subject: The market for Fund Analyst Jobs in Switzerland [print this page] The market for Fund Analyst Jobs in Switzerland
Switzerland is a major centre for all types of funds - particularly investment funds. Consequently the Swiss fund industry remains a source of new jobs in Switzerland and European fund jobs as a whole. However until recently, with the 1995 introduction of Investment Funds Law, Swiss funds were not a major player in the world markets. This allowed three main types of fund to be set up in Switzerland:
- Property funds;
- 'Assorted' funds, which includes funds of funds, currency funds and hedge funds.
- Securities funds, meaning funds which invest in publicly-issued and traded shares.
Since then the market has exploded with the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) stating that almost five per cent of the total assets under management in Switzerland are within in hedge funds. Traditionally Geneva and the upper side of Lake Zurich have been the centers for the fund industry in Switzerland. However a number of large international fund managers have relocated to Switzerland and chosen for tax and quality of living reasons the two smaller centers of Pf?ffikon and Zug for new homes. Despite the rush of press items last year claiming the centre of the fund industry was moving from London to Switzerland that has not actually happened. What we have seen is a few of the larger London Hedge Funds have moved some of their operations and infrastructure to a more tax efficient location in the alpine state. That aside Switzerland is a rapidly growing fund domicile and Hedge fund location with slightly over 20% increase in new fund set ups in 2010 and the subsequent Swiss fund jobs that come with that. Key advantages for Switzerland as location to set up new funds are lower personal income tax, the wealth of potential local investors from amongst the private banking, insurance, pension funds and family office industry.
Because of the size of the Swiss fund markets the fund managers themselves, their third party fund administration partners and their institutional clients and partners , like the banks, Wealth management practices, family offices and fund distribution companies need up to the minute analysis of various funds under management. Consequentially a very common recruitment requirement of the Swiss funds industry is for Fund Analysts.
Needless to say the Fund Analyst is as varied a Swiss fund job as the types of fund s they analyze. However we can specify certain things about this type of fund job. One of the key duties of any fund analyst is to perform full due diligence and all monitoring of the funds and hedge fund managers that are with in their portfolio. As these fund in 90% of all fund analyst jobs are actually third party ones the analyst can expect a significant amount of contacts with the external asset managers. Indeed it is common to see the strongest relationship between the fund management organization and the investment house is at analyst and manager level. Obviously the analyst needs to remain independent and objective and this is actually one of the key challenges for any fund analyst in Switzerland - perhaps, given the more compact nature of the Swiss funds industry, this is a even greater challenge than in London.
So the Swiss Fund Analyst must perform independent analysis and often write research, produce papers on key investment insights of their respective fund managers. This research can be both external for the consumption of the investment public as a whole or for there employers own internal investment decision making process. In the Fund analyst job this often means reporting upon overall strategy outlook and risks to investment committee. In some cases Fund Analysts (usually those who have considerable experience) can be asked to become involved in the actual investment committees and indeed even, manage portfolios of funds. Sometimes this can even equate to having to propose new investment ideas.
The Fund Analyst job often diverges here into various specialized areas, however it is common to see the Analyst being asked to analysis the implementation of the detailed quantitative and qualitative due diligence processes in each fund. The very success of , for example a private banks investments in Hedge fund in Switzerland, on behalf of their high net worth clients, can be the result of decision taken upon the advice of their analysts.
Of course to be considered for such an important fund job in Switzerland the budding Analyst must have a range of specialized skills and experience. Above all else they must have an excellent understanding of Investment Markets. This can only be gained through undertaking multiple years of experience in those markets. Common backgrounds for Fund Analysts include moving over the banking sector where they worked as a sell/buy side analyst, individuals who worked in trading or portfolio management roles, fund product specialists and of course people who have already worked as a fund analyst. Remember for most fund analyst their most important responsibility is to turn their research into investment recommendations that can be delivered to the portfolio managers. To do this they will need to have good analytical skills - gained in a Solid quantitative background, structured and autonomous working, be comfortable with various financial markets and instruments and finally for this fund job in Switzerland they will need strong networking, communication and presentation skills.
Due to the international nature of the job excellent written and verbal English is always required and usually either one of German or French - depending upon whether the fund job is in Zurich or Geneva. It is also common to see a Bachelor's degree required, a Master's Degree, or even the CFA or CAIA qualification.
The Fund Analyst is a rewarding Swiss fund job offering many individuals the chance to join a rapidly growing and well paid sector of the Swiss jobs market. To investigate further I suggest you contact a Swiss recruitment agency who specialize in the placement of individuals in the Swiss funds industry.
