WEALTH management is enjoying a jobs boom in Scotland, with a number of national firms setting up regional hubs in Scotland as experts predict that more will follow suit.A wave of destabilising lockdown job cuts coupled with firms employing a permanent or semi-permanent shift to remote or hybrid working, is spurring radical changes within the sector.As boldly predicted by the sixth Annual Salary Guide by Core-Asset Consulting – an influential review of Scotland’s financial services sector – a confluence of factors has been persuading major players to set up distinct Scottish hubs, sparking a “domino effect” sector revival.Jack Anderson, a consultant specialising in wealth management at Core-Asset, has witnessed his predictions for the Private Wealth industry playing out in real time.Jack said: “With hybrid or remote working now a permanent or semi-permanent fixture of many wealth management firms and the possibility of a Scottish Independence referendum pending, a number of national firms have been establishing regional offices north of the border.“Heavy hitters such as Blackrock and Coutts have opened offices in Edinburgh for 2021 and global investment firm Abrdn is committing to Scotland too.“These large firms moving north sets a precedent for others within the industry, who we are predicting may soon follow suit.“Regional hubs offer the ability to service local Scottish clients at source, and from a health and wellbeing perspective also offer the opportunity for employees who are perhaps based in London, or in cities elsewhere, to relocate to more rural and less densely populated areas.”The pandemic had a profound impact on wealth management firms with many cutting back on staff numbers – particularly in the first half of 2020 as asset management and new business slowed during the first government lockdown.Jack added: “These decisions to reduce headcount did have a destabilising effect on the sector overall and led to an increased pool of immediately available candidates.“However, at the beginning of 2021 there was a d …
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