you need is on your doorstep!!! And a ticket is less than the price of a train to london and a hell if a lot more fun !!!! UBS British Business Bank Innovate UK Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Department for Business and Trade VeUP Barclays Eagle Labs Squire Patton Boggs Lloyds Banking Group Mishcon de Reya LLP West Yorkshire Combined Authority Leeds City Council South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Nexus Leeds Leeds Digital Bobble AI Bionow GreenTech Gathering EHE Ventures Sure Valley Ventures Balderton Capital Beringea Eka Ventures Redrice Ventures Newlab Fuel Ventures 🚀 IQ Capital Albion Capital Group LLP YFM Equity Partners Foresight Group Equity Gap Par Equity River Capital Development Bank of Wales Oxx MERCIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED Maven Capital Partners Teampact.ventures Start Codon

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Market Update for Technologists (and a little bit of preaching) x2 Major Banks have internally announced 20k-30k job cuts by 2025 (next year!) (heard direct from x2 contacts in the know - discrete for that reason) No steer on who will be affected - the cuts will be to become 'less manual' - embracing AI / ML / Automation across all business lines. Meanwhile - Hedge Funds continue to want three skillsets in one across all hiring Eg: currently working a Tech PM role for a big shop - they need a PM, BA, Product Lead who was an engineer and understands Microservices to a deep level, whilst also having exceptional academics in compsci or similar from a top institution and able to function in an FO Quant Tech environment. Now some will say they are asking for too much and won't find it. I can tell you that you're wrong. I would say that the market is shifting around us all right now - if you have a 'traditional' skillset of doing one job only and most comfortable hiding in a big team doing the minimum, you likely will be laid off in the next 2 years. Unfortunately that's where we are. This is the time to upskill. Everyone is pushing to become leaner and more agile. Make yourself valuable If you're a technologist in a bigger firm who wants to join a culture of innovation and growth - HMU

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