2. 2
1. Introduction
A detailed investigation into people working in
Singapore.
At Astbury Marsden we continually seek to
understand the market so that we are able
to develop and share deeper insights with
our clients and candidates. This study was
conducted to increase our understanding of
the demographic of the people working in
Singapore within the financial services and
management consulting sectors.
The report looks at how the landscape differs
when looking at the salaries individuals are
earning, the age of the population and the
gender of the respondent. There are some
unexpected results which demonstrate the
complexity of the Singapore employment
market.
The findings contained in this report are
derived from data collected in a survey
conducted between 14th May and 15th June
2015. The survey was distributed to a total
of 8,134 current and former candidates and
clients working in Singapore. The audience
polled are predominately middle to senior
ranking staff working across a range of
financial sectors.
We’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the
710 people who freely gave their time to
share some very personal information about
themselves and their views.
Please consider that the answers given are
based on the respondents interpretation
of the question and options and all results
exclude those who did not respond. It should
also be noted that the data shows a reflection
of the breakdown of our respondents as
opposed to Singapore as a whole.
If you have questions regarding the survey or
the report please contact:
Mark O’Reilly
65 6709 5151
mo@astburymarsden.com
The information and data contained in this report are for information purposes only and are not
intended, nor implied to be a substitute for professional advice. In no event will Astbury Marsden be
liable to you or any third party for any decision made or action taken in reliance of the results obtained
through the use of the information and/or data contained or provided herein.
3. 3
2. Summaryof
findingsWhat does the profile of the average Singapore
worker look like?
Up eight points in the latest Global
Financial Centres Index (GFCI), Singapore
is increasingly challenging Hong Kong and
Tokyo for the title of leading international
Asian economic centre.
With a blend of western modernity and Asian
culture, Singapore provides a cosmopolitan,
multicultural lifestyle that has become an
expat destination of choice. However, in an
economy largely driven by financial services,
the increased cost of living has resulted in a
significant number of operational support
and technology functions being moved
offshore to low cost locations. Further, the
year old Fair Consideration Framework and
push to hire local talent has undoubtedly
altered the demographic constitution of
many firms.
Our investigation finds that despite what one
might superficially see, after scratching the
surface, you find a workforce far more diverse
in almost every way than what you might find
elsewhere in the world.
So what does the profile of the average
financial services Singapore worker look like?
• Average age: 37 years old
• Gender: Male
• Ethnicity: 39% Chinese, 31% Indian, 9%
Caucasian
• Most populous function: working in
either the IT or operations & middle
office of an investment bank.
• Religion: Hindu (27%), Christian (24%),
Buddhist (17%)
• Average basic salary of $131,059
• University educated
• Likely to have children
How does an average worker’s profile alter
when looked at on the basis of salary?
• We were expecting to find a substantial
difference in the salary of financial
services staff and non-financial services
staff. We found one, with financial
services employees earning over $31,000
more than non financial services.
• It may seem obvious, but the more
experienced you are, the more you earn.
• No surprises here either: career
experience increases with age so the
older you are, the more you’re likely to
earn.
• Men earn more than women. We
guessed this was the case, now we can
prove it.
• Parents earn more than those without
children. Fathers earn the most.
What about progress on the “Great Gender
Divide”?
• Four in five Singapore workers in our
survey are male so there is still more
work to be done to attract women in
almost all financial services sub-sectors.
This said, non financial services and
management consulting firms were also
shown to have the very same challenge.
• Some functions are more successful
at attracting women – for example
regulatory control and HR. In contrast,
sales and distribution and technology
appear to have more work to do to
address the imbalance in gender
numbers.
• Our results indicate that there is still
a ‘glass ceiling’: only 17% of Managing
Directors are female.
4. 4
• On average, men are slightly more
academically qualified than women.
• And women are more likely to apply for
permanent residency.
How does your working life change with age?
• As predicted, age increases with job
level. However, we saw a surprise fall in
age at Managing Director level.
