It is bonus season for investment bankers and some of them are expected to grab their cheques and head for the door as Hong Kong's swelling investment fund industry skims the best talent in the business to fuel its growth.
A more flexible environment and the potential to earn more money at hedge and private equity funds had been luring a growing number of seasoned investment bankers in recent years and corporate head-hunters say there are more defections to come this year.
Earlier this month, the South China Morning Post broke the news that Jonathan Zhu, Morgan Stanley's China chief executive, plans to leave the bank to join Bain Capital, a United States buyout firm. Mr Zhu is one of the first defectors in this year's bonus season, with more likely to follow.
'The next four to six weeks is when you are going to see the biggest activity spurt of the year in this business. Bonuses are all being paid at the moment,' said Harry O'Neill, managing director of executive search firm Whitney Group.
'The firms with the best reputations for trading will typically be the ones that risk losing the most traders.'
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were the first banks to pay out their bonuses for last year, sources said. Banks offering prime brokerage services, which cater for the trading needs of institutional clients such as hedge funds, have benefited greatly from the growing fund industry and increased stock-market turnover but they are also the most likely to lose staff.
