Financial services professionals worldwide are more optimistic in their bonus expectations in January 2025 compared to 2024, according to the new global study from leading financial services careers platform eFinancialCareers.
Bonuses across the industry are predicted to increase by 50 per cent year-on-year on average. The largest expected bonus increases are for professionals working in private credit (91 per cent), followed by private equity (68 per cent) and hedge funds (65 per cent). In contrast, traditional asset managers anticipate the smallest year-on-year bonus increase at 27 per cent.
However, more than 2 in 5 (42 per cent) are concerned about maintaining their role going into 2025, rising from a third who felt the same last year (33 per cent). Bonuses were much more conservative in the bonus round of January 2024, increasing by 2.9 per cent in the UK, 5.8 per cent in North America and 0.9 per cent in Europe, signalling that higher compensation doesn’t directly equate to a greater sense of job security.
With the announcement of a relaxation in UK bonus caps, professionals in the UK & Ireland are expecting a higher increase in bonuses (43 per cent) in comparison to their North American and European counterparts who are anticipating increases of 38 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.. The most optimistic cohort are those working in the Gulf region, with financial service professionals located there expecting an increase of 78 per cent compared to 2024.
However, while professionals working in the Gulf region might be optimistic about their bonuses, the same cannot be said about job security. Half of respondents in this market report feeling insecure about their jobs as we head into 2025, reinforcing that there isn’t a positive correlation between rising compensation and feeling more secure in a role.
“The level of optimism is fairly surprising given the uncertain environment across the globe,” said Peter Healey, CEO of eFinancialCareers. “Q3 earnings showed bumper growth across most major players and so this will be influencing how bullish individuals feel which is reflected in these predictions. That optimism seems to be shared across most major sectors, locations and demographics.
“Throughout 2024, investment banking revenues have recovered and our findings demonstrate that there is hope that this is the start of a recovery that will continue into 2025.”