• The big bucks also come with age: only
5% of 20-29 year olds earn $100,000
- $150,000 a year in basic salary. In
contrast, almost one third (31%) of
40 -49 year olds earn $200,000 -
$500,000.
• The older our respondents get, the less
likely they are to apply for permanent
residency.
I hope that you find reading the report as
interesting as we found investigating it.
Mark O’Reilly
Managing Director - Asia Pacific
5. 5
3. The
Participants
As a specialist financial services recruitment firm our
network is focussed more than most on this important part of
Singapore’s economy. Our survey’s results reflect this focus
with 63% of respondents working in financial services.
An insight into the profile and working life of those
taking part in the survey.
Sector
Fig 3.1
Sector % of respondents
Financial Services 63%
Non Financial Services 27%
Management Consulting 10%
When looking at financial services, 32% of respondents work in investment banking;
corporate and commercial banking accounting for 16% of participants; and private banking &
wealth management type firms representing almost 11% of those surveyed. We also received
a significant proportion of responses from non financial services (27%) and management
consulting (10%) employees.
3.1.1 Financial Services Breakdown
6. 6
Function
Fig 3.2 Roughly 46% of participants are engaged in technology or
operations and middle office work, with 17% working in
governance functions like risk, internal audit and compliance. A
further 6% work in accounting and finance functions and 8% in
consulting and consulting.
Joblevel
Fig 3.3 The survey profiled a range of staff working across the
spectrum of mid to senior job levels from analyst/executive
to managing director/partner. Accordingly there was a broad
spread of respondents across all job levels with approximately
20% working in analyst/executive roles, 42% working in AVP/
manager level roles and roughly 11% at director and managing
director.
Managing
Director/
Partner
Analyst/
Executive
Associate
Vice President/
Manager
Vice
President/
Senior
Manager
Director/
Executive
Director
Other
7. 7
Gender
Age
Fig 3.4
Fig 3.5
The survey’s findings support
the traditional stereotype that
the financial centre continues
to be a predominately
male domain with females
representing only one in five
workers.
For more gender insights,
please refer to section 5.
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60 plus
Average
Age: 36.9
Median
Age: 35.0
19.7% 80.3%
The average age of Singapore
workers is 36.9 years and
the median age is 35.0. Only
one in ten is aged under 30,
almost 60% of respondents
are aged between 30 and 39
and a further 30% is over 40.
However, less than 1% is over
60 years of age.
For more age insights, please
refer to section 6.
8. 8
Ethnicity
Fig 3.7
From an ethnic diversity perspective, our respondents are more diverse than Singapore as a
whole. At national level, three quarters identify as Chinese, compared to less than 40% within
our survey. 31% of our respondents are Indian compared to just 9% nationally. However,
2.5% of respondents to our survey are Malay compared to 13% nationally and 9% who are
Caucasian.
Salary
Fig 3.6
With an average salary of $131,059, nearly half earn up to $100,000 rising to 72% earning up
to $150,000. One quarter earn between $150,000 and $500,000 and just 2% earns more than
$500,000.
Average
Salary:
$131,059
Salary band % of respondents*
Less than $50,000 9.6%
$50,000 - $100,000 40.0%
$100,000 - $150,000 22.5%
$150,000 - $200,000 10.9%
$200,000 - $500,000 15.6%
$500,000 + 1.5%
*Excludes those who did not share details of their salary
Ethnic group % of respondents % nationally*
Chinese 38.8% 74.3%
Indian 31.4% 9.1%
Malay 2.5% 13.3%
Caucasian 9.4%
3.3%
Other 18.0%
*Source: “Singapore in Figures 2015” , Department of Statistics Singapore
9. 9
Religion
Fig 3.8
Religion % of respondents % nationally
Buddhist 16.5% 33.9%
Christian 24.2% 18.1%
Free Thinker 9.6% n/a
Hindu 26.9% 5.2%
Muslim 5.4% 14.3%
Taoist 1.7% 11.3%
No religion 9.9% 16.4%
Other religion 2.7% n/a
Prefer not to say 4.7% n/a
Similarly, our respondents are more religiously diverse than the Singapore population as
a whole, although 10% of staff cited having no religion; which is significantly less than the
national equivalent.
