Global sales managers and COOs earning more than CEOs these days

In London, sales is king.

Not the traditional sales in which leads are converted via telephone calls, but the development and maintenance of high quality institutional relationships by highly sophisticated and experienced executives with vast experience ranging from internships at major banks, followed by institutional positions in major publicly listed firms, before elevation to the leadership of a business development department.

Among London’s giants, managing a sales team as a global account manager or sales team leader requires a deep understanding of the full structure of this industry, as the clients of such firms are often operations directors of large brokerage firms and expect the very best in terms of liquidity, market connectivity and pricing in a highly competitive world.

For this reason, international business development executives are at the very top of the hierarchy when it comes to annual bonuses at the moment, higher than COOs and indeed CEOs of companies in the same industry and same city.

Research conducted by Glassdoor, a portal that provides statistics on employment which range from remuneration to job satisfaction, has concluded that the average bonus received in a year by global account managers is £37,000, taking their average salary to £90,000.

This is indeed a handsome package, however that applies to non-management positions, further highlighting the emphasis that companies put on the importance of rewarding quality sales staff.

Research by FinanceFeeds has concluded that a manager (for example head of eFX or prime brokerage at a major institutional firm in London) would be remunerated to the tune of approximately £120,000 per annum including bonus.

Chief Operating Officers are in high demand this year, earning an average of £152,500, with a bonus of £31,500 on average being part of this figure.

CEOs of City firms earn an average of £155,000m which includes a bonus of £30.450 according to the research.

Traders, portfolio managers, brokers and account executives make up the highest positions in terms of average remuneration below CEOs, with equities traders now earning an average of £120,938 with an average bonus of £30,000 and brokers earning £85,000 with an average bonus of £27,500.

Even joining the financial services industry as an account executive, which is effectively an entry level sales position is lucrative in London, with under-30s earning £60,500 on average, with an average bonus of £24,000.

Indeed, the million pound annual salaries are still omnipresent, as they were in the striped shirt and braces heyday of the 1980s, and therefore these are contributors to the high averages.

Certainly, for those with a comprehensive knowledge of the business, and can maintain relationships globally, the highest bonuses await.