Filling the Talent Gap in Securities Finance and Collateral
Finadium
August 2024
Securities finance leaders and collateral professionals see a diminishing number of younger people entering their specialized markets. The reasons are well known: the financial services career track can be draining; younger people may not be interested in banks or investments compared to other industries; and more technology means fewer needs for entry-level staff. As a result, there are open questions about where the next generation of strong industry professionals will come from.
This report presents three proposals for how securities finance and collateral market participants can generate attention among younger professionals and build a new pipeline of people who can thrive in the industry. The templates we present are meant to be customized: while no one strategy will solve every problem, business owners can mix and match among several options.
There is no upside to ignoring the need for a staffing pipeline: it still takes an understanding of the operations, flows, market participants and individuals to make the entire process work. As senior professionals retire, the people who take their place must either share the same knowledge, or their firms and the entire industry may work fine for Business as Usual but suffer in a stress period. This could cause disruption far into capital markets.
This report has been written for business leaders looking at their staffing and medium/long term succession plans. While specific to securities finance and collateral, the same principals could be applied to any capital markets activity with a similar degree of functional complexity.
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Framing the Problem
- – The Industry’s Perspective
- – The Entry Level Person’s Perspective
- – Methodology
- Three Proposals
- – Proposal 1
- – Proposal 2
- – Proposal 3
- Opportunities for Creativity
- About Finadium LLC