Out of 235 finance professionals surveyed across the financial services sector in London by Morgan McKinley, 88% expect to receive a bonus in the 2010/11 bonus round, compared to 82% in September 09.
Looking at the size of the bonus expected, 73% of professionals predict their bonus to be up to 30% of their base salary. Compared to last year’s bonus payouts (2009/10), 48% are anticipating a higher overall bonus, while 41% predict that it will be the same.
When asked whether base salary or bonus was more important in looking for their most recent role, 63% cited base salary, compared to 7% stating bonus while 30% said both were equally important. Similarly, of those currently considering changing jobs, a better salary was cited as the reason by 12%, while only 2% stated they would move due to their bonus not meeting expectations. The main motivation for moving roles was for better career prospects or job satisfaction (61%).
In September 2010, the average salary for financial services professionals in London remained steady at £53,400, up from £53,336 in August 2010.
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Andrew Evans, Managing Director, Morgan McKinley Financial Services said
“It’s a positive indicator of financial services market recovery that compared to last year, there is a small rise in the number of professionals who expect to receive a bonus in the 2010/11 bonus round and for those who received a bonus last year, the majority are anticipating either a similar or larger payment. These expectations are a reflection of improving business performance across the sector; key to continued market recovery.
“Throughout the downturn and as we move towards recovery, the spotlight has continued to focus on the size of City compensation packages. It’s interesting to see from our survey that nearly three quarters (73%) of City workers in back, middle and front office roles are actually expecting bonuses of up to 30% of their salaries, while a quarter (27%) anticipate their bonus to be over 30% of their basic salary.
City workers are prioritising career development and job satisfaction over remuneration as the most important factor when looking for a new role.”
The number of new job opportunities in London’s financial services sector continued to grow year-on-year with a 23% rise from 3,843 in September 09 to 4,725 in September 10. However, month-on-month there was a 15% drop in jobs new to the market from 5,544 in August 10.
The number of professionals entering the financial services jobs market in September remained stable month-on-month with a minimal increase of 0.4% from 10,810 to 10,850. Compared to the same time last year, the number of professionals looking for new roles in September 10 increased by 60% from 6,800 in September 09.
