KPO's often work with the Who's Who of investment banks, hedge funds, venture funds, research firms and asset managers across different regions and sectors, making them an attractive way for analysts to gain essential investment research experience. As many financial services firms aggressively recruit from top KPO firms, it is astounding that many analysts opt for more experience rather than the near-term monetary gain. Gautam added, "Today, KPO recruiters are regularly competing with investment banks for the same talent. This was not the case three years ago.”

The growth within the KPO space has also created the opportunity to build a solid career track in the sector. For those aspiring to move up the corporate ranks into a senior management role, the fast pace and people-centric environment of a KPO firm provides a great setting for leadership development.

As many leading KPO firms post high double-digit employee and revenue growth figures, grooming internal leadership continues to be an important area for this industry. Managers are required not only to have domain expertise and manage a large team of analysts but also have the ability to manage growth in a fast paced multilingual and multicultural environment.

One must wonder if these analysts joining KPO firms are running the numbers to assign a value to experience that's greater than cash in hand. It's reminiscent of the calculations most MBA graduates made prior to entering their respective programs.

The author is AVP & Head of Investment Research for China at Evalueserve