Welcome to the eFinancialCareers Ideal Employer Report for '25-'26

Where do people want to work in financial services?

With over 15,500 responses to our Ideal Employer survey across 2025, this is the definitive report on employer branding and candidate perception in financial services and beyond.

Employer reputation is more important than ever. Hiring is expected to recover in 2026, and candidates will make their decision to move jobs based on the reputation of the employer they’re planning to move to. Employers with poor reputations will not have the same weight in the market as their competitors – and may not have the same pick of the litter that they enjoyed historically.

Analyses in this year’s report include:

• The Ideal Employers for compensation, rewarding careers, culture & integrity, and well-being;
• The Ideal Employers among hedge funds, private equity firms, asset managers, fintechs, electronic trading houses, boutique banks, and others;
• The Ideal Employers in the UK, North America, Europe, and APAC;
• The Ideal Employers for women, people of colour, and young people.