The money market shines
Fund managers are still the financial services industry’s leaders when it comes to lucrative salary packages.
In particular, investment specialists continue to be well-remunerated, with even lower level analysts receiving a minimum of $130,000 per annum (salary and bonus) according to the Money Management salary survey.
Next in the pecking order are portfolio managers, whose salaries range from $120,000 to $180,000, plus a bonus of up to $120,000.
Chief executive officers are looking at payslips with six figures — a salary in the range of $400,000 to $700,000, as well as any additional performance-related pay, which roughly equates to receiving the same salary again at between $500,000 and $600,000.
There continues to be a large disparity in salary levels between boutique firms and institutions, but long-term incentives continue to entice individuals to the smaller outfits.
Peter Dawson, executive director of the Financial Recruitment Group, says: “Boutique fund managers often offer lower level base remuneration, but provide market bonuses and the ability to gain equity participation, usually after a three-year period.”
Simone Meers, head of Profusion Executive Management, agrees.
“You’ll find that people who go into the boutiques do it because they are there for the long-haul — for the next five to 10 years — and they are expecting at that point to receive a large amount of money.
“There’s no guarantees around that, because obviously it’s linked to the performance of the business, but a lot of boutiques are looking at their long-term plans, so offer long-term remuneration models which balance out the short-term salaries.”
The only small cloud on the horizon relates to bonus payments. With investment returns not expected to reach the all-time highs of 2004, fund managers may have to work just that little bit harder this year to secure that promised pay-out.
Recommended for you
In this week’s special episode of Relative Return Unplugged, we present shadow treasurer Angus Taylor’s address at Momentum Media’s Election 2025 event, followed by a Q&A covering the Coalition’s plans for the financial services sector.
In this week’s episode of Relative Return Unplugged, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver joins the show to unravel the web of tariffs that US President Donald Trump launched on trading partners and take a look at the way global economies are likely to be impacted.
In this episode of Relative Return, host Laura Dew is joined by Andrew Lockhart, managing partner at Metrics Credit Partners, to discuss the attraction of real estate debt and why it can be a compelling option for portfolio diversification.
In this week’s episode of Relative Return Unplugged, AMP’s chief economist, Shane Oliver, joins us to break down Labor’s budget, focusing on its re-election strategy and cost-of-living support, and cautioning about the long-term impact of structural deficits, increased government spending, and potential risks to productivity growth.
