Wealth & Finance International - February 2017

Wealth & Finance International 46 The Secrets of Successful Recruiting he GF Parish Group is a boutique executive recruiting firm working with traditional and alternative investment manag- ers across all functions. The firm’s searches and placements span the breadth of investment and distribution roles as well as operations, technology, data security, strategy, finance, legal, compli- ance and more. Its clients range from the largest investment managers to small boutiques across the US. Gabrielle Parish goes into more detail about the firm and the work that it undertakes. “Successful recruiting requires that extensive attention be paid to cul- tural fit in addition to the identification and corroboration of necessary work skills, insights and experience. A culture can encompass anything from a common selection of work priorities to standards of internal com- munication to a shared focus on work/life balance or lack thereof. More than 95% of the time, we find that the ultimate selection of a candidate by a client comes down to this amorphous “fit”. Therefore, we dedicate time at the inception of a search to understanding the work norms and attitudes of the client by meeting onsite with a variety of individuals, whenever possible, to build our understanding of the firm. We then do deep in-person dives on the candidates that are potentially qualified fol- lowing initial phone conversations to assess their qualifications and our sense of “fit”. When we find candidates who promise success, we pres- ent them via extensive written narratives that are designed to address all the pertinent topics for a search and to highlight aspects of fit. When a slate of candidates are presented in this consistent manner, the task of interviewing and selecting becomes much simpler for our clients. “Our sole focus on the investment management industry and the backgrounds of our staff working within that industry prior to becoming recruiters provide us with expertise and insights into how the industry truly works. This allows us to conduct interviews in greater depth and with background understanding that is critical to the evaluation process. It also allows us to lift-out entire teams for our clients, as we have a thorough understanding of the components of success.” Gabrielle continues to give us a few examples of where the firm has experienced particular success of late. “Recently, we placed a head of emerging market fixed income for a medium sized private held boutique in the New York Metropolitan area. The job requirements were complex: the candidate had to have a superior track record in managing both sovereign and corporate debt securities, a successful history of managing a team, proven ability to grow assets under management through prospect and consultant interaction, and experience in managing both institutional separate accounts and retail mutual funds. The congenial culture of the firm demanded the same of the candidates, with big egos ruled out. Beyond that, the erudite CIO was known to have an interview style that put the candidates to the test. Looking across the globe, GF Parish Group was able to identify a slate of candidates, and via multiple interactions and reinforcements of our views on styles and abilities, help whittle down the few, and ultimately the one top candidate who took home the prize. “In another example, we were asked to find a Client Portfolio Manager for a boutique that offers large cap growth equities, small cap interna- tional equities and private equity strategies. The individual had to be able to represent the portfolios as though he/she were on the investment team, provide top-notch client service, pursue sales opportunities and participate in product development. This required finding an investment professional who was equally competent and happy in a non-investing client-facing role. The culture demanded the utmost in professionalism combined with an easy-going sense of camaraderie. By evaluating numerous individuals in similar roles and others who were willing to make the transition, and by setting up a series of interviews and helping to arrange mock presentations, we were able to find a perfect match for our client’s goals and desires.” The team at GF Parish Group play a huge part in the success of the firm overall, as Gabrielle embellishes: “We use a team effort for every search that we conduct, so the staff are critical to our success. Our research and consultant team identify, qualify and opine about all candidates in our shared proprietary investment management database and in shared office space. Before beginning any new assignment, the team discusses the details of the position, the client culture and the necessary long-list and short-list qualifications that will help us to arrive at a slate of out- standing candidates. The approach is modified and refined as the team begins calling, receiving questions, and articulating the opportunity for candidates. Our team approach shortens and improves the process for each client.” With regards to the future, Gabrielle foresees both challenges and opportunities. “In the face of changing regulations, but with little certainty about what the changes may be, there is a degree of “wait and see” that will likely affect the timing of some of the hiring decisions in the year ahead,” Gabrielle Parish goes into detail about GF Parish, its strategy and the reasons behind its success. T 1702EF30