How Much Can I Make as a Professional in Capital Markets?

Working as a capital markets analyst is often considered one of the prime positions within the financial services sector. Professionals are often under a significantly lower amount of stress on the job, since their role is less about fast-paced investment and more about analyzing a company’s current situation and how that might improve by leveraging capital markets. Whether it’s taking on debt or pursuing the exact opposite, capital markets analysts enjoy a somewhat slower pace of work, somewhat lower stakes than their purely investment-minded counterparts, and a more stable position that’s less subject to the volatile whims of the American stock market and global markets.

The good news for those pursuing a position in this field is that salaries remain pretty healthy, even though there is generally less risk, stress, and moment-by-moment paranoia than in several other, similar jobs. This might just be the one position that strikes the delicate balance between great annual pay and low daily stress.

Excellent Salaries for the Mid-Level Capital Markets Analyst

The average salary for capital markets analysts in the middle of their career currently stands at about $84,000 per year according to hiring website SimplyHired.com Though it’s certainly not as high as positions directly involved with trading stocks and making other risky moves, it’s worth noting that this mid-level salary is still nearly double the average salary of all Americans combined. Furthermore, this is just the average salary. It doesn’t show the highest possible compensation for those with extensive educational backgrounds and related experience.

Entry-level candidates can expect to fall into the lower 10 percent of the possible salary range for this position, earning between $40,000 and $52,000 per year. The higher end of the scale, as mentioned above, is quite a bit more generous. On average, those with either a significant amount of experience or a managerial role can expect to earn six-figure salaries starting at about $109,000 per year. For those who are promoted to executive or other leadership positions within capital markets, salaries can nearly double from that amount.

Capital Markets Salaries Vary Based on Location

Though there are large corporations in every state, capital markets analysts tend to enjoy better salaries when there’s a more concentrated community of workers in similar positions. That might explain why the highest-paying states for those in this field include New York, Chicago, California, Oregon, and Delaware. All five of these states play host to a large number of Fortune 500 or Fortune 1000 companies. Whether it’s the full spectrum in New York, the entertainment industry of Southern California, or the sweeping credit card industry found in northern Delaware, these five states pay the highest annual wage and offer the larges number of job openings to candidates at all levels.

Within these states, job applicants will want to focus on the major population centers. That means Portland, New York City, Wilmington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago, among others. With a targeted search, even entry-level candidates will be able to maximize their starting salary and make more over the full length of their careers in capital markets.

A Growing Field for Financial Experts

The analysis required within capital markets is some of the toughest work in the business, even if the job environment is a bit less chaotic and the work itself is a bit less stressful. Qualified professionals will earn great salaries, enjoy excellent stability, and benefit from a business community that is once again starting to use the word “boom” a bit more freely.