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SALARY and BENEFIT CENSUS 2014 -2015 Contents Financial Services Industry SALARY AND BENEFIT CENSUS 2014 -2015 Contents. 1. Introduction 2. Method & Sample 3. Executive Summary and Analysis 4. Census Results highlights 4.1 Financial Advisers 4.2 Paraplanners 4.3 Sales Support/Administration 4.4 Employee Beneft Consultants 4.5 Broker Consultants 4.6 Compliance 4.7 Employee Beneft Administration 5. Key Hiring Trends 6. Acknowledgments/Contact Us The defnitive reference source for salaries “and benefts in UK fnancial services.“ 1.Introduction This is the third annual Census subject – salaries and benefts - from BWD. It is now established the report includes information as a defnitive reference source and analysis on broader sector for salaries and benefts in UK issues – emerging qualifcation fnancial services. The Census benchmarks, the balance of records cover the period from independence versus restricted 2012, through 2013 and now, status and other matters of 2014. The three sample points interest and concern to all industry span pre and post RDR and so act participants and commentators. as a valuable analysis of the impact of this pivotal piece of regulation, We also include BWD’s expert whilst also showing how the sector commentary on key recruitment is reshaping itself for the future. trends for the various occupational groups covered in the Census. Whilst the Census is essentially designed to focus on its core Businesses Individuals Covered For those with responsibility for the The BWD Census will be of real value to you if recruitment and retention of talent in you are a: these categories, the Census will help you understand how your current Scope remuneration shapes and overall • Financial Adviser/Planner packages compare with the wider • Paraplanner This is a UK wide study of those market. • Broker Consultant involved in FS distribution or support. The Census covers Financial Advisers, This salary census will also help you • Employee Beneft Consultant Paraplanners, Broker Consultants, understand the likely requirements of • Administrator Employee Beneft Consultants, potential recruits to your team as well • Compliance specialist Sales Support/Administration, EB as the levels required to retain talent. Administrators and Compliance professionals across the following regions :- North West 13.4% Wales 4.3% Midlands London North East 7.1% East Anglia 16.3% 7.2% 23.4% Northern Island 3.7% Yorkshire 15% Scotland BWD Search & Selection is solely 10.2% concerned with ensuring that clients secure and retain the right talent to help their business succeed and South West South that candidates fnd the best home East 12.6% for their talents and ambition. We hope that both client and candidate fnd the BWD 2014 Census a valuable resource. 20% (Note: Some respondents% operated in more than one region and the fgures above refect this.) Financial Adviser Life Company Other 59.9% 11.5% 11.5% Investment Employee Bank/ Building Provider Benefts Society 8.7% 7.6% 5.2% 2. Method Consultancy Employment Independent and Sample Category Platform Respondents fell into the following categories of employer. 3.7% Respondents were asked confdential and used only to complete a confdential for analysis and aggregation questionnaire, which was purposes. addressed personally and completed individually. In addition, we took practice Data Sample Size level information from a number of frms who provided key salary, bonus and benefts data for their staf. This has helped to create a record depth of sample with data collected in respect of 760 individuals in total. Corporate and individual respondents were assured that the data would remain 760Individuals 2014 2013 71.8% 74.2% Gender Splits The infographics below show the male percentage overall and by occupation. Employee Benefts Financial Adviser Paraplanner Consultant 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 85.9% 89.7% 47.4% 31.6% 78.1% 82.4% Broker Consultant Compliance Sales Support / Administration 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 84.6% 79.7% 63.6% 75.0% 51.4% 29.4% Financial Adviser Roles /Planner Employee Beneft Other The roles we have focused on and Admin 50.1% analysed separately are. 2014 2013 2014 2013 Paraplanner Broker Employee Consultant Benefts 50.0% N/A% 67.7% 70.5% 14.2% 10.3% 9.3% Consultant Sales Support/ Employee Beneft Compliance Administration Administration 4.6% 3.4% 2.9% 3.Executive Summary and Analysis This third BWD Census gives us an important Naturally, fnancial adviser earnings will be We note, however, that the Financial Adviser, overview of the fnancial services sector, including more volatile year on year and more strongly Broker Consultant and EBC roles continue to be pre-RDR benchmark data. It provides a detailed linked to business volumes, particularly for self- heavily male dominated. We also see that the view of salaries, bonuses and benefts across employed advisers - the highest earning category number of males in both Paraplanner and Sales the following occupational groups: – Financial of all - £84,521 for 2014. This