The demand for chief compliance officers and other top compliance executives in the investment management field is booming, according to an article in Information Management. Searches for these positions are up 20 percent from last year at this time, search firm Russell Reynolds Associates says, and another search firm, Heidrick & Struggles, believes this "robust demand is here to stay."
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reports that the candidates who are most in demand right now are those who are "cycle-tested" by a down market. Experience with the SEC is also valued, with "a premium on regulatory and enforcement experience."
Charles Crow, a lawyer who represents hedge funds and investment advisers says that while the CCO was once "looked at as a necessary nuisance, that is not the case any more." Now, he say, the CCO is viewed as "someone we better listen to."
The job seems to pay well, too. Full-time hedge fund CCOs are now reportedly earning salaries of about $750,000 a year plus bonus.