Asset managers on average earn significantly less than their investment banking peers in London, according to a salary-benchmarking site.

The best paid jobs in London's asset and wealth management sector earn 40 per cent less than those in merger and acquisition banking, research by Emolument.com reveals.

The average M&A banker – at director level – takes home £326,000 ($470,000) after a £178,000 salary and a £148,000 bonus, according to the pay analysis of 1,157 industry directors in London. The research found that working as a director for an investment bank pays a salary of £160,000 plus a bonus of £100,000, which is 30 per cent more than working for buy-side institutions such as asset management firms, where the average director salary is £120,000 and the average bonus is £75,000. Basically, the more risk involved in a job, the more aggressive the bonus policy, Emolument said.

Fund managers, whose bonuses are directly aligned to their fund performance or profit and loss, earn 31 per cent less than M&A bankers, at £224,000 – a £124,000 salary and a £100,000 bonus. This is 20 per cent more than relationship management directors at banks, who typically make a total of £139,000, comprising a £178,000 salary and a £39,000 bonus.

Compared to traders, who take home a £281,000 total at director level, M&A bankers earn 16 per cent more. Worth noting though, M&A projects tend to last weeks or months with almost constant working hours, while the working day for traders ends when markets close, begging the question: is the extra pay worth it?

“While remuneration in banking is not what it used to be, it remains the highest paying sector. Senior bankers who have been accustomed to a plush standard of living through a career of earning sky-high bonuses are often trapped in the industry, both burning through their revenue to cover household costs, and not making the fortunes they were aiming for 10 years ago,” said Alice Leguay, co-founder and chief operating officer at Emolument.com.

“The levelling of earnings between banking and buy-side activities for juniors allows them a broader scope when it comes to picking a career path, less defined by the hope of making a push towards the banking bonanza, but rather the added value a job in private equity, venture capital or other key roles in the industry may bring.”