UK
Private banking pay goes from good to better
16 March 2007
Private bankers had a good year in 2006. If pay is a measure of success, it seems they’re having an even better one in 2007.
As banks compete for anyone with a whiff of private banking talent, they’re said to be increasingly prepared to pay out in proportion to revenues brought in. Financial News last month reported that the most desirable private bankers are now able to retain as much as 30% of the revenues they generate each year.
Matilda Tuhlberg, a partner at headhunter Gibson Tuhlberg, was quoted as saying profit sharing deals are increasingly common and typically vary between 27% and 30% of revenues.
Separately, the paper says wealth management firm St. James’s Place pays its advisors a handsome sum upon retirement (equivalent to six or seven times the commission they receive). In place of a carriage clock, 50 of the firm’s long-serving partners are reportedly in line to receive between £1m and £5m, plus share options worth £200k or so.
Simon Culliford, of private banking search firm Culliford Edmonds, says paying discretionary bonuses is becoming old hat in the wealth management and private banking worlds: “If someone adds value, they’re entitled to a share of the profits.”
How much would that amount to? Culliford says ideal candidates have around 40 to 80 clients and client revenues of £1m per annum based on around £100m AUM (assets under management).
With pay pushing £300k per year, even senior corporate financiers might want to take note.
