Dubai first choice for finance graduates

dubai — Dubai has topped the list of cities that graduates want to call their home as they embark on their career in financial services, an annual poll by deVere Group has shown.

DeVere asked those who started its flagship graduate programme, in which location within the group’s global network of more than 70 offices they would like to start their international financial services career. Dubai was the first choice for 28 per cent of respondents, followed by Barcelona at 22 per cent; Hong Kong at 17 per cent; New York with 14 per cent; and coming in at fifth position was Cape Town with eight per cent of the votes. The remaining 11 per cent is made up of other destinations including Shanghai, Sydney, Geneva, Paris, Bangkok, and Abu Dhabi.

DeVere Group founder and CEO, Nigel Green, noted that the results of the poll underscores how cities like Dubai, Barcelona, and Cape Town are increasingly important international financial centers, and compete with the stalwarts such as Hong Kong and New York. “With this, as the apparent perception of the wealth mangers and advisers of the future, we can expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future,” he said.

“The fact that Barcelona this year is second-placed and London — currently the world’s most important global financial hub – does not make the top 10 is interesting. This survey highlights that the next generation of financial services professionals are open to look beyond the traditional and more established global financial hubs.”

Green further observed that there are some shared characteristics amongst the top five cities. These include that English is commonly spoken, they are politically and economically stable and there is a high level of high net worth individuals.