Equity & Growth Opportunities Best Way to Lure Executives

Kathy Freeman, founder of The Kathy Freeman Company is a long-time IACPR member, involved in many key prokects for the organization. Her firm, which focuses exclusively on assignments for the investment industry, has concluded its latest proprietary research designed to identify current trends among senior sales and marketing executives.
The trends identified in the paper can be leveraged by CEOs, their human resources partners or line executives to design a more effective and relevant approach to retaining or attracting this critical subset of talent.  

Reversal in Job Satisfaction Demands More Aggressive Hiring Strategy to Attract Top Executive Talent

Top executives in investment management and wealth management are more satisfied than they have been since the beginning of the financial crisis. In just four years, senior sales and marketing executives have gone from being mostly dissatisfied to being mostly satisfied with their current position. To attract talent, firms will need to offer equity more frequently and act more decisively than they have in the recent past when a compelling candidate has been identified. To retain talent, firms will need to link compensation more closely to performance and create opportunities.

 

for executives to develop new ideas, products and solutions. Contrary to what some believe, it is not a buyer’s market for talent. Executives will only move if they perceive the firm as a partner in their long-term future.

Post-Crisis, The Sentiment Changes Dramatically

What a difference just a few years can make.

 

In 2009, our research indicated that almost three-quarters of the senior executives working in the investment management and wealth management business were dissatisfied with their job and were looking for a new opportunity.

Four years later, there’s been a complete reversal. Today, more than 60% of the executives polled in our Fourth Annual Executive Survey are satisfied with their current position and aren’t looking for a new one. In fact, less than one half of the respondents in our 2012 survey were inclined to look for another job—the lowest percentage since we began our research.

 

Another surprising finding from the 2012 survey: Equity ownership is more important than ever. Executives say they are willing to stay put or even defer compensation if it means an opportunity to share in the upside of the firm’s success through equity. 

To learn more about the findings from the Fourth Annual Kathy Freeman Co Survey,  visit www.kathyfreemanco.com or call 800 883 3232.