Singapore financial services professionals see 25% bonus jump

SINGAPORE: Bonuses for financial services (FS) professionals in Singapore rose by 25% year-on-year (YoY), beating the bonus increases in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which stood at 22%, according to the Compensation & Lifestyle Report from FS careers platform eFinancialCareers, which surveyed over 2,500 financial services professionals globally.

Bonus increases in the city-state also outpaced increases seen in Europe (19%) and North America (18%).

The UK recorded the highest bonus payouts overall, which rose 26% YoY, with average bonuses hitting US$148,961 (S$195,286), followed by North America (US$145,817), Europe (US$108,522), and APAC (US$48,880).

In APAC, Hong Kong led with a 40% YoY bonus increase, largely driven by senior-level payouts which recorded 102% increases. Meanwhile, in the city-state, the report noted that across all levels, bonuses remained less lucrative, with professionals seeing bonus increases of 25%. Directors and managing directors in the city-state only saw 35% and 12.8% bonus increases, respectively.

While bonuses rose, working hours stayed mostly the same at just a 0.6% increase. In fact, 13 out of 21 financial sectors reported fewer hours worked than the year before. Areas like investment banking, M&A, and private equity saw shorter working weeks but still recorded strong bonus growth.

Hedge funds vs private equity

Professionals working for hedge funds (48%) and private equity firms (46%) saw the biggest YoY bonus increases across all regions. Despite this, in absolute terms, not factoring in carried interest, bonuses in private equity were much lower than in hedge funds, with hedge fund staff getting an average of US$453,167, while those in private equity only received around US$81,415.

Hedge fund analysts reported a 133% rise in bonuses, while private equity analysts saw a slightly lower 111% increase. What’s striking is the gap between the average bonuses received by hedge fund managing directors and their private equity peers, with the former taking home US$1.8 million, while the latter only received around US$328,600.

Other sectors saw varied results, with Equity Capital Markets facing a 9% bonus cut and M&A bonuses rising by 42%.

Improved mental and physical health

The report also showed improvements in health. On average, respondents rated their mental health 6.9 out of 10 and their physical health 7.2 out of 10, compared to 6.0 and 6.5, respectively, last year.

The bank with the best overall health scores was Barclays, while BNP Paribas and SocGen scored the lowest.

However, the report found no direct correlation between working hours and health. For example, while BNP Paribas workers, who worked 58.63 hours per week, scored 5.8 for mental health and 7.2 for physical health, those at Boutique, working even longer (60.33 hours per week), reported the best mental health scores (7.8) and a physical health score of 7.5, with the second-highest overall well-being score (7.6).

Peter Healey, CEO of eFinancialCareers, said that despite the political and economic uncertainty in 2024, both in the UK and globally, this year’s bonus season was “more conservative”, but he noted that improved financial performances have directly translated into improved compensation.

He also noted that the data were collected before the US tariff announcements, so sentiment may have changed in the past two weeks.

He added, “What’s particularly encouraging to me is the improvement in mental and physical well-being. In a sector known for long hours and high stress, it’s heartening to see signs that professionals are managing to find better work-life balance while still securing considerable and competitive compensation.” /TISG 

Read also: UOB CEO’s pay drops 5.5% in 2024 despite record profit

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