2019 Financial Markets Salary Guide

Contents:
Asset Management | Quantative Investment | IT
Commentary on Financial Markets Services Roles and Remuneration in Shanghai for 2019

Basic Salary Per Month (¥‎) 

Commentary on Financial Markets Services Roles and Remuneration in Shanghai for 2019

2018 Trends in Financial Markets Recruitment in Greater China

With the market rapidly opening, 2018 was both a year of frustration and excitement for the financial markets discipline. On the one hand, there were new exciting projects in development, but on the other, market crashes and structural changes left business leaders at a loss to figure out what to do next.

From a recruitment perspective, with many foreign managers setting up WFOEs in China in recent years, competition for talent amongst these organisations came to a head in 2018. Organisations battled fiercely to secure the best talent from a relatively small pool of candidates, exacerbated by the fact that many WFOEs were hiring for similar roles at the same time. With changing regulation impacting the sector, competition for legal and compliance professionals at the Vice-President level was particularly fierce.    

As more global asset management companies enter and build up their onshore businesses in China, we expect the search for experienced, bilingual executives to become increasingly competitive and challenging. It will remain a candidate-driven market and, as in 2018, the next 12 months will see organisations and hiring managers create more enticing packages to retain the best talent. 

In-demand Roles, Skills and Qualifications for Financial Markets Professionals

In 2018, financial institutions were beefing up their investment services teams in three key areas. The first area was compliance, with institutions seeking out qualified and experienced candidates to help them navigate a barrage of regulatory change and ensure they implement strong regulatory compliance. 

The second was IT talent. As technology demands continue to evolve and institutions undertake digitisation projects, IT talent in securities, trading system developers and digitisation project managers were all highly requested. Thirdly, finance process improvement managers and other efficiency enhancement talent were sought out as companies prioritised cost saving and strived to gain higher levels of efficiency by continually optimising their systems. 

Salaries for top talent in Shanghai are now virtually on par with Hong Kong and Singapore. Unfortunately, 2018 saw a number of companies in the market failing to allocate adequate budgets for talent remuneration, sometimes by under by 20-30 per cent. 

Workplace Trends Impacting Financial Markets Professionals in Mainland China

For many organisations, the WFOE is a stepping stone to obtaining a mutual fund licence in China, which is expected to be granted to global players as early as 2020. In anticipation, we expect Global Fund Managers to step up hiring over the next 12 months to fill the sales, operations, investment and IT roles necessary to support the next stage of the business. 

The opportunity for foreign companies in China is huge, but the talent pool is failing to keep up with the industry’s rapid growth. Changes in the market are swift, and companies are struggling to find the professionals they need to build the industry at its current stage. This talent challenge is set to remain and intensify into 2019. 

In 2018 we saw hiring managers struggle to source candidates with the right cultural fit. Finding high calibre talent that can fit into the compliance, legal environment and company culture of foreign fund houses was increasingly difficult for organisations. We saw a preference given to those with a combination of experience in global financial institutions as well as local business experience. 

What Does the Future Hold for Financial Markets Professionals? Predictions for 2019 and Beyond

In the next 12 months, competition is set to remain fierce for talent in the sector. As the market continues to open, new players and foreign firms will enter, and the already shallow talent pool is expected to dry up. Organisations are likely to have to look further afield to overseas Chinese working in markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, the U.S. or Europe and leverage attractive salaries to lure them back to China. 

Alongside compliance and investment talents, the most robust demand for talent in 2019 will go towards business development professionals, IT project managers and software developers. High performing senior sales and relationship managers with leadership potential will also be highly sought after. However, those in traditional operations may find their current coverage restructured or even their roles rendered obsolete.

With few readily available candidates with strong experience in the financial markets discipline, we recommend that hiring managers keep an open mind and look to hire senior executives from other investment categories or hire high-potential mid and junior candidates. English proficiency has long been a requirement at globalised firms and local firms with global communications and it is essential to test a candidate’s competence in written English prior to making an offer. If a candidate has the required English writing ability but lacks proficiency in spoken English, generally this is due to lack of practice. The majority of well-educated candidates can bring their English oral skills up to speed and make vast improvements in just three months. 

More clients understand the critical importance of having product specialists and highly-qualified candidates, over the traditional approach of relying on staff that can leverage their networks. More than ever, candidates will need to demonstrate their strong understanding of the markets and track record of delivering stability and sustainability for their investors as well as their aptitude at navigating them through chaotic markets.