Winter is coming to Wall Street.

That means hiring is slowing down and the biggest banks are starting to think about their plans for next year.

Business Insider asked senior figures at four Wall Street recruitment firms about the key hiring trends in 2015, and what they expect for 2016.

This is what they said:

David McCormack, chief executive of DMC Partners, said:

It’s nearing the end of year so hiring has definitely slowed down. Hiring across equities this year has been very buoyant but focused mainly in the following areas: high-touch sales trading, high-touch trading, electronic, equity derivatives and equity research.

And when I use the term buoyant, I mean certain banks are upgrading and taking market share. It’s definitely a case of the haves and have nots. Other banks remain distressed and are being picked apart.

Joseph Leung, managing partner of Aubreck Leung, said:

Based on some preliminary discussions with hiring managers we’re seeing basically two different reasons for hiring for next year.

On the one hand, some banks that have done well in equities in the US and M&A globally are looking to be opportunistic and selectively strengthen their teams to continue the positive trend. On the other hand, some banks that have performed poorly, say in debt capital markets and equity capital markets, might be looking to inject new DNA and see if that will the change their fortunes. “

Mike Karp, chief executive of Options Group, said:

Hiring activity has been heavily weighted on very specific senior replacement hires and junior-level professionals. Although there are a few areas of expansion, demand for director-level professionals has been limited.

The movement of professionals from hedge funds back to banks has increased. Challenging market conditions have prompted this migration, as professionals seek job stability and more consistent pay through higher base salaries.

Jen Montalvo, a director at Sheffield Haworth, said:

This year’s FICC hiring was mainly driven by replacement hiring as well as a high degree of executive level changes. The businesses that saw significant movement of people included rates sales and trading, emerging market foreign exchange trading, and credit trading. A focal area for banks was eFICC, given they continue to assess the level of investments and market participants expect continued evolution for 2016.

We expect most of the 2016 bank hiring to be within Tier 2 and 3 institutions. However, banks continue to focus on cost cutting and moving towards less capital intensive business lines.

This is closely associated with one of the more popular topics being discussed around professionals moving away from European to North American banks, which have fewer regulatory restrictions for the businesses and compensation. Additionally, junior to mid-level talent is increasingly showing interest in moving into the technology and private equity sectors.

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