1. Deep product knowledge of numerous asset classes:
Trade-support professionals will cover a range of traded products (debt, equity and derivatives) and will be expected to understand the end-to-end trade lifecycle of every single one of them.
2. A working knowledge of compliance and risk concepts, and local and global regulations:
As risk and compliance functions continue to evolve at a rapid rate, it’s reasonable to expect that some of the current responsibilities of dedicated compliance teams may in fact become part of the trade-support remit.
3. A willingness to work shift hours:
From the late 1990s to mid 2000s many global banks experimented with back-office shift work in Singapore due to the cost-saving opportunity of basing back-office staff in Singapore instead of the UK or US. From a productivity perspective, it makes sense to run smaller, more specialised teams working in shifts in three of four key banking centres rather than in a dozen cities all over the world. This scenario has re-established itself again during the COVID-19 lockdown.
4. Business Analyst skills:
Technology upgrades are currently on the increase as banks focus on productivity and risk management and digital business automation. Experience of performing user acceptance testing (UAT) will stand you in very good stead with your employer and will give you the opportunity to have a say in the functionality of the system.
5. International mobility (on a budget):
As roles have moved on, only a limited number of candidates have been prepared to move with them. In the future, you can expect opportunities for trade-support professionals to be limited to the hot locations. To stay employed long term, you will need to be willing to relocate to a country that may not be at the top of your list of preferred locations.
6. High-level Client-Service and Sales skills:
In the near future, you will need to be able to communicate in a number of languages fluently as you can expect to be covering multiple regions. Moreover, you’ll need to liaise and build relationships with high-value clients. After this global financial crisis we will effectively see the elimination of the back-office client-service function, with these responsibilities in many cases falling back into the hands of the front-office relationship managers.
7. An Accounting qualification:
The skills of a qualified accountant (e.g. risk, compliance, audit, project-management and, of course, accounting skills) are becoming more and more relevant for trade-support teams as they seek people who can speak the same language as the risk, compliance, audit and finance teams.
