[Singapuramale85]

Dear forumers,

I am in my early 20's (graduated university a year or so) and was just offered a job to work with an asset management firm in HK.

I was offered a compensation of around HKD 30 - 40K a month. Other perks include a 2-month stay in a serviced apartment and one way ticket from Sing to HK is also included.

Given that i'm relatively young (1 year experience in asset management), i would say that this is an excellent package. I've been checking salary survey reports from research companies and I think the range is in the low-end of the industry. Can anyone comment as to what the compensation range really is for the industry mentioned above?

Any advice on whether I will be able to live a decent life with the package mentioned above will also be very helpful.

Thanks,

[freeier]

if u have alternative that's higher than its not a good package, if you don't then it is a decent one. especially in this market

[jimbo]

Its good for somebody with little experience, I'd take it if I was you, Use it to gain exposure and to network and see what pans out in the future.

Of course you can live a decent lifestyle with that package, Some families have to live on less than $20k a month and survive just.

[Alby]

Originally Posted by jimbo

Its good for somebody with little experience, I'd take it if I was you, Use it to gain exposure and to network and see what pans out in the future.

Of course you can live a decent lifestyle with that package, Some families have to live on less than $20k a month and survive just.

Unless you have something more or if you think that you brings something unique and special to the company that they will not be likely to find in another person?

I would take what is being offered ... think of this as a stepping stone in your career.

[Singapuramale85]

Thanks for the reply. Just want to let you all know that I took the offer and I'm now in HK.

None of you though gave inputs as to the reliability of salary survey reports. Do you think the reports offer a good representation of average salaries in HK or are they skewed to show "expat" rates?

[Verdelium]

Hmmm..im not going into AM per se but I will be starting at an IB and I can verify the package is actually decent. The only thing it seems to lack is housing allowance. Other than that, banks like GS etc pay their 1year analysts about 40k base.

[Lammarite]

Although this forum is a good resource, none of the above posters are in recruitment so anything we say would be equally or less skewed than the figures you found.
I had a physical brochure from Ambition which had a lot of industry figures in it but not sure if they do an online version of it.
As you are well aware the markets are unpredictable at the moment so if you are happy with 30-40k/m then take it as it may not be there for long. If things get better and you feel you are being shortchanged then bring it up at the 3 month evaluation meeting.

[Singapuramale85]

so what did the Ambition brochure say? What should be the range for people with hardly any experience?

[Singapuramale85]

Originally Posted by Verdelium

Hmmm..im not going into AM per se but I will be starting at an IB and I can verify the package is actually decent. The only thing it seems to lack is housing allowance. Other than that, banks like GS etc pay their 1year analysts about 40k base.

i think AM's pay a littles less than IB's, don't you think?

Although now since the deals are drying up for IB's, i doubt if bonuses will be very big.

[Verdelium]

Yeah.. AM's do pay lower, but by a bit only... and the work life balance on buy side is wwaayyyyy better. Well i'll be a first year analyst so bonus is capped; hope the market recovers though.