by Jonathan Berr (article can be seen at eFinancialCareers.com

In the days before the Great Recession, quant professionals had their choice of jobs. The situation is dramatically different today.

Hedge funds and boutique proprietary trading firms are hiring but at a pace that is far from robust, according to recruiters we talked to. Nonetheless, candidates are starting to dust off their resumes in the hopes of finding new opportunities. They just need to realize that times have changed.

An Increase in Job Postings

The Society of Quantitative Analysts has seen an increase in the number of job postings on its Web site, though “it’s nothing like it was in 2008,” according to Dave Carelton, the society’s administrator. He adds that his organization’s site doesn’t tell the whole story since many jobs are also posted on other sites.

Banks are hiring more quants because the Volker Rule will ban them from taking excessive risks with customers’ money. These jobs, however, may not be sustainable if Wall Street’s efforts to kill the rule are successful.

Employers More Selective

“This increase in candidates on the market has allowed employers to be more selective,” said Matt Moye of M. Moye Consulting, a recruiting firm specializing in quantitative jobs. “In previous years, we’d see more opportunistic hires where an experienced candidate may tick half the boxes required for the position but be very bright and have upside. Now employers are looking for the entire package.”

Recruiters such as Peter Arian of Analytic Recruiting echoed Moye’s sentiments.

‘Hiring managers are reluctant to pull the trigger,” he told eFinancialCareers, adding that successful candidates are “smart enough to understand that the environment has changed and will adjust their expectations accordingly.”

Strong Traders are Being Snapped Up

Of course, there are exceptions. Traders with strong track records in the high-frequency or proprietary spaces going back at least 12 months are being snapped up by hedge funds and other employers, according to Steven Talbot, director a GQR Global Markets in New York.

“It’s more of a case of which opportunity do they want to take,” said Talbot.

Top candidates are still able to command good salaries. According to Moye, companies do not appear to be trying to replace high-priced talent with cheaper, inexperienced staff. “I do not believe this is the case and I’ve seen more failures in firms that aim for quantity over quality,” he said. “My clients have continued to have an extremely high bar to hit.”

More Opportunities Outside New York

Quant firms are becoming increasingly decentralized, so there are opportunities outside of New York. Many are setting up shop in California to tap into the talent pool there. “People on the whole are less willing to relocate,” Talbot said, adding that firms are also less willing to pay for moving expenses than they had been previously.

Recruiters also advise candidates to keep their salary expectations realistic because the grass is not always as green in other places as some might imagine. That’s especially true for people at the beginning stages of their career.

“We’re still seeing strong offers for candidates that directly affect the bottom line,” Moye said. “However, the days of always receiving a first-year guarantee don’t apply anymore.”

To clarify regarding the last quote I was referring to first year guarantees of senior hires.

Via Bloomberg: Morgan Stanley Yoga-Troubadour-Crossword-Math Pro Muller Flees

Citadel LLC, the $11 billion hedge fund run by Ken Griffin, hired Jamil Nazarali and Matt Cushman, former executives atKnight Capital Group Inc. (KCG), to lead a new effort in quantitative trading…

Quantitative hedge funds, which use complex mathematical models to pick investments, returned 2.1 percent this year through March compared with an industry average gain of 1.6 percent, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. The funds rose 8.8 percent last year and 14 percent in 2009, data from the Chicago-based research firm show.

Read the complete article here.

Congrats to this past year’s winners from Eurohedge, including GSA Capital sharing the Equity Market Neutral & Quantitative Strategies award for the second year in a row.  Previously winning outright in 2009.  The only other repeat winner was BlueCrest. (Link)

High-Frequency Trading Rivals In Suit Over Hiring Of Astrophysicist

Via Forbes: Houston firm Quantlab Financial claims rival Tower Research Capital of New York intends to hire Yongzhong Xu. (Read More)

UPDATE: (Ctrl-C / Ctrl-V….)

Accused Soc Gen High Frequency Thief Was Headed To Tower Research

Via DealBreaker: The former Societe Generale trader arrested yesterday on charges of stealing Soc Gen’s computer code for high-frequency trading was set to begin work this week at Tower Research Capital, a New York based quantitative hedge fund, according to a source.  Samarth Agrawal was charged yesterday with one count of theft of trade secrets,

EDIT: I had mistakenly copied and pasted the 2008 Award winners in my past post.  The correct winners are now posted below.

Winners:

UK EQUITY
GLG Alpha Select

SMALL CAP
AlphaGen Volantis

EUROPEAN EQUITY (under $500m)
Zebedee Focus

EUROPEAN EQUITY (over $500m)
AlphaGen Tucana

GLOBAL EQUITY
AlphaGen Rhocas

EMERGING MARKET EQUITY
SR Global Emerging

EQUITY MARKET NEUTRAL & QUANT STRATEGIES
GSA Capital International

EVENT DRIVEN
York European Focus

CONVERTIBLES & VOLATILITY STRATEGIES
Jabcap Global Convertible

FIXED INCOME
Pelagus Capital

CREDIT & DISTRESSED
Fortelus Special Situations

EMERGING MARKETS (DEBT & MACRO)
Pharo Trading

COMMODITIES
Armajaro Commodities
BlueGold Global

MANAGED FUTURES & CURRENCY
IKOS G10 Currency

GLOBAL MACRO
Pharo Macro

MULTI-STRATEGY
CQS Directional Opportunities

NEW FUND OF THE YEAR - EQUITY STRATEGIES
Marshall Wace Global Opportunities

NEW FUND OF THE YEAR - RELATIVE VALUE & MACRO
Numen Credit Opportunities

LONG TERM PERFORMANCE – EQUITY STRATEGIES
Lansdowne Global Financials

LONG TERM PERFORMANCE – RELATIVE VALUE & MACRO
Brevan Howard

MANAGEMENT FIRM OF THE YEAR
BlueCrest Capital Management

FUND OF THE YEAR
Jabcap Multi-Strategy

Update, a day later…: Citadel Suffers Setback as D’Souza Leaves Firm After a Year

A flood of U.S. firms have streamed into Europe’s carbon credit trading system; in this and other ways firms are forging ahead under the assumption that the Senate will pass a climate change bill that creates a market for trading carbon credits. By Penny Crosman

Read More… via WS&T

HFT Does Not Create Volatility, Says Buy Sider

Don’t Set Speed Limits on Trading

High-Frequency Trading Debate Goes Well Beyond Stocks

and my favorite, finally someone said it: Goldman and High Frequency Trading

“This argument not withstanding, I doubt that Goldman is making much of its money from high frequency trading”

On a slightly related note, I’m in Chicago this week.