The 171 respondents to the 2011 Money Management Executive Compensation Study were asked to express themselves in their own words on their level of satisfaction with their total compensation (base salary, bonus and benefits).
C-Suite & Director
Very satisfied with total compensation.
"I own the company"
Satisfied
"Because I am duly compensated based on what I contribute to the organization. If I worked harder, I could produce more."
Somewhat satisfied
"Still haven't been brought back to pre-2008 levels."
"Rising expenses for software and compliance absorbs more financial resources."
"My compensation is not tied to specific and measureable goals."
Not very satisfied
"Our outlook for our fund will not reach expectations for a couple years."
"It is a start-up, so I am taking a pay cut while we ramp up AUM."
Not at all satisfied
"It does not reflect industry standards nor does it properly compensate me for my total contributions."
SVP, EVP, VP or Equivalent
Very satisfied
"Base plus commission provides both predictability and substantial upside potential."
"It is comprised not only of cash but equity."
Satisfied
"My base salary is below industry averages for a person with my experience and skill set. However, I have the opportunity to earn much larger bonus compensation with the sales made by my team."
"I'm paid a 'fair' share of revenue from my clients."
Somewhat satisfied
"Stalled over the past 4 years."
"Subjective portion of bonus is just that, totally based on the whim of the person I am reporting to."
"Sales eats up bonus pool in good years and even more so in bad years."
"We had pay cuts when the market corrected and they have been not completely restored."
Not very satisfied
"40% of what it used to be."
"Too low, too skewed toward the incentive side."
Not at all satisfied
"Because I am in sales and they pay me a salary-how do you entice me to work harder when there is no carrot stick? A terrible way to pay salespeople."
Managerial & Staff
Very satisfied
"Incentive compensation is a large part of total compensation and can be very rewarding."
Satisfied
"I think I'm paid a fair wage...but would always like more!"
"I could make more elsewhere, but I am adequately compensated."
Somewhat satisfied
"Salary is on-par with industry standards. Based on our division's performance the last two years, bonuses have been sub-par."
"Because I know of others who are compensated more and do less work."
Not very satisfied
"Under compensated for the amount of work completed."
Not at all satisfied
"Secular depression of financial industry has created extreme hardship on small firms to compete with large established firms that can check off all the boxes in due diligence."
