O N E T E N A S S O C I AT E S
Virtual is a mainstay for professional recruitment One Ten Associates: Best Hedge Fund Recruitment Firm
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he pandemic has changed the way fund managers recruit professionals. The industry has embraced the new, virtual way of working and post-lockdowns the majority of the process will continue to be performed through video conferencing, meeting only end-stage candidates face-to-face. “Using this video platform allows the recruitment process to move quickly. It also gives us, as a recruitment business, the ability to access and engage with talent more easily,” comments Mush Ali, founding partner, One Ten Associates, “As a recruitment business, our model has been built on people meeting or interviewing people face-to-face which initially made the prospects for our sector bleak. The outlook in March 2020 was scary, but now in March 2021, the industry feels positive. We have adapted and feel very excited about the opportunities ahead of us for the rest of the year and beyond.” In Ali’s view, the hedge fund industry has been waiting for the kind of volatility which 2020 brought to the market: “It has led to some incredible success stories and allowed firms to differentiate themselves which has been tough in previous years. It also led to an incredible “fight for talent” in London which we haven’t seen in years. This makes the outlook compelling.” In this battle for talent, Ali believes technology will play a key role: “The talent needs to be more robust, in that professionals need to understand how technology can help the business. The firms that embrace and intertwine technology into their funds are those that will be agile enough to adapt as the industry moves incredibly quickly. Only the firms able to transform will survive and the key factor in their transformation is embracing technology.” Technology is also being placed at the forefront of One Ten Associates as a recruitment business. Ali is aware the firm needs to understand what the talent industry is doing and use the many tools available to access this information: “We know where to find the talent and one of the main reasons for this is that we have always invested in technology which allows us to stay on top of mapping the talent pool in our industry.” Staying close to the talent is how One Ten Associates can add value to its clients and align its interest to those of the firms it serves. “Our business model has changed in that our clients are
demanding more value-added advice and insight from us rather then just a transactional recruitment services. Our clients want more information they can use to ensure they are able to retain and motivate their staff,” underscores Ali. As a firm which has been established for over 10 years with over 20 years’ worth of industry knowledge, One Ten Associates is well positioned to provide the advice and insight its clients need. The firm has grown its reputation by having the unique blend of technical understanding and passion for the alternatives sector. It also an established candidate network across the hedge fund, private equity, asset management, real estate, infrastructure and service provider sectors. n
Mush Ali Director, One Ten Associates Mush Ali is the Director and Founder of One Ten Associates. A specialist and an award winning fund management recruitment firm. He has over 15 years of experience in identifying and building out the non-investment teams for this sector.
EUROPEAN SERVICE PROVIDER INSIGHTS 2021 | Apr 2021
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