A guide to financial services salaries in the UK

Financial services is a broad sector. You could work as an accountant, insurance broker or investment banker. The salary for your finance job will depend on your experience, the type of role, the job’s location, how many hours you work (ie. part-time vs. full-time) and your employer.

As the sector has many positions and employers, it’s difficult to generalise finance salaries in the UK. However, we’ve put together some information on the average salaries for finance careers to give you an overall idea of what to expect for specific job titles.

We’ll run through what you could earn working in the following roles:

• Financial analyst
• Regulatory finance professional
• Compliance professional
• Pensions administrator
• Insurance broker
• Financial adviser
• Accountant
• Auditor
• Tax adviser
• Actuary
• Investment banker
• Financial news writer

As the job title suggests, financial analysts analyse organisations and individuals’ finances. They interrogate information to produce models to predict financial performance (whether investments, like stocks and bonds, or how a business will fare).

As a financial analyst, you’ll usually work for a bank, pension fund or insurance company. However, other businesses also hire analysts. You may also be a freelancer, offering analysis to different clients.

What does a financial analyst earn?

At the mid-level, financial analysts typically earn between £30,000 and £50,000. For a senior financial analyst role, you’ll likely be paid more – especially if you work for a top financial services company.

However, you should expect to earn less when you start your career. If you’re interested in financial analyst roles, you might begin your journey working in data or reporting. You’ll start by gathering information about a company’s financial health, including income, cash flow and liabilities. At entry-level, you'll probably earn between £23,000 and £30,000. You’ll then learn on the job and work towards an analyst position (where you’ll create reports for clients to help them make their next financial moves).

Other routes into financial analysis are through a grad scheme or an internship. Your starting salary will depend on who you work for and the location. Again, expect to earn from £23,000 to £30,000.

Having experience in financial data will help you rise the ranks.

Finance regulation refers to the laws, rules and guidelines that financial institutions must follow. Those who work in financial regulation ensure institutions adhere to requirements.

A job in financial regulation means keeping up to date with policy changes, market developments and taxation agreements. At the highest level, you may set the guidelines.

What does a regulatory finance professional earn?

A graduate regulatory financial associate will usually earn around £26,000 and can build up their salary to £48,000 over time.

Once you’ve gained experience as a regulatory financial associate, you can move to a regulatory financial analyst or managerial role. As always, your wages will vary depending on your exact role and company, but you could earn up to £70,000.

Those who work in compliance ensure companies follow guidelines and policies. Financial services firms tend to have large compliance departments, so there are lots of opportunities here.

The difference between compliance and regulation is that compliance teams help their company meet the guidelines, while regulators are the ones who check that organisations follow every rule.

What does a compliance professional earn?

At entry-level, a compliance associate will usually earn around £30,000 (depending on location and employer). Once you’ve built up between three and five years of experience, your salary may rise, with mid-level earnings sitting around £55,000 to £70,000. Once you’ve worked in compliance for over five years, you may earn between £60,000 and £90,000.

During your career progression, you’ll potentially change job titles from compliance associate to compliance officer and then compliance manager. Usually, your salary will increase alongside a role change.

If you’re interested in compliance and regulation but are unsure about working in finance, it’s worth remembering that the departments exist in other sectors. You can explore regulatory and compliance roles in pharmaceuticals, insurance, property and more areas.

A pensions administrator handles the day-to-day running of pension schemes and life insurance policies.

If you were a pensions administrator, you’d manage and maintain records, handle pension holders’ enquiries, deal with transfers between pension providers, process contributions and much more.

What does a pensions administrator earn?

Pension administrators typically earn between £23,000 (as a starter salary) and £38,000 (once more experienced).

If you want to climb the ladder, you could move into a consultancy role. Senior pensions consultants have salaries up to £75,000. Pension directors usually earn even more (with annual salaries as high as £120,000).

Insurance brokers work as an intermediary (ie. the link) between insurance companies and their clients (individuals or companies).

As an insurance broker, you work to get the best deal for your clients and negotiate policy terms with insurers.

What does an insurance broker earn?

There’s a wide range of potential earnings for insurance brokers. Insurance brokers can earn anywhere from £20,000 to over £100,000.

If you were to begin as a trainee, you’ll likely receive a starter salary of around £20,000. However, if you’re aged 21 or over, employed by somebody, working 35 hours a week and aren’t on an apprenticeship scheme, you’re legally entitled to a minimum of just over £22,222 (as of April 2025). So, don’t shortchange yourself!

As many insurance brokers work for themselves on a self-employed basis, their earnings will fluctuate depending on the volume of work.

Once you’ve gained experience, you could earn up to £65,000. Senior brokers and account directors sometimes earn over £100,000.

Financial advisers support their clients (individuals or organisations) about how best to manage money.

In this role, you’d advise on different money matters including investments, buying assets and lowering outgoings. Part of your job would involve assessing your clients’ financial situations and offering personalised advice.

Sometimes, the terms financial advisers, financial planners and wealth managers are used interchangeably. Generally, advisers offer the widest range of services (ie. guidance on mortgages, equity release, savings) while wealth managers focus on investments. Financial planners tend to look more long-term and focus on things like estate planning (ie. organising your finances for after you die).

What does a financial adviser earn?

Financial advisers earn between £23,000 and over £100,000 (dependent on experience and specialism).

With an entry-level job, financial advisers, wealth managers and financial planners can expect to earn around £23,000.

While you’re a trainee, it’s unlikely you’ll earn above £33,000. However, once qualified, expect to earn somewhere between £30,000 and £45,000.

Once more experienced, senior advisers can earn around £60,000. Want a higher salary? Those who focus on the wealth division of retail and private banks can earn over £100,000.

Accountants help their clients (either businesses or individuals) with their finances.

As an accountant, you’re usually responsible for submitting tax returns, setting spending limits and monitoring budgets.

There are two main types of accountants: management accountants and financial accountants.

Management accountants provide information for internal decision-making (ie. establishing advisory budgets). Financial accountants create formal financial statements for external bodies (ie. investors and industry regulators).

What does an accountant earn?

How much accountants earn depends on their specialism (ie. management or financial) and who they work for.

As a rough guide, management accountants typically earn between £30,000 and £42,000 when part-qualified. On average, a fully qualified management accountant will earn up to £60,000 (potentially even higher in certain areas of the UK, such as London).

Being a management accountant can also lead to more senior roles (such as finance director or chief financial officer), which could see you earn over £100,000.

A financial accountant will usually earn between £35,000 (as the average starter base pay) and £52,000 (once experienced).

Auditors check the accuracy of financial reports and accounts. As an auditor, you ensure that everything is above board.

There are two types of auditors: internal auditors and external auditors.

Internal auditors work within the company they audit, usually in an organisation’s auditing department. As an internal auditor, you’re constantly on the lookout for fraud and any unusual behaviour.

External auditors work for an independent organisation (ie. a regulatory body or a contracted audit firm). As an external auditor, you move from client to client.

How much does an auditor earn?

Auditors can earn anywhere between £22,000 and £80,000. Salaries for auditors vary depending on employer, experience and the type of auditor (ie. external or internal).

As an external auditor graduate trainee, you’ll earn around £28,000 on average. Once you’re trained up, your salary is likely to rise to between £32,000 and £45,000. At the higher end, some auditors will progress to external audit managers. In a managerial role, you’ll typically earn between £50,000 and £80,000.

Internal auditors usually earn slightly less than external auditors. As a guide, the average salary for an internal auditor with one to three years’ experience is roughly between £22,000 and £35,000. As mentioned earlier, working 35 hours a week at the National Living Wage equates to just over £22,222 so the minimum you’ll earn will depend on your age and the hours you work.

Usually, your salary will increase over time. So, it’s typical for internal auditors with three to seven years’ experience to earn between £32,000 and £53,000. If you become a manager or a director, you could earn over £70,000.

Tax advisers help businesses and individuals plan their finances to make sure they're paying the right amount of tax.

Tax advisers work internally for a business (ie. employed by the company they advise) or for an accountant firm (where they advise external clients). Some tax advisers will also work on a freelance basis with a client portfolio.

As a tax adviser, part of your job involves working out ways to reduce tax liabilities (such as ensuring that your clients claim every tax-free allowance they’re entitled to).

What does a tax adviser earn?

In general, the average salary for tax advisers ranges from £25,000 to £55,000. Graduate tax adviser trainees typically earn between £20,000 to £32,000.

As with most roles, you’ll usually earn more once you gain experience. Those who are fully qualified (ie. have a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) qualification) generally receive the highest salaries.

Actuaries investigate the financial risks that a company or client could come across.

As an actuary, it’s your job to find out how likely the risks are (usually with software and computer modelling) and work out how to mitigate against them.

What does an actuary earn?

Typically, actuaries earn between £25,000 and £70,000 (with the potential to earn more in senior roles).

The average starting salary for a graduate actuary role is between £25,000 and £35,000.

Once more established in your career, you might earn between £32,000 and £70,000.

Actuaries who go on to become chiefs, partners or principles could have a salary of over £200,000.

Investment bankers help companies, governments and other organisations raise capital and complete financial transactions.

As an investment banker, you’ll issue stocks and bonds and assist with mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and the sale of assets.

What does an investment banker earn?

Investment bankers usually earn between £42,000 to £150,000 (excluding bonuses).

As you can tell, investment banking is a well-paid area within financial services. Even in an entry-level role, you may earn between £42,000 to £59,000.

As your career progresses, you can increase your salary. After three years, you may be earning closer to £70,000. Once you’ve gained lots of experience, it’s not unusual to have a base salary of £150,000 (or even more).

Plus, investment bankers typically have opportunities to earn substantial bonuses. Some compensation packages could see your salary doubled (or potentially tripled) if you hit certain goals.

A financial news writer reports on the latest trends in the market. Financial writers can influence investment decisions and how business leaders view the industry.

If you were to do this job, you’d monitor the market to get the latest stories to tell readers.

You might work on a freelance basis, pitching articles for different publications. Alternatively, you could be a staff writer for an outlet.

What does a financial news writer earn?

A financial news writer will typically earn between £24,000 to £37,000 (with the potential to earn more as an editor).

If you bag yourself a staff financial writer role or a column, your starting salary could sit between £24,000 and £30,000 depending on who you write for. To get an entry-level job like this, you need to show you’ve got an interest and some experience in financial writing (ie. writing for yourself or a student publication).

With extensive experience in the news sector, you could earn up to £37,000. Once you get to this stage, you might be promoted to financial news editor, potentially seeing your salary increase to £43,000.

If you write on a freelance basis, how much you earn will depend on how much you charge and the number of clients you’ve got.

Read about publishing and journalism salary expectations to find out more about writers’ wages.

Financial services salaries vary. Within the sector, there’s a wide range of roles and each position comes with different average earnings. Plus, there’s disparity within roles. How much you’ll earn will depend on your experience, employer and location. Base finance salary ranges also don’t consider bonuses. In addition, the salary guidelines we’ve provided are pre-tax, so you won’t take home everything you earn. The combination of these factors makes it tricky to generalise finance salaries in the UK.

However, although it’s hard to tell exactly how much money you’ll make, it’s still useful to know some finance jobs’ salary estimates. That way, you can find out if the sector matches your expectations.

Remember though that salary shouldn’t be the only thing you consider when choosing your financial career path. For more information on the different areas of financial services, the work you’d do and the skills employers are looking for, visit our financial services sector profile.

This article was last updated in May, 2025.