How much does a trader earn?

Portrayed in literature and movies, and sometimes even in the press, like millionaires, traders are the envy of many. But if some traders are indeed billionaires, the reality is quite different for the vast majority of investors. So how much does a trader earn?

How much do traders earn in the world?

Traders' salaries vary widely depending on the country where they work. Let's take a look at different examples of institutional trader salaries by city or country in the world: in France, London, Wall Street, or Dubai.

How much does a trader earn in London?

Now let's compare these data with the salary of traders in London. According to the specialized website Glassdoor, the average salary of a trader in London is £71,533 per year (average base salary on 375 reported salaries updated to May 25, 2021). This average ranges as follows:

- Lowest London trader salary: £33,000 per year,

- Average London trader salary: £72,000 per year,

- Highest London trader salary: £154,000 per year.

On top of these salaries, there are estimated bonuses of £38,295 per year on average, ranging from a low of £5,609 to a high of £261,461.

Here are also examples of trader salaries in London (average base salaries per year) that are more specific to the bank or financial firm in which they are employed:

- Barclays: £116,909 per year,

- J.P. Morgan: £91,868 per year,

- BNP Paribas: £88,174 per year,

- Goldman Sachs: £87,913 per year,

- Citi: £60,329 per year.

As for the other market finance jobs in the City, which are close to the trader's job, here are the corresponding salaries (average base salaries per year):

- Assistant Trader London salary: £35,031 per year,

- Commodity Trader Salary London: £82,655 per annum,

- Equity Trader Salary London: £92,805 per annum,

- Junior Trader London Salary (or Junior Trader): £49,599 per annum,

- Chief Trader London salary: £132,000 per annum.

How much does a trader earn on Wall Street?

Now let's leave Europe and go to the United States and more precisely to New York. According to the Glassdoor website, the average trader salary on Wall Street is $127,000 per year (average base salary out of 583 reported salaries updated as of May 25, 2021). This average ranges as follows:

- Lowest Wall Street trader salary: $73,000

- Average Wall Street trader salary: $127,000

- Highest Wall Street trader salary: $205,000

Bonuses are added to these Wall Street trader salaries. Note that unlike bonuses in France, bonuses are completely uncapped in the United States. According to data from the Glassdoor website, they amount to $53,446, out of a range of $136 to $271,791.

As before, here are some more specific examples of trader salaries in New York at various banks and financial firms. Glassdoor lists the following examples of trader salaries (average base salaries):

- Trader at HSBC Holdings: $201,401 per year,

- Trader at Deutsche Bank: $181,275 per year,

- Trader at Jane Street: $169,438 per year,

- Trader at SG Americas Securities Holdings: $167,593 per year,

- Trader at Société Générale: $158,099 per year,

- Trader at Citadel: $156,146 per year,

- Trader at Bank of America: $154,433 per year,

- Trader at Citi: $153,945 per year,

- Trader at J.P. Morgan: $144,746 per year,

- Trader at Morgan Stanley: $132,695 per year,

- Trader at Barclays: $130,977 per year,

- Trader at RBC (Royal Bank of Canada): $116,212 per year,

- Trader at Goldman Sachs: $112,501 per year,

- Trader at UBS: $106,572 per year,

- Trader at Flow Traders: $94,412 per year.

How much does a trader earn in Dubai?

As a final example, let's finally look at trader salaries in Dubai. The Glassdoor site has less data here (3 salaries reported as of May 25, 2021) and shows an average monthly base salary of 20,000 euros, with a low of 13,000 euros and a high of 40,000 euros per month.

The average bonus reported is 80,000 euros out of a range of 10,000 to 150,000 euros.

Here are also examples of trader salaries in Dubai more specific to the companies that employ them:

- National Bank of Fujairah: between 38,000 and 42,000 euros per month,

- MubasherTrade: between 19,000 and 21,000 euros per month,

- NHS: between 12,000 and 14,000 euros per month.

How much does a trader earn in France?

According to the specialized website Glassdoor, the salary of traders in France (average base salary on 54 salaries communicated updated on May 25, 2021) is 65,781 euros per year. The assistant trader earns an average of 47,573 euros per year and the Derivatives trader 226,847 euros.

The salary of a trader in France ranges as follows:

- Lowest trader salary in France: 41,000 euros per year,

- Average trader salary in France: 66,000 euros per year,

- Highest trader salary in France: 124,000 euros per year.

Here are some more specific salary examples to see how much a trader in France earns depending on the bank or other financial company that employs them:

- Natixis: between 97,000 and 118,000 euros per year,

- Exane: 89,938 euros per year,

- BNP Paribas: 81,074 euros per year,

- Société Générale: 69,534 euros per year,

- HSBC Holdings: between 58,000 and 63,000 euros per year,

- CIC: between 35 000 and 38 000 euros per year.

How much does an Independent Online Trader earn?

Let's see how much an individual trader or home trader earns for his account, whether he is a day trader, swing trader, or even how much a Forex trader earns.

Unlike the institutional trader, whose salary is declared, the earnings of the independent trader are very difficult to estimate. Trading income is extremely variable from one trader to another.

Since online trading is open to everyone, the profiles of individual traders are very diverse and the average earnings of a trader cannot be representative. How much a trader can earn depends on some factors, including the background of the trader and the amount of time they spend trading.

It is logical to expect that the traders who earn the most are those who have previously studied market finance or who have previously worked in the banking or financial sector. Similarly, one can also expect that a trader who makes trading his or her primary activity will generate more income than a trader whose trading is a secondary activity for supplemental income. Of course, there are other parameters to take into account, such as the capital invested.