Brokerages, bourses step up hiring as markets shape up

MUMBAI: The buoyancy in capital markets over the past one year has brought good tidings for those working at brokerages and bourses, with hiring registering an uptick after a long period of lull.

The level of attrition, too, is on the rise.

With the formation of a new government last year, the markets have seen a handsome rally, and consequently, the attrition level on a voluntary basis has considerably gone up to 12-15 per cent, experts said.

"In the past one year, a stable government led to renewed interest in stock markets and we witnessed an uptick in hiring of frontline staff," ICICI Securities HR head Vaijayanti Naik said.

"On an average, the industry has hired around 10 per cent in the past one year."

"The attrition has increased from an average 10 per cent for 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 to 12 per cent for 2014-15," a top NSE official said, adding that the exchange has been mostly hiring junior management staff in recent times.

Another major Indian bourse MSEI, formerly known as MCX-SX, has also gone into a recruitment overdrive from April this year to beef up its numbers lost to attrition.

"MSEI has stepped up its hiring from April 2015 at its junior and mid-levels and key managerial functions as part of its plan to reposition its focus and key result areas," an MSEI spokesperson said.

"We are seeing attrition at junior and mid levels at 18 per cent over the last 2 months," the spokesperson said, adding it's taking steps to retain key people.

The hiring activity at brokerages also saw a healthy growth in the past one year as attrition levels remained elevated.

"The hiring trend for stock brokers, their NBFCs and wealth managers has been fairly healthy in the past 12-15 months, with record movement of experienced people between firms, possibly highest after 2008-09," Systematix Shares and Stocks managing director Nikhil Khandelwal said.

"As per our analysis, every brokerage has seen an average of 10-15 per cent movement of people."

Analysts said brokers need more hands to manage client relationships and execution of trades, which has been driving recruitment.

"With the increase in investment volumes from clients and a slight pick-up in the IPO market, NBFCs of brokerages have also seen an uptick in hiring," Khandelwal said.

According to one estimate, earnings of large brokers rose 50 per cent on an average and the trend is likely to bring in new talent into the capital market.

For ICICI Securities, the focus this year has been on hiring professionals to bolster its client engagement across sectors like IT, BFSI and pharmaceuticals.

"We also added freshers from premier MBA institutes," Naik said.

"Like in the capital market, the salary levels also saw corrections as employers sought replacements at lower costs and experience."

Appraisals too are ringing in better days, with front-end staff getting about 12-13 per cent increment over the past year.

"It's important to note that during 2013-15, several brokerage and wealth management firms had cut salaries by 5-7 per cent. So, this year's increment has started bringing in normalcy," Khandelwal said.