Asset management reward survey 2011

PwC’s sixth annual study of compensation in asset management gives a revealing insight into remuneration at a time when investment performance is more important than ever, and regulation is restricting firms’ ability to hire and retain key talent through the use of guaranteed bonuses.

Main messages from the survey:

  • Competition for talented fund managers during a period when future profitability is particularly dependent on delivering sustained investment performance has led to some significant increases in remuneration.
  • While not as restrictive as originally feared, implementation of the third EU CRD III is placing Europe’s asset managers at a disadvantage in world markets, especially Asia.
  • The new rules have been introduced at a time when some asset managers have been growing their workforces, compensation costs are rising and people have been more prepared to move between firms than they have been for several years.
  • Compensation is rising at an even faster rate in Asia, where the AM industry is expanding and inflation is high, as well as in specific niche product areas such as ETFs, global emerging markets and global equities.
  • Constructively, in the UK at least, Europe’s largest centre for AM firms, the implementation of CRD III has encouraged better risk management.