2017 Financial Services Front Office Salary Guide

See salaries for professionals in asset management, equity/fixed income research, investment banking, private equity, and corporate and private banking.

After the significant market-wide basic salary increases we witnessed in late 2014/ early 2015, basic salary levels remained largely unchanged throughout 2016 across front office functions in Hong Kong. 

Included in Financial Services Front Office salary guide are salary ranges for Investment Banking & Capital Markets Salaries | Corporate Banking Salaries | Private Banking Salaries | Asset Management Salaries | Hedge Funds Salaries | Commentary

Investment Banking & Capital Markets Salaries

Corporate Finance Salaries		Sales & Trading Salaries
Analyst 1	30k - 70k	Sales - Institutional - Analyst	40k - 60k
Analyst 2	40k - 80k	Sales - Institutional - Associate	50k - 70k
Analyst 3	50k - 90k	Sales - Institutional - VP	130k - 160k
Associate 1	60k - 115k	Sales - Corporates - Analyst	40k - 60k
Associate 2	70k - 130k	Sales - Corporates - Associate	50k - 70k
Associate 3	80k - 145k	Sales - Corporates - VP	130k - 160k
VP	100k - 185k	Trader - Analyst	40k - 60k
Director	150k - 225k	Trader - Associate	80k - 120k
Managing Director	190k - 290k	Trader - VP	130k - 160k

Equity Research Salaries
Research Associate	50k - 120k	Supervisory Analyst	100k - 180k
Research Vice President	120k - 180k	Head of Product	150k - 200k
Research Director	150k - 230k	*	*
Research MD	180k+	*	*

Note: Monthly salaries in HKD

Corporate Banking Salaries

Corporate Banking - Product Specialist Salaries	Project Finance	Commodity & Trade Finance	Structured Finance
Analyst	35k - 55k	35k - 55k	35k - 55k
Associate	60k - 70k	60k - 70k	60k - 70k
AVP	70k - 85k	70k - 85k	70k - 85k
VP	90k - 120k	90k - 120k	90k - 120k
SVP / Team Head / Director	130k+	130k+	130k+

Commercial Banking Relationship Management Salaries		Corporate Banking Relationship Management Salaries
Associate	20k - 30k	Associate	30k - 40k
AVP	30k - 40k	AVP	40k - 50k
VP	40k - 65k	VP	50k - 80k
SVP / Team Head / Director	65k - 85k	SVP / Team Head / Director	80k - 120k

Note: Monthly salaries in HKD

Private Banking Salaries

Role	Associate	Associate Director / VP	Director	Executive Director	MD
Private Banker	50k - 60k	60k - 100k	110k - 125k	130k - 150k	160k+
Fund / Portfolio Manager	40k - 50k	50k - 80k	80k - 120k	130k - 150k	150k+
Investment Advisor / Consultant	35k - 50k	60k - 100k	100k - 120k	125k - 150k	150k+
Product Specialist	35k - 50k	50k - 70k	80k - 125k	125k - 150k	150k+
Trade / Dealer	30k - 50k	50k - 80k	80k - 100k	100k - 130k	130k+
Business Management	35k - 45k	50k - 80k	80k - 120k	130k - 150k	150k+
Assistant Relationship Manager	30k - 50k	50k - 80k	*	*	*
Product Development / Management	35k - 45k	50k - 70k	80k - 100k	100k - 120k	130k+

Note: Monthly salaries in HKD

Asset Management Salaries

Role	Analyst	Associate / AVP	VP / Senior Manager	SVP / Director	MD
Fund Manager	45k - 55k	55k - 70k	70k - 95k	120k - 200k	250k+
Research Analyst	30k - 45k	45k - 60k	63k - 83k	92k - 150k	180k+
Retail / Institutional Marketing	15k - 25k	25k - 45k	45k - 65k	65k - 90k	150k+
RFP Writer / Investment Writer	20k - 30k	30k - 45k	50k - 70k	70k - 100k	100k+
Performance Analyst	20k - 30k	40k - 50k	50k - 85k	100k - 120k	*
Retail / Intermediary Sales	25k - 50k	35k - 80k	60k - 120k	80k - 150k	150k+
Institutional Sales	25k - 50k	35k - 80k	60k - 150k	100k - 200k	200k+
Client Relationship / Account Management	17k - 25k	25k - 45k	45k - 70k	70k - 100k	100k+
Execution Trader / Dealer	20k - 30k	30k - 50k	50k - 70k	70k - 120k	150k+
Product Development / Management	20k - 30k	30k - 50k	50k - 70k	70k - 150k	100k+
Product Specialist	30k - 45k	45k - 65k	65k - 92k	95k - 150k	200k+

Note: Monthly salaries in HKD

Hedge Funds Salaries

Role	Analyst	AVP	VP / Senior Manager	SVP / Director	Senior Director
Fund / Portfolio Manager	45k - 60k	55k - 70k	70k - 100k	120k - 200k	250k+
Investment Analyst	30k - 48k	48k - 70k	70k - 120k	110k - 150k	150k+
Economist / Investment Strategist	30k - 45k	45k - 65k	70k - 120k	110k - 170k	200k+
Portfolio Construction	35k - 45k	40k - 55k	60k - 65k	70k - 85k	90k - 115k
Trader	20k - 45k	40k - 65k	70k - 100k	90k - 165k	180k+
Investor Relations	25k - 35k	35k - 50k	65k - 100k	92k - 170k	200k+
Private Equity	35k - 60k	70k - 145k	130k - 185k	160k - 225k	110k - 210k

Note: Monthly salaries in HKD

Commentary on Financial Services Front Office Roles and Remuneration in Hong Kong for 2017

We expect much of the same for 2017, with base salaries flat in investment banking (bar those based on promotion through analyst and associate ranks which typically increase 10% year on year), and it is a similar story in sales and research.

Certain corporate banks, particularly those who have seen significant staff attrition, have increased their base salary significantly to retain their bankers this year, but this is far from the norm. We would expect 2017 to follow suit with many banks freezing salaries or increasing salaries by up to 5% excepting grade promotions.

For private banking and asset management again, salaries are largely on par with last year, and we would expect this to be the same in 2017.  As with the sell side, it has been a challenging year.

Overall for 2017, we expect static or minimal increases in basic salary and compensation to remain static or decline across front office.