A demand for quality compliance candidates has raised salaries across the commodities trading space.
Within the commodities trading space, there has been a large amount of movement in the candidate market. Many of the major banks have sold off their commodities trading divisions to smaller houses resulting in downsizing or exiting their commodities operations; most recently Morgan Stanley’s sale of their oil business to Castleton.
With additional pressures from the regulator with regimes such as Dodd Frank and MiFID, the demand for quality compliance candidates has raised salaries. This is particularly true for candidates within the commodities trading space who fully understand the relevant traded products & derivatives. The talent pool here is much smaller than other areas of the industry seeking more generalist compliance candidates.
Please see below, an overview of sources of candidates for this particular role; the most relevant for EDF Trading is likely to be from leading Commodities Trading Businesses and Investment Banking Commodities Units.
Smaller Commodities Trading Business:
£140,000 – £200,000
These candidates tend to have less international exposure, but a strong understanding of trading businesses and a wide compliance
remit.
Leading Commodities Trading Businesses
£160,000 – £200,000 – Regional Scope or Specific Compliance Scope
£200,000+ – Global Head/ Chief Compliance officer Levels
Candidates in these organisations have a similarly strong understanding of the commodities trading businesses but also have a wide geographical experience. This is the ideal candidate for this role, however they tend to demand much higher salaries as there is only a few key players.
Investment Banking Commodities Units:
£120,000 – £160,000 – Director Level
£160,000 – £220,000 – Regional Director Levels)
£220,000+ – Global Head of Levels
Investment Banking candidates who cover commodities trading compliance tend to oversee Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities (FICC). This is usually how investment Banks class candidates, however it often proves difficult to source someone with a stronger focus on commodities. Senior candidates based in the UK will also be primarily EMEA focused and therefore less likely to oversee US or Asian regulation.
Other Utilities/ Oil / Gas Companies
£120,000 – £180,000 – Global Head of Levels for smaller businesses.
£180,000+ – Global Head of Levels for larger businesses.
These candidates generally tend to have strong international focus, good compliance oversight and strong knowledge of general commodities businesses, however usually have less focus on trading elements.
Please note these salary guides are simply to provide a general overview of candidates’ salaries in the market and there are a number of firms which pay both higher and lower than these brackets
