High-flying fund managers in demand from family offices
But high-flying City fund managers and chief investment officers are increasingly in demand from “single family” offices, which handle the money of one person or family.
Wealth managers for a private investment office can earn far more than their counterparts doing jobs in the City of London, recruitment consultants have said.
Initially the City was better paid but now family offices are offering “attractive” salaries, says Tayyab Mohamed, co-founder of Agreus, a family office advisory and recruitment firm. The bonuses are where the real money is made, he added.
Managers can expect to earn between 25-30 per cent of revenue as a top family wealth manager, compared with 10-15 per cent at an investment bank.
Research published last year on single and multi-family offices found that their chief investment officers earn an average of $270,000 a year. Portfolio managers are paid $160,000. Additional incentives for both, are an average of 41 per cent of base salary, the report found.
Figures from Emolument, which crowdsources pay data, suggest London fund managers earn a median salary of £125,000 plus a bonus of £17,000 for the most experienced. A report last year from think-tank New Financial that assessed salaries around the world suggested the average salary for employees of investment banks was $263,000.
“If you were to put chief investment officers’ compensation on to a scattergraph you’d get crosses all over the place; it’s very difficult to see what a normal comparison is,” said Mark Somers, of Somers Partnership, a financial service recruitment firm specialising in wealth management. “But in some single family offices, CIOs are extremely well paid compared with individuals outside managing slightly less money.”
But while the pay might be greater, often the responsibilities are too. Longer worker hours and being permanently on call were negative factor recruiters cited.
“You do put more hours in as you’re on 24-hour call working for a single family office,” said Gina Le Prevost, chief executive of AP Executive. “That is one of the reasons why people leave — they want to get the work/life balance right.”
However, Matthew Norman, deputy chairman of the Family Office Council, says the lifestyle is better.
“You only have one client to keep happy, rather than lots, so there will be fewer investor relations meeting; you’ll have a broader mandate looking at all asset classes and learning more; and you’ll have a nice office in Mayfair rather than in the City.
“It could also be a stepping stone to understanding a future client base more effectively, so when you move back to the City you understand ultra-net-worth families better, and you’ll have a better network.”