For Data Techies, Hedge Funds Pay Best

If you work in a data management or market data technology role, you might want to consider moving to a hedge fund, where the average salary hovers just above $192,000. This looks particularly attractive when you compare it to the $94,000 on offer at retail banks.

These figures, we'd hasten to add, are not our own, but the findings of a salary survey by the Financial Information Services Division (FISD) of the Software & Information Industry Association, which covers North American and European data management roles.

The figures below show that hedge funds pay an average of $192,000 for data management roles, with consulting/integrator and rating agencies coming in close behind. Retail banks are by far the least generous, with a $94,000 mean pay out, followed by exchanges and buy-side roles, which pay $115,000 and $120,000 respectively.

This is all very well, but are there currently many jobs on offer? Paul Elworthy, associate director in the IT and banking finance division of recruitment firm Hudson, says market data is currently one of the most active areas.

"Firms are currently looking to integrate market data coming from various sources and putting that through a core system without manual intervention," he says.

Source: FISD