Depending on where one works, total annual compensation for a portfolio manager in America can reach well into the seven figures.
The most lucrative gigs can be found at hedge funds, of course. But employees at mutual funds and investment advisory firms reported sizable paychecks of their own in Institutional Investor’s second annual All-America Buy-Side Compensation survey.
For instance, the average mutual fund portfolio manager expected to earn $1.37 million this year — just shy of the $1.42 million reported by their hedge fund counterparts. Last year, mutual fund portfolio managers said they earned $938,955 on average, all in.
[II Deep Dive: Here’s What Hedge Fund Managers Will Earn This Year]
Among the best-paying firms were mutual funds managing between $10 billion and $30 billion. Portfolio managers in this category expected to earn an average of $1.59 million in total 2018 compensation, including $1.36 million in bonuses, options, and commissions.
That same AUM bracket also proved the most lucrative in wealth management. Portfolio managers at these investment advisory firms earned an average of $1.13 million in total, with base pay of $480,716.
Even in the lowest-paying AUM bracket — advisory firms running $500 million to $1 billion — portfolio managers reported total compensation of $448,311 on average. Overall, wealth management PMs anticipated $805,583 in total compensation for 2018, up from $527,163 last year.
II also surveyed research analysts and investment professionals with dual roles as PMs and analysts.
Outside of hedge funds, the best-paying jobs for buy-side analysts were at the largest mutual funds (defined as upwards of $75 billion). Analysts at such giants reported average income of $455,308, including $192,359 in base pay. Overall, the typical mutual fund analyst expected to make $388,675, up slightly from $382,907 last year.
For analysts at investment advisory firms, meanwhile, total compensation averaged $308,967, down from $324,424 in 2017.
Roughly 900 buy-side professionals from hedge funds, mutual funds, and investment advisory firms responded to the survey.
