Small fund managers are slowly starting to scoop up specialist senior staff left high and dry by the big boys.

As reported on eFinancialCareers in May, large institutions – such as BT Investment Management, Colonial First State, Deutsche Bank, Perpetual and UBS – are trimming a few of their non-core funds and the employees who worked on them.

The good news is that boutique firms – the likes of Integrity Investment Management, PM Capital, Fortitude Capital, Select Asset Management, Phoenix Portfolios, Integrity Investment Management and Global Value Investors – are now establishing smaller versions of these funds, predominately in specialist sectors such as property, infrastructure and global/emerging markets.

And new funds need new people to manage them. Caan Krsztew-Ivanow, a search consultant at H Capital, says some boutiques are looking to hire one or two extra employees.

“They aren’t adding general Aussie equities funds. They need portfolio managers in specific sectors, who can hit the ground running and who know the prices in their industry,” he adds.

Ashton Bilbie, a director at Profusion Wealth Management, agrees that the boutiques aren’t after generalists. “Generally speaking, there’s not too much demand for Aussie equities guys. Most small firms have already set up domestic funds, so the job market there is fairly flat. Any expansion is more likely to be in areas like global markets, fixed income and property.”

But are candidates actually interested in opportunities at the niche players? After all, the boutiques can’t compete with giants like Goldman Sachs JBWere and UBS when it comes to compensation.

These big banks offer base pay of $250k to $350k for senior funds managers, while the range for boutiques is about $150k to $220k, according to Krsztew-Ivanow. But while base and bonuses are lower, managers at boutiques get an equity stake in their firm after three to five years.

Krsztew-Ivanow says moving to a smaller institution is also attractive to those wanting a fresh start to their careers. They will often be opening a new fund from scratch and will be given sufficient time to make it profitable.

“You get to run the fund yourself, make the investment decisions and sit on the board. You’re not just another cog in the wheel. Candidates have always been interested in working for boutiques, but now the bigger players are pulling out, they are even more open,” he adds.

Bilbie says your chances of landing a job in a niche firm depend not just on specialising in the right sector, but also on your track record and profile in the market – yet another reason why seniors are more sought after than juniors.

But once you’re in a boutique, expect to stay there for a while. “These firms don’t poach from each other. It’s hard to extract someone who has an equity stake in the company,” explains Krsztew-Ivanow.