Portfolio Manager Pay Down, Traders' Pay Up

Overall, the total cash compensation – salary and bonus – of international equity portfolio managers wasdown between 2001 and 2002, to an average salary and cashbonus totaling $313,000 in 2002, from $330,000 in 2001. Bonuses, orexpected bonuses, averaged $140,000 in 2002, down nearly 15% from$160,000 in 2001, according to two recent studies by Greenwich Associates.

By comparison, US equity portfolio managers’ total cash compensation was also down, to $566,000 in 2002 from $572,000 in 2001.  S alaries were up on average by 2% for this group and bonuses were down 3%.

The opposite was found for international equity traders’ total cash compensation that was up during the same period, to $215,000 in 2002 from $200,000 in 2001. Further, bonuses were up 17% to $90,000 from $77,000 in 2001. Additional increases were seen for US equity traders’ total cash compensation, which increased by nearly 4% to $262,000 in 2002 on an average salary rising 6% to $148,000 in 2002.

Greenwich Associates attributes the declines to portfolio managers’ total compensation tolowered costs transactions for electronic brokerage systems and portfolio trading contributing to an overall decline in commission rates charged by equity trading firms.