Corp Actions Professionals in Demand Following Increase in Complexity

Increased complexity of events and growing focus on risk mitigation have resulted in a need for firms to hire more corporate actions professionals with broad market knowledge, but these candidates can be difficult to find, officials tell Inside Reference Data.

There are only around 5,000 corporate actions professionals worldwide, according to research conducted by an industry consultant on behalf of Fidelity ActionsXchange. "Corporate actions really is a specialised skill, and one that is in great demand in the market-place," says Boston-based Deborah Culhane, chief operating officer, Fidelity ActionsXchange.

The limited number of professionals trained in this space is now creating a challenge for firms faced with a growing number of complex events and a need to hire more staff.

New York-based Ranjit Chatterji, managing director, global head of network management, securities and funds services, Citi, says there has been increased frequency of complex events. These types of events require interpretation and some level of manual processing, and can pose risks to the business, leading to a need for additional resources to manage the process.

The full story will appear in the August issue of Inside Reference Data.