The Buy-side Trading Community (BTC), an unsponsored social initiative, has published results of the third annual benchmarking survey for its #Buysidementalhealth campaign.
Just 19% of those surveyed stated that they had considered leaving their role or the industry due to mental health reasons, however more than half (52%) stated that they personally knew traders who had done so. These results “are a clear warning sign that policies and procedures need to be continuously addressed to ensure that mental health is addressed within the trading functions,” BTC stated.
A total of 92 senior, heads and global heads of trading from asset management firms and hedge funds participated in the survey, holding a combined total of US$20 trillion in assets under management. The majority of participants were based within the UK and sat in the 46-55 age bracket.
Considering their mental health since the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of those polled (40%) reported that they had ‘not suffered any more than usual’ in 2023. This is a significant improvement from 2022’s results, which saw close to 15% responding that ‘I feel/have felt close to the breaking point and ideally need/would have needed assistance’.
However, the reduction of participants saying they had had ‘a tough time, but were coping’ decreased by just 5% between 2022 and 2023 – this is the result of continued pressures over the year, BTC explained, including global market volatility, inflation, and geopolitical conflicts.
This was mirrored in responses to the question of what triggers negative mental health at work, with ‘stress and pressure’ emerging as the forerunner – selected by more than 60% of participants, and up almost 20 percentage points from 2022. A ‘lack of work/life balance’ was also a concern for almost half of those surveyed this year, down slightly from 2022 levels.
Responses to how traders are taking care of their mental wellness signal a sharp increase in the number of those seeking counselling and therapy, while the majority (approximately 50%) stated that if they were suffering from mental health issues they would speak to a professional therapist. The number of those who felt there was no one they could talk to about this was at its lowest point in the survey’s three-year history.
From employers, the report notes an increase in counselling assistance being provided in 2023. Less participants stated that no mental health guidance was in place from their employers, however there was a significant reduction in the presence of internal staff awareness campaigns, down to 25% from last year’s more than 35%.
Concluding the report, the BTC advises asset management firms and hedge funds to put continuous reviews of mental health clinics and maintenance in place, along with implementing more staff awareness campaigns around mental health.
It also advocates for the monitoring of market conditions with an eye to the effect these may have on traders’ mental health, and a focus on how stress and pressure can be reduced among trading teams.
©Markets Media Europe 2024
