There are indications that the job market, which has made recruiting a challenge for family offices, has been cooling off. Nationally, for example, although unemployment remains relatively low, it has ticked up this year and is currently 4.2%.
Sam Frank, vice president of executive search at recruiting firm Harvey Hohauser & Associates, has seen this dynamic at work in recruiting for family offices.
“The employment market has certainly shifted,” Frank says. “It was a strong candidate market, starting right before COVID. Then I think this year in the first quarter, it kind of flipped the other way.”
Location plays a role in the strength of the overall job market.
“We’re in Detroit, and there are lots of layoffs in automotive right now. As there are more layoffs, wages aren’t going up,” Frank says. “That’s part of it, although we also play nationally and internationally.”
Looking specifically at family office recruiting, Frank says he is increasingly hearing from chief investment officers who are interested in hearing about available positions.
“I’m on the front lines talking to people all the time, and I’m getting more and more CIO people calling me, saying they’re looking for something new,” Frank says. “I’m also seeing an increase regarding positions more generally: people reaching out to me, connecting through LinkedIn, or being referred by someone I know to talk to me about what their next career move is going to be.”
Unfortunately, these candidates may not have as many options as they might have in recent years.
“It’s just night and day from where it was two years ago,” Frank says. “Typically, we present four to seven candidates, and out of those four to seven, two years ago I would say that at least one, and typically two or three, had other opportunities happening at the same time. Now, if one of them does, it’s surprising.”