INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: FUNCTIONS
Kim Yates, director of the asset management
practise at Principal Search, the recruitment NATALIE SCHOON, CFA
company, believes that product development often
requires a diff erent skill set to many of the roles in
Title: Head of Product
Development
asset management. “You have to be good at project
Current employer:
management, and at working out priorities. It is
Bank of London and The Middle
more akin to a management consultant type skill. East (BLME)
You need a technical knowledge of jurisdictions, Previous employers:
fund structures, and legal issues.”
Barclays Capital; Algorithmics;
GWK; Gulf International Bank;
ABN Amro
REGULATORY CHANGES
University: University of Surrey
Product managers are responsible for one or more
Degrees: BSc; MBA; PhD
product categories, and will manage a product from
Professional qualifi cations:
its development to its launch and on a regular basis
CFA; ASI
from then on. Keeping ahead of regulatory changes
is critical to the role.
Most recently, for example, the European
What attracted you to this career path?
Commission sought public comments on a
I fi rst came across Islamic fi nance while working in Bahrain and
decided to focus my research on the valuation of Islamic banks.
preliminary version of possible changes to the Capital
Requirements Directive, the legal requirements of the
What are the major challenges you face in your position?
new Basel II banking regulation. Th e Commission
It is a new industry and the bank only obtained its banking licence
restricted the amount of risk that originators of
in July 2007. The challenges in the job are also its major
securitisation could transfer on to other parties. Th e
attractions: working for a new organisation in a new and fast
move, which will have signifi cant implications for
changing industry
future product development, met with criticism from

the industry. In a letter to Charlie McCreevy, the
Are there certain skills you would consider useful for your job?
EU’s internal markets commissioner, industry bodies
An analytical mind and a good understanding of the fi nance
on both the sell-side and the buy-side, such as the
industry.
European Banking Federation and the International
Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) said the
How do you think the role you’re in now will change over time?
plan would “damage the European economy by
Given the relatively young life of the bank, I expect it will change,
permanently altering the amount and cost credit but it is diffi cult to say how.
available.”
For product development managers, the outcome Do you have advice for someone intending to pursue the same
of these conversations will aff ect how they do career path?
business, and what types of products they actually To be successful in product development you require a sound
put out in the market. Like most other careers in
knowledge of business and the ability to see how to structure
asset management therefore, product development
requirements in such a way that they meet business needs,
managers must ensure that there is fl exibility built
commercial targets and regulatory requirements.
into the system for which they are responsible.
Cg
“You have to be good at project management, and at working
out priorities. It is more akin to a management consultant type
skill. You need a technical knowledge of jurisdictions,
fund structures, and legal issues” Kim Yates, Principal Search
WWW.CFAUK.ORG CAREERS GUIDE 2009 41
330-55 investman_functions.indd 410-55 investman_functions.indd 41 222/11/08 11:59:332/11/08 11:59:33
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