eFinancialCareers

Scotland's financial services employees are in hot demand, but they're not being paid much more than before.

The latest salary survey by recruitment firm Morgan McKinley shows pay rising much faster in London than north of the border.

Alex Phillips, manager of Morgan McKinley's Edinburgh office, says: "Scotland has not stood still. The financial services industry continues to grow and salaries also grow, but not as markedly as they might in London."

Morgan McKinley's 2007 survey reveals the top earners north of the border include fund managers and research analysts, with senior people in both sectors earning an average basic salary of up to £80k plus bonuses, the same top-end figure as 2006.

In London, the figure is now up to £140k for fund managers and £120k for research analysts, plus bonus, compared to £100k for both jobs
last year.

Phillips adds many financial services businesses base themselves in Scotland to capitalise on the lower cost of employing locally. This makes good business sense given fund managers are in particular demand at the moment (as, reportedly, are private wealth advisors and anyone with derivatives experience).

Phillips says: "For particularly strong senior candidates, most organisations will be inclined to offer a more generous package in order to secure their services, but for junior volume recruitment into the investment sector, much of this is done at the graduate end. There is no shortage of graduates within Scotland and therefore there is no current need to break any salary ceilings."