London’s Financial Services See Steady Salary Rise: MBA News

Those taking on new jobs and roles in London’s financial services in 2014 were rewarded with salaries that were, on average, 18% higher than 2013 remuneration levels, according to data from Morgan McKinley.

The recruitment consultancy pointed to a continuing demand for suitably experienced hires in its latest outlook report – something that should reassure any soon-to-be MBA graduates with eyes on London’s City district, home to its financial services, this year.

“The highly-qualified professional, ideally with technical know-how and international experience, will continue to be a sought-after commodity in the City,” said Hakan Enver, operations director for financial services at Morgan McKinley, in a press release. Enver also noted that a particularly good year for compliance professionals in 2014 looked set to continue well into 2015, as companies prioritize regulatory and reporting demands.

Elsewhere, the 2015 outlook for London and the UK’s financial services was one of cautious growth rates. December’s growth came at the slowest rate of increase seen in 20 months and concerns over the prospect of quantitative easing from the European Central Bank, coupled with uncertainty over this year’s UK elections, means that economists' forecasts have been moderate at best. 

Still, the financial services industry in one of the world’s influential cities seems healthy enough in terms of the appetite shown by professionals for professional change and growth. Morgan McKinley’s report holds that the number of finance professionals seeking new roles in December 2014 was 51% higher than in December 2013, including both those in and out of work.

The number of new positions available also grew, albeit at a lesser rate of 13% – in what is typically a quiet month in recruitment.

MBA graduates of London Business School top earnings table

Further promising news for the UK’s capital comes from an MBA graduates’ salary report put together by Emolument. In tracking the average pay for alumni of the UK’s top business schools five years after graduating, London Business School came top.

MBA graduates and alumni of London Business School were said to earn an average of £69,000 (c.US$104,700), putting the school comfortably ahead of its nearest contenders, Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and Warwick Business School in second and third, and with figures of £54,000 (c.US$81,500) and £53,000 (c.US$80,400) respectively.  

This is perhaps unsurprising given the esteem in which London Business School is held by both employers and academics – something that allowed it to overtake INSEAD by the narrowest of margins to lead this year’s MBA rankings for Europe in the latest QS Global 200 Business Schools Report.  

However, in the same survey of business school alumni and MBA graduates, there was also a place in the top five for London’s Cass Business School, as well as a place in the top 10 for the capital’s Imperial College Business School.