How Emerging Compliance Talent Can Stay Relevant in the Age of AI.

Harry Rogers, Head of Legal & Compliance Recruitment at One Ten Associates, recently spoke with three senior Chief Compliance Officers from global hedge funds to discuss one of the biggest topics currently shaping the compliance market: the emergence of AI and its impact on hiring, skills and long-term career development.

The conversations explored how junior and mid-level compliance professionals can remain competitive in an evolving market, the technologies and systems firms are prioritising, and the technical knowledge hiring managers expect emerging talent to develop over the next 12–24 months.

UK Chief Compliance Officer for Global Hedge Fund

Q: There is a lot of fear about how AI may replace many junior to mid-level roles within the funds industry. How can current junior to mid-level compliance professionals ensure they stay ahead of the game and remain desirable to hiring managers and fund managers?

A: For me, it is less about specific systems, especially as new ones are emerging all the time, and more about being comfortable adapting and learning new ways of working. That said, proficiency with tools such as Confluence and Jira is very helpful in getting things done efficiently.
Attractive candidates need to understand both the business they are supporting and the regulatory environment they operate within. Having only one of those skill sets is rarely enough. Good judgement is also critical and is unlikely to be replaced by AI in the near term. Knowing what needs escalating, what action should be taken and whether a firm needs to change its approach will continue to require human judgement.

Q: Which tech, systems or AI tools should emerging talent prioritise when upskilling?

A: AI proficiency and understanding how to use these tools effectively to speed up tasks is increasingly valuable, but it must be combined with strong judgement. I have seen a lot of meaningless output produced by junior professionals using AI tools because they do not yet understand how to separate irrelevant information from what genuinely matters.
A global understanding is also becoming more important. Professionals should not only focus on UK, EU and US regulation, but also develop awareness of markets such as Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore. That does not necessarily mean detailed expertise, but understanding the themes and the overall regulatory approaches different jurisdictions take.
Firms are more global than ever, so compliance questions are increasingly shifting away from ‘What do we need to do to start activity X in the UK?’ and towards ‘We want to carry out activity X – which jurisdiction is the most appropriate or efficient from a regulatory perspective?’

Q: In addition to upskilling and becoming proficient with technology and AI, what technical compliance knowledge should emerging talent focus on?

A: For some firms, the regulation of crypto assets in the UK from 2027 will become a major area of focus. As with any regulatory change, professionals who immerse themselves in the detail and fully understand the implications are likely to be in a very strong position in the market.
I would expect hiring activity in this space, both from firms seeking authorisation for the first time and from existing firms considering variations to their permissions.

Global Chief Compliance Officer for Global Hedge Fund

Q: How can current junior to mid-level compliance professionals remain desirable in an increasingly AI-driven environment?

A: Developing expertise in specialist areas of compliance will become increasingly important. Pure process-driven roles are likely to be impacted most heavily by AI.
However, there will always need to be a human expert reviewing and overseeing the work produced by AI-driven processes.

Q: Which tech, systems or AI tools should emerging talent focus on?

A: Professionals should learn how to create sophisticated prompts that can streamline processes and checking tasks. They should also learn how to use AI tools to help build software and automate operational workflows within their firms.

Q: What technical compliance knowledge do you believe will become increasingly important over the next 12–24 months?

A: One of the key areas will be the increasing sophistication of trade-related monitoring using AI, whether for market abuse surveillance or personal account dealing.
AI will become increasingly useful in identifying patterns and behaviours across large volumes of compliance data and communications. For example, firms are already exploring the use of AI to identify sentiment trends within electronic communications.

EMEA Chief Compliance Officer for Global Hedge Fund

Q: How can current junior to mid-level compliance professionals remain desirable to hiring managers and fund managers?

A: I do not think the core desirability factors have changed significantly because of AI. The same qualities still drive hiring decisions for junior professionals: are they intelligent, can they demonstrate potential beyond what they have already done, are they hungry to learn and, most importantly, are they detail orientated and have they done their research?
Those last two factors are where both the strengths and weaknesses of AI become obvious. AI can make research much quicker, but if we spot mistakes or hallucinations within someone’s research, they are unlikely to get a foot in the door.

Q: Which tech, systems or AI tools should emerging talent prioritise?

A: Many firms are still struggling to adopt effective enterprise versions of AI tools and agents. From a compliance perspective, I would strongly recommend familiarity with tools such as Claude and Co-Pilot. These systems can help improve workflow management while still allowing for meaningful human involvement.
We want to see professionals using the latest tools to improve their effectiveness, but we are not looking to remove the human element from the process.

Q: What technical compliance knowledge should emerging talent focus on over the next 12–24 months?

A: A major area will be reporting oversight, whether that relates to transaction reporting, position disclosures or other reporting obligations where large volumes of data need to be reconciled accurately and consistently.
AI proficiency should help firms identify errors and improve efficiency in these areas. The same applies to surveillance functions.
We have also seen AI used ineffectively for horizon scanning because AI tools cannot fully understand what is genuinely relevant to a specific firm in the same way a human can. Instead of receiving focused and relevant regulatory updates, firms often receive large volumes of irrelevant information which then takes longer to untangle.
Compliance teams are always operating within resource constraints, so if AI tools can help teams work faster and smarter, that is valuable. However, firms do not necessarily have the time or resources to wait for long-term AI build-outs to become effective. That is why many are currently focused on practical workflow and research tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Co-Pilot which can add value immediately.
Whilst large language models may reduce the need for deep technical coding proficiency, seeing that someone has experience with Python or C programming languages still demonstrates strong technical capability. Ultimately, firms want to know that professionals can adapt to the technological shifts AI will bring over the next five years.
And perhaps the best way to conclude is this: don’t panic. The future can always appear intimidating, but hiring managers are focused on the current market. Firms simply want to know that candidates have the adaptability and mindset to evolve alongside whatever the future brings.