Press Releases

Options Group Releases 2009/2010 Global Financial Market Overview and Compensation Report

Near Record Revenues Push Average Bonuses Up 35 to 40 Percent Globally; Bonuses Remain Below 2007 Record Bonus Levels and Are Increasingly in the Form of Multi-Year Stock Options

New York, Nov. 9, 2009 - Options Group, a leading global executive search and strategic consulting firm, released its annual survey on financial market trends and compensation patterns at global investment banks. The results of the 2009/2010 Global Financial Market Overview and Compensation Report indicate that:

• Overall bonuses will rise on average around 35 to 40 percent from 2008 as fixed income sales and trading, equity cash and derivatives and commodities revenues approach record levels.

• Commodity salespeople and traders will receive bonuses 45 to 50 percent higher than last year as top desks generated billions of dollars in revenue this year.

• Investment bankers should receive bonus packages 30 to 35 percent higher than last year even though 2009 global transaction fees were significantly lower than 2008. Capital markets bankers should expect better bonus numbers than their Advisory counterparts

• Due to tremendous currency and stock market volatility, FX salespeople and traders, as well as Rates traders, posted strong profits in 2009 and will receive strong bonus packages (Up 35 to 45 percent).

• High-Yield salespeople and traders may be the best paid professionals in financial services as volumes rose dramatically to near-record levels (45-50 percent).

• Regional Breakdown: New York bonuses are expected to increase on average by 40 to 45 percent in 2009 as the city recovers quickly from last year's credit crisis. London professionals will likely receive 35 to 40 percent higher average payouts as well. Asia-Pacific staff should receive 30 to 35 percent higher bonus packages.

"Options Group has a built-in demand from our clients to continue producing rigorous market intelligence on financial trends and compensation for the global markets," said Michael Karp, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Options Group. "The firm continues to grow into emerging markets such as Singapore, China and India to meet this growing demand for real-time data and information on a global basis."

"All estimated bonuses mentioned are the average amount global investment bank professionals are expected to make in 2009 based on information captured by Options Group. Options Group also can send reporters specific compensation numbers by position and product category if needed for all professionals from analyst-level to heads of desks (Global Head of Commodities).

About Options Group

Options Group is a leading global executive search, market intelligence and strategic consulting firm with a focus on the financial services industry. Founded in 1992, Options Group has always prioritized maintaining an intimate relationship with the financial services industry and its key participants. Our geographic reach continues to expand to cover both established and emerging markets in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Since 2000, our search consultants have placed thousands of financial services professionals in Global Markets, Alternative Investments/Hedge Funds, Investment Banking, Quantitative Research and Technology.

The Options Group Intelligence Unit, a division of the Firm, completed the 2009/2010 Global Financial Market Overview and Compensation Report. The market intelligence team spent six months capturing information about business performance, people moves, recruitment trends and compensation practices using our global database of 300,000 industry professionals, interviews with senior executives, and media sources.