Zurich, Thursday, 21. June 2018. Energy traders earn the highest remuneration of all commodities traders according to the latest Michael Page Commodities Trading Salary Survey. They were followed by metals traders, with the agricultural sector generally offering the lowest compensation packages.

Across the industry the number and remuneration of support roles has declined. This is principally due to companies consolidating and streamlining their processes within shared service centers in lower cost locations such as India, and Eastern Europe and impacts roles such as operations, execution, finance and administrative functions.

Trading jobs in Geneva were most impacted by such market forces. Geneva is facing intensifying competition from other international trading hubs such as Singapore, London, Rotterdam and Dubai. In addition, companies in the German speaking region are aggressively seeking to attract candidates and relying heavily on bonus schemes in order to attract the top traders.

"Energy is still king and metals are catching up. There is considerable variation in packages across the industry but it is the appetite and risk tolerance, which makes the difference”, explains Emmanuelle Doux, Senior Consultant, Commodity Trading, Michael Page. For example, Energy traders with a base salary of CHF 350,000 and a bonus of 150% can earn CHF 875,000, while others with a lower bonus and risk appetite will earn considerably less. "On the support role side, we advise candidates to be extremely flexible in relation to their packages as well as expanding their responsibilities".

Key Compensation Packages: Commodities Trading 2018

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Bonus (% of base salary)

TRADING

Boutique Houses

Soft Commodities Trader

110'000

140'000

180'000

30 to 80

Freight Trader

110'000

140'000

180'000

30 to 80

Metals Trader

130'000

150'000

200'000

40 to 80

Energy Trader

120'000

160'000

250'000

40 to 120

Blue Chip Companies

Business Developper - Marketer

120'000

150'000

180'000

30 to 120

Freight Trader

110'000

160'000

230'000

30 to 120

Soft Commodities Trader

120'000

160'000

230'000

30 to 120

Metals Trader

130'000

180'000

280'000

40 to 130

Energy Trader

140'000

200'000

350'000

40 to 150

Head of Commoditities Platform

160'000

200'000

350'000

40 to 150

SUPPORT FUNCTIONS

Finance

Senior Accountant

95'000

105'000

120'000

5 to 10

Accounting Manager

120'000

130'000

160'000

5 to 15

Trading Accountant

90'000

120'000

150'000

5 to 15

Financial Controller

100'000

140'000

180'000

10 to 20

Head of Finance

160'000

200'000

250'000

30 to 50

Tax Manager

110'000

150'000

200'000

10 to 25

Tax Director

160'000

180'000

240'000

20 to 40

Internal Auditor

95'000

120'000

150'000

10 to 20

Head of Internal Audit - Compliance

160'000

180'000

230'000

15 to 30

Operations & Execution

Commodities Trading Analyst

70'000

80'000

95'000

10 to 20

Commodities Trading Operator

90'000

110'000

125'000

10 to 20

Senior Operator

100'000

120'000

140'000

10 to 30

Operations Manager

120'000

140'000

170'000

10 to 40

Demurrage Specialist

70'000

110'000

120'000

10 to 20

Scheduler

80'000

110'000

130'000

10 to 20

Take a look at the salary factsheet

Michael Page

Michael Page is a leading brand of the PageGroup, one of the world's pre-eminent professional recruitment consultancies. Listed on the London Stock Exchange (“PAGE”), PageGroup was established in Switzerland in 2001. The Michael Page team works closely with its clients to identify and place the best candidates for management positions. It also collaborates with PageGroup’s other operational brands to ensure that all client needs are met. This includes Page Personnel (graduates and first level specialists), and Page Executive (senior and executive management). Page Group has more than 152 offices worldwide including three Swiss offices in Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne.

Michael Page 2018 Commodities Trading Salary Study

The information provided in this survey derives from three sources: the PageGroup database with over 450,000 candidate profiles, over 30,000 interviews conducted by PageGroup consultants every year and more than a decade of experience in the Swiss market.

Media Contacts:

C-Matrix Communications
Vicki Tanner
043 300 56 67
vicki.tanner@cmatrix.ch

PageGroup
Sophie Kubik, Marketing Manager
044 563 95 83
SophieKubik@michaelpage.ch

Michael Page is a brand of “Michael Page International (Switzerland) SA”.