Portfolio managers in demand once again
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By Annakaisa Pirilä-Mänttäri
The job ad of investment service company FIM came just at the right time for portfolio manager Jouni Rautala.
Rautala, 41, was downsized from the asset management arm of the Mandatum investment bank last September, and the prospects were not that promising. Portfolio managers, analysts, and brokers were losing their jobs in numerous companies.
As is typical in the industry, the job cuts were not announced publicly.
At the beginning of February, four months and eight job applications later, Rautala began work in the asset management business of FIM as a fund manager. His current project is a new inflation-linked bond fund, which will be launched on Friday.
Jouni Rautala is not the only new face at FIM. Seppo Sairanen, the Managing Director of FIM Group, says that the team of 130 employees has received twelve additions this year, primarily in asset management and sales.
Although Rautala was found through a newspaper ad, FIM often benefits from unofficial channels in its recruiting. There is a limited number of finance professionals in Finland, and many are friendly with colleagues who work in other companies.
Networking is made even easier by the fact that finance professionals are in the habit of changing jobs more frequently than the average. Due to the sector's cyclical nature, jobs are not seen as permanent, and the employees can sometimes be lured quite easily to work for a competitor.
Rautala cannot be accused of jumping ship very easily in his work history. His career began at the Bank of Finland in 1992, where he worked for seven years. After that, Rautala has been employed by the Sampo Bank and Mandatum, which was acquired by Sampo some years ago.
According to Rautala, the lack of rapid job moves has to do with his personality. He also says that asset management requires more of a long-term perspective than brokerage, and fund managers are rarely the first to go when jobs are cut.
"First they downsize from brokerage and corporate finance."
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 28.4.2004
More on this subject:
 Financial sector recruiting new employees again
Back to the job market via the Finance School
ANNAKAISA PIRILÄ-MÄNTTÄRI / Helsingin Sanomat
annakaisa.pirila-manttari@hs.fi
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