We write a lot about pay for people in banks’ investment banking divisions (IBD), but we write a lot less about pay for people working in banks’ markets businesses. This is partly because pay is more predictable for IBD professionals. And it’s partly because there’s a lot more IBD pay data around.
Thankfully, therefore, recruitment firm Selby Jennings has shone a fresh light into the murky world of pay for quantitative finance professionals in New York City. According to the firm’s most recent stats, quant pay in NYC looks like this:
- Managing Director (MD) – $350-450k. Bonus: 100-200%
- Executive Director (ED) – $200-350k. Bonus: 70-100%
- Director/SVP: $175-300. Bonus: 50-90%
- VP: $140-200. Bonus: 35-70%
- AVP/Associate: $85-140. Bonus: 20-40%
- Analyst: < $80. Bonus: 10-25%
A quant headhunter in the City says these quant pay figures hold equally in London. “It’s not that straightforward any more – some banks like RBS will pay far lower bonuses, but these figures are roughly correct for quants here.”
He adds that quant bonuses remain uncertain for 2014. Quant bonus pools are typically derivatives of trading bonus pools, making them product dependent. Most fixed income products have done badly this year. Equity derivatives, however, have done fairly well.
