Financial services recruiter Selby Jennings has launched a dedicated executive search business following a study carried out internally.

The internal research found that recruitment among banks, hedge funds and other organisations in the sector could be up by over 300% this year compared to 2008.

The study, carried out among recruitment, HR and business managers in more than 200 financial organisations worldwide, discovered that while the desire to retain headhunters rather than engage contingent recruiters collapsed during the financial crisis, demand for their services experienced a massive upsurge in 2010, a trend that looks set to continue in 2011.

More than 90% of respondents suggested that their business would be more likely to consider executive search in 2011, citing several reasons including a shortage of certain technical skills, concerns around diversity, and less willingness on the part of candidates to forgo deferred bonuses.

According to the company, Selby Jennings Search will seek to respond to these concerns and to what it views as a new market post-crisis through service, innovation and fee structure.