On a national scale, one third of the population are Buddhist, however, just 17% identify as the
same religion in our survey. We found that the largest religious group is Hindu representing
27% of employees. Other substantial religious groups represented are Christian (24%) and
Free Thinker (10%).
*Source: Population Census 2010:
http://app.singapore.sg/society/our-people/religion#sthash.d9P0EfiM.dpuf
Qualifications
Fig 3.9
Level of qualification % of respondents
A-Level and below 4.5%
Polytechnic 3.2%
University 57.2%
Post Graduate 35.1%
Singapore workers appear to be highly qualified. Over half of Singapore workers have a
university degree along with 35% who have a post graduate qualification. Less than 5% have
less than A Level qualification. This reflects the demands of Singapore employers for highly
educated talent.
10. 10
LengthoftimeinSingapore
Fig 3.10
Length of time % of respondents
Less than 1 year 4.3%
1 - 2 years 5.8%
2 - 5 years 18.8%
5 - 10 years 26.7%
10 - 20 years 6.7%
More than 20 years 6.1%
Native Singaporean 31.6%
The majority of respondents are native Singaporeans (32%). Illustrating that Singapore is not
a short term option. Just over a quarter (27%) have resided in Singapore for 5 to 10 years. A
further one fifth (19%) have been in the country for 2 to 5 years.
Visastatus
Fig 3.11
Visa status % of respondents
Dependant’s Pass (Dependent of S visa or EP) 2.2%
Employment Pass (EP) 42.0%
Permanent Resident (PR) 42.9%
Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) 4.5%
S Pass 5.8%
Work Permit 2.7%
Interestingly, 43% of non Singaporean respondents have permanent residency. A further 42%
are on an employment pass.
Residency
Fig 3.12
Intend to apply for permanent residency % of respondents
Yes 60.0%
Unsure 23.1%
No 16.9%
Over half (60%) of respondents intend to apply for permanent residency in Singapore, with
a further 23% who are unsure. This shows an overwhelming desire for non Singaporean’s
to remain in the region long term. However, the well publicised tightening of criteria for
Permanent Residency acceptance means long term tenure in this city is no longer a fait a
compliet.
11. 11
Parents
Fig 3.13
Singapore is well known for it’s family friendly environment so it is not surprising that over
half of our respondents have children. Of this, 16% of respondents are working mothers - a
further reflection of the predominantly male gender split.
13. 13
4. Salary
More detailed insights will be covered in our next
report, Compensation, released later in the year.
Sector
Fig 4.1
A substantial 46% of management consulting staff earn over $100,000. An even higher
percentage, (56%) of financial services professionals earn the same amount. When looking
at average pay - financial services employees earn on average, 12% more than management
consulting staff.
Sector
Less than
$50,000
$50,000 -
$100,000
$100,000 -
$150,000
$150,000 -
$200,000
$200,000 -
$500,000
$500,000+
Financial
Services
7.0% 37.5% 25.0% 12.9% 15.6% 2.0%
Non Financial
Services
12.7% 47.3% 17.3% 8.2% 13.6% 0.9%
Management
Consulting
17.9% 35.9% 20.5% 5.1% 20.5% 0.0%
Sector Average
Financial Services $138,326
Non Financial Services $107,221
Management Consulting $122,818
14. 14
Joblevel
Fig 4.3
As one might expect: the more senior the role, the higher salary. Managing directors are on average the highest paid group with half
earning over $500,000 per year.
