Another high-profile firm is joining the growing gang of smaller players looking to take business and talent away from larger banks and fund managers.

Bill Moss – the man who founded Macquarie’s property and banking empire – recently announced he was joining forces with former Lehman Brothers Australia boss Glenn Willis to create Moss Capital, a firm focused on debt and equity financing, corporate and real estate advisory, and funds management.

The company’s nine-strong workforce includes experts in debt restructuring and property, giving it a mini-Macquarie flavour and pointing to a wider potential resurgence of these two job sectors. Perhaps unsurprisingly, both Macquarie and Lehman feature on several CVs.

Moss Capital shouldn’t have any problems when it wants to add more staff. “The Moss name and reputation alone will be enough to attract some of the best people in the industry. No doubt he’ll already have his eyes on certain people and will just need to tap them on the shoulder,” says Michael Notley, director, Taurus Financial Recruitment.

While Moss is getting most of the press, other boutiques are expanding and finding it easier to compete in the employment market. “They provide a steady, attractive, independent environment, and have already taken a lot of talented people from the banks,” adds Notley.

Candidates don’t have the same allegiance to large foreign banks as they did before the financial crisis, comments Melissa Tal, director, Wilbur & Orville Executive Recruitment. And if they no longer automatically expect a large i-banking bonus, they are even more likely to choose a niche employer.

“It’s also a good time to move to a boutique because some can offer you genuine company equity, locking in job security and balancing return for the long term. Equity is by far one of the most compelling factors for senior candidates,” adds Tal.

The equity on offer at boutiques looks even more stable as banks chop and change their share schemes. “It’s more tangible too. At an Australian boutique, you know where your company is heading as the decisions and results are generated locally. You’re not worrying about what the parent office in the US or Europe might decide to do,” says Notley.

Niche firms have more flexibility in their hiring, opportunistically taking on top talent, even if they don’t have a specific role, but think the new recruit will support overall future business growth.

And the boutiques’ lack of bureaucracy means they can approve new hires far faster than larger firms, according to Tal. But juniors be warned, at least 80% of the current recruitment is at senior level, she adds.

Corporate advisory boutiques (Caliburn, O’Sullivan Partners, and Lazard Carnegie Wylie etc) tend to hire conservative, clean-cut types who have worked steadily through the ranks of a major i-bank.

Funds managers (PM Capital, Fortitude Capital, Select Asset Management, Phoenix Portfolios etc), by contrast, often go for more idiosyncratic people who might have hands-on experience in the industry they are covering (for example, a former engineer managing an oil and gas fund).