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Financial Services Leaders Discuss Talent Shortage for Supporting Roles

Mellon Financial, Boston, August 11 – According to financial services executives who gathered at a Global Massachusetts 2015 working group meeting, Massachusetts faces opportunities and challenges from the globalization of the investment management industry. Ron O'Hanley, Chair of the Financial Services Working Group and President of Mellon Asset Management, noted that while the Commonwealth is poised to continue its leadership role, it must retain the operational activities that are increasingly subject to cost pressures and can be more easily relocated or replicated outside Massachusetts.

Financial Services Key to our Economic Future
The executives discussed the need to make state and local governments more aware of the importance of financial services to our job base, state tax revenue and overall economic health. To do so, they believe that more detailed information and hard data are needed to demonstrate the role the sector plays in creating and sustaining economic growth. They also suggested that the next governor appoint a financial services "ombudsperson" to reach out to the industry and assure opinion leaders that public sector officials are aware of the needs and requirements of this essential sector.

An information campaign to educate the state would include not only employment numbers but a description of the many facets of the industry and its supporting businesses. As one of Massachusetts' biggest employers, the financial services industry ought to be a priority for government action. Job creation and retention in this sector should take its rightful place alongside biotechnology, high technology, and health care.

Talent Strengths and Gaps
The Massachusetts investment management industry is a global leader, second only to New York among American cities and fourth globally in terms of the amount of money managed. Our universities, culture, climate, and overall quality of life continue to draw industry leaders to stay and grow here. In addition, new companies, funds, and advisory services are constantly being spun off or built out of the larger institutions here, creating smaller companies that are critical to creating jobs in this and other industries.

However, the jobs that support these senior executives and fund managers are increasingly 'portable'. Massachusetts companies are having difficulty finding employees with the skills needed to fill vacancies in fund operations, accounting, and other custodial activities. Combine this ongoing shortage with the salary requirements for these positions in Massachusetts, and many financial services companies are being forced to look outside the Commonwealth to fill these jobs, domestically in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, or North Carolina or overseas in India or southeast Asia. There is concern that our public higher education system is not producing graduates with the appropriate skills to immediately enter this industry.

One solution may be to develop a more coordinated education curriculum in partnership with the industry to populate the job pipeline. Such a collaborative effort would train students for investment support jobs and encourage them to remain in Massachusetts.

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