It pays to be old and wise in Australia’s funds management industry. As times get tougher, inexperienced staff are the most in danger of being cut and the least likely to be rehired elsewhere.

AMP and Perpetual were among the big funds to trim headcount last year, with the later recently announcing that redundancy payments for its 40 sacked staff contributed a large chunk of its $12m restructuring costs.

This year looks like being a comparatively safe one for seasoned professionals. Even when the market is poor, the likes of BT, Perpetual, Colonial First State and AMP are unlikely to make massive job cuts on the scale of the banks. Their assets under management are still large and most of their layoffs have already happened.

“Funds take a longer-term view of the employment market compared to the banks because they are less transaction driven,” says Anton Murray, director of Anton Murray Consulting.

A solid track record should help keep you clear of redundancy. “Management teams must be seen as stable to keep investors on board. Funds won’t want to fire their portfolio managers – it’s not a great signal to the market,” says Fiona Weeks, a partner at search firm Platinum Pacific Partners.

Junior investment analysts are more at risk because they don’t add as much value to the business as their more experienced colleagues, according to Weeks. And it’s not great being a young job seeker either. “There are a lot of juniors out on the street now. Two years ago we couldn’t get enough of them,” she adds.

Murray agrees: “People with only a one to two-year record are in a bad position because the market is full of candidates, so more experienced people will be applying for the same jobs. If you’re on $80k, wanting to move to a $100k job, you’ll now find yourself up against $120k people who don’t mind taking a pay cut.”

Overall recruitment in funds management remains flat, with growth hiring rare, but some replacement roles still available. "The holiday season is only just over. In four to six weeks we will have a better feel for the market, both in terms of hiring or further job losses,” says Weeks.