is a reversal of the Support roles has increased. In some cases, the Advisers, Broker Consultants, Employee Beneft situation in 2013, where employed advisers did former refects some advisers converting to Consultants, Paraplanners, Sales Support / better, but as always we need to remember Paraplanning. Changes in the wider work place Administration staf, Compliance and, for the the value of the overall packages enjoyed by and the demand amongst females for fnancial frst time, Employee Beneft Administrators. We employed advisers. advice do not yet, it seems, work through to a look at the mean fgures as well as the spread of growth in females in the FS sector. Moreover, earnings and we also show variations by region. Within the adviser market the DFM sector earnings are strongly skewed in favour of males has proven to be a major force in generating - a situation that we envisage must change over The frst Census covering 2012 showed earnings increased demand for talented individuals. time. for Financial Advisers as materially lower than Salaries and overall packages for advisers are for either Broker Consultants or Employee moving upwards to refect this demand and The average age of an adviser has risen again to Beneft Consultants; this relative positioning natural risk aversion means that advisers need 46 from 43 in 2013 and 42 in 2012. We remain continued in 2013. However, in 2014, the to be ofered reasonable incentives to move concerned at the lack of younger advisers. The situation changed and adviser remuneration frm. 2013 fgures showed just 3% of advisers under – both for employed and self-employed – has 30 – this new Census recorded no advisers at increased markedly, so much so that fnancial It is important to note that the overall average all under 30. Even allowing for the time lag advisers are now the highest earning category salaries for all occupations shows good, steady in new entrants to the sector qualifying as covered by this Census. This may be partly progress over the years we now cover. For advisers, this is now a crisis in the making. It attributable to the apparent “advice gap” where 2015, the overall average salary is £49,004 suggests to us that all adviser practices should a drop in numbers since the RDR has driven the (7.18% higher than in 2014). Bonuses are in look carefully at their recruitment and consider price of advice upwards – refected in higher the vast majority of cases calculated either on creating opportunities for new young entrants. earnings. a KPI/ Scorecard Basis or on a Discretionary The alternative is a concerning spiral where the Basis, partly to refect regulatory standards price of advice rises further and we already see However, adviser earnings have benefted and partly as good business practice. Within evidence of frms reluctant to increase packages from the business environment in 2014, which the KPI approach, two factors are given greater for middle level planners, yet at the same time, continued the good progress made in 2013, emphasis in 2014 – project performance and unwilling to invest in new young recruits. with the economy, stock market and housing qualifcations achieved. markets being the main growth drivers. There is strong evidence in the Census that Continued on next page... 3.Executive Summary and Analysis Chartered status has efectively become the of BDC type roles in platforms and specialist new standard for fnancial advisers. The vast retirement providers may have an upward majority of advisers in this Census are either impact on demand for BDCs. Chartered or plan to become so this year. The Census looked at the earnings diferentials and Overall, whilst pension contributions are these clearly favour the Chartered advisers holding up, we are seeing a continued drop who on average earned 25% more than those in other forms of employee beneft provision advisers whose highest attained qualifcation as frms identify ways to trim the costs of was Level 4. This trend is also supported by the their workforce. Nevertheless, within the EBC requirements of recruiting employers many of space, we see increased demand in the DC and whom are now requiring chartered/CFP status Investment sub sectors, but fat growth in the for new entrants. Independent advisers earned risk and health care markets. The AE market slightly more than their ‘restricted’ counterparts, continues to develop, though with some small with single tie advisers some way behind. and specialist operators gaining at the expense Directly authorised advisers earned 38% more of the mid-size corporate advisers. The growth than Network members. in infuence of the big 4 has created some package pressure for actuaries though the EBCs Financial advisers with the highest earnings are tend to home grow where possible. likely to be male, Chartered, directly authorised, independent and self-employed. Finally, we have seen some increases in paraplanner packages; something we have Broker consultants in last year’s Census suggested was overdue in previous Census predicted a fall in their bonuses, this was reports.
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