Welcome to our first annual US Global Markets Compensation Survey. For this report, Heidrick & Struggles compiled compensation data from a survey of 55 sales, trading, and research professionals in the United States. We hope to expand the regional scope in future reports.

Together with our surveys of professionals across alternative asset management marketing and investor relations as well as private equity investment and operating, this report contributes to a comprehensive picture of the compensation that executives on both the sell and buy sides of the financial services and private equity industries currently receive. 

We hope you enjoy reading the report, which is the only one of its kind. As always, suggestions are welcome, so please feel free to contact us—or your Heidrick & Struggles representative—with questions and comments.

Methodology

In an online survey fielded in the summer of 2024, we asked participants to provide data on their compensation for 2022 performance, paid in 2023 (which we will refer to as 2022), and 2023 performance, paid in 2024 (which we will refer to as 2023), as well as 2024 base compensation to date. All data collected was self-reported by the survey respondents and has been aggregated.

Introduction: Market context

After peaking across products in 2021, falling in 2022, and taking a more tempered approach in 2023, compensation for global markets sales, trading, and research professionals seems to be increasing once more. Due to stronger business performance thus far, global markets professionals are expecting higher compensation for the 2024 year, with bonuses to be paid in 2025.

• From 2022 to 2024, respondents report that their cash base rose modestly, from an average of $402,800 in 2022 to $408,500 in 2024. This consistent figure confirms that the average managing director base salary is being kept at $400,000 for most platforms. 
• Reported average cash base rose along with respondents’ years of tenure, team size, and firm revenue.
• The higher salary outliers also often came from individuals at international banks subject to the European Union’s Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) IV regulations.
• By product type, respondents in securitized products reported the highest 2023 average total cash compensation (cash base and cash bonus), while respondents in equities reported the highest 2023 average equity component. 
• Also by product type, those in securitized products reported the highest 2023 average total compensation packages (cash base, cash bonus, and equity), while those in credit reported the lowest. 
• By respondents' function, the highest paid traders in our survey, those in the 75th percentile, reported an average of $1,350,000 total compensation in 2023. 
• By institution type, respondents at American and international banks reported the highest average total compensation in 2023, at $1,567,100, while those at boutique firms reported the lowest, at $522,900. 
• Respondents at regional banks and broker dealers had the most positive outlook, with 69% expecting their organization to perform better in 2024 than it did in 2023. Respondents at boutiques were more likely to be pessimistic; fully half expect 2024 to be worse than 2023 in terms of firm performance.

In sales and trading, there has been a great deal of attention paid to the US Federal Reserve; Wall Street organizations have a wide range of predictions for the interest rate levels as well as the general state of the market. We have seen that the hiring emphasis is on talent who can navigate complex financial markets, integrate sustainable investing principles, and leverage technology—particularly artificial intelligence and automation—for competitive advantage.

For full organization and compensation data, download the full report 

About the authors

Shannon Bade Neason (sbade@heidrick.com) is a principal in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York office and a member of the global Financial Services Practice.

Elisabetta Bartoloni (ebartoloni@heidrick.com) is a partner in the New York office and sector leader of the Americas Global Markets Practice.