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A compliance salary survey

Alongside their eternally popular risk salary survey, recruitment firm PSD Group have also produced a compliance salary survey which sheds some light on earnings in the dark and murky world of compliance.

We've reproduced the salient points below. The conclusion appears to be that most compliance roles pay the same in any kind of institution, but that hedge funds may pay more at a junior level. Notably, salaries for global heads of compliance are capped at 200k.

PSD also notes that compliance people in investment banks received next to nothing as a bonus for 2009 and had their salaries frozen for two years previously. As a result, they've been moving for 20% salary increases in 2010, with 'Front Office Advisory Compliance Professionals' moving for salary increases of 40%, and a guaranteed bonus.

Salaries for compliance professionals in investment banks

Compliance assistant/analyst: 30-40k

Compliance monitoring: 40-60k

Control room: 40-70k

Compliance product specialists/advisory: 60-90k

Head of monitoring/advisory/control room: 80-140k

MLRO: 80-120k

Head of compliance: 100-160k

Global head of compliance: 150-200k

Salaries for compliance professionals in London asset management firms

Compliance assistant/analyst: 35-45k

Compliance monitoring: 40-55k

Compliance advisory: 60-90k

Compliance manager: 70-90k

Head of compliance/MLRO: 80-120k

Salaries for compliance professionals in wealth managers

Compliance assistant/analyst: 30-40k

Compliance monitoring: 40-70k

Compliance manager: 60-90k

MLRO 80-110k

Global head of compliance 90-140k

Salaries for compliance professionals in hedge funds

Compliance assistant/analyst: 30-40k

Compliance monitoring: 40-80k

Compliance manager: 70-90k

MLRO: 90-110k

Head of compliance: 100-130k

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AUTHORSarah Butcher Global Editor
  • an
    anon
    13 September 2011

    I put up with that "level of crap & brain-death" for less than 25k a year. Looking at this I think I agree with being called a mug!

  • Ja
    James
    21 October 2010

    There are a lot of Compliance Management, quite senior who know very little about key compliance issues or the FSA handbook but get paid big salaries and some of them seem to be running the business. They have not grasped the Senior Management requirements and are afraid to stand up to people fearing they will lose the huge salaries. The genuine people in Compliance who do the work and are quite honest get very little reward and are treated as idiots. There is a lot of greed out there in all levels of business operations.

  • Wi
    Wise man
    23 August 2010

    Thierry is right in a way...banking jobs aren't fun...maybe interesting for the nerds looking at graphs and balance sheets and high end mathamatics (none of which sounds like a dream job), we are all just in it for the money, plain and simple...no other reason..if I had a choice and it paid well id rather be head of chocolate tasting at nestle or something... id be fat, but probably happy to die a death by chocolate rather than stress, pressure and spreadsheets!

  • Th
    Thierry
    20 August 2010

    99% of finance jobs are awful - hence the bumper salaries. Noone would be willing to put up with the level of crap & brain-death they do for 25k a year. Self employed skilled tradesmen: enjoyable tangible work, good banter, may get to work outdoors, plenty of tea breaks and not bad money. You're all mugs!

  • An
    AnkitM1985
    20 August 2010

    That's exactly the kind of response I expected from the average efinancialcareers reader.

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