Job title
Less than
$50,000
$50,000 -
$100,000
$100,000 -
$150,000
$150,000 -
$200,000
$200,000 -
$500,000
$500,000+
Analyst/Executive 18.7% 73.3% 8.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Associate/Manager 14.3% 57.1% 26.5% 0.0% 2.0% 0.0%
Assistant Vice President 2.4% 46.3% 46.3% 4.9% 0.0% 0.0%
Manager 7.2% 42.2% 33.7% 4.8% 10.8% 1.2%
Vice President/Senior Manager 8.0% 4.0% 21.3% 38.7% 26.7% 1.3%
Director/Executive Director 2.6% 5.1% 5.1% 10.3% 74.4% 2.6%
Managing Director/Partner 0.0% 16.7% 0.0% 0.0% 33.3% 50.0%
Other 10.8% 51.4% 18.9% 13.5% 5.4% 0.0%
Function
Fig 4.2
Staff working in strategy & consulting functions aswell as risk and change were significant earners; perhaps reflecting the impact of
increased demand for leaders to drive organisational change. Those working in HR and regulatory control functions were the lowest
earning of the group surveyed.
Function
Less than
$50,000
$50,000 -
$100,000
$100,000 -
$150,000
$150,000 -
$200,000
$200,000 -
$500,000
$500,000+
Accounting & Finance 8.0% 60.0% 16.0% 4.0% 12.0% 0.0%
Change Management 7.7% 15.4% 15.4% 30.8% 30.8% 0.0%
Compliance 4.5% 40.9% 22.7% 13.6% 18.2% 0.0%
HR 26.7% 26.7% 26.7% 20.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Internal Audit 0.0% 12.5% 25.0% 25.0% 37.5% 0.0%
Operations & Middle Office 11.9% 50.0% 16.7% 7.1% 14.3% 0.0%
Regulatory Control 0.0% 40.0% 60.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Risk 8.1% 21.6% 18.9% 18.9% 29.7% 2.7%
Sales & Distribution 0.0% 22.2% 22.2% 22.2% 33.3% 0.0%
Strategy & Consulting 10.7% 14.3% 32.1% 7.1% 21.4% 14.3%
Technology 6.9% 46.9% 25.5% 9.7% 10.3% 0.7%
Trading 22.2% 33.3% 33.3% 11.1% 0.0% 0.0%
Other 17.0% 48.9% 12.8% 4.3% 17.0% 0.0%
15. 15
Gender
Fig 4.4
The results show that on average, men earn more than women. The average male in our survey earns $134,208 compared to $119,425
for women. This clearly indicates the highly publicised gender pay gap.
For more gender insights see Section 5.
Age
Fig 4.5
As might be expected, the survey found that income increases steadily with age. We have presumed this to reflect increasing levels of
experience although we have been unable to ascertain from the data whether increased tenure also has a role to play.
For more age related insights see section 6.
Gender
Less than
$50,000
$50,000 -
$100,000
$100,000 -
$150,000
$150,000 -
$200,000
$200,000 -
$500,000
$500,000+
Female 11.5% 44.9% 17.9% 10.3% 14.1% 1.3%
Male 9.1% 39.1% 23.0% 11.0% 16.1% 1.6%
Job title
Less than
$50,000
$50,000 -
$100,000
$100,000 -
$150,000
$150,000 -
$200,000
$200,000 -
$500,000
$500,000+
20 - 29 29.5% 65.9% 4.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
30 - 39 8.6% 44.9% 28.0% 9.1% 9.5% 0.0%
40 - 49 4.3% 20.7% 18.5% 19.6% 30.4% 6.5%
50 - 59 4.3% 21.7% 17.4% 13.0% 43.5% 0.0%
60+ 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 33.3% 66.7% 0.0%
Parents
Fig 4.7
In line with the gender gap demonstrated in section 4.4, working fathers earn more than working mothers. This could be due to
working mother’s taking time out for maternity leave and possibly losing out on pay increases. Pay is higher for parents than for those
without children, again, possibly attributed to age.
Interestingly, when comparing salaries of men and women who are not parents, women earn more.
Gender
Average Salary
Parent Does not have children
Female $130,933 $110,985
Male $155,445 $105,833
17. 17
5. Gender
Understanding the effect of gender on working lives.
Sector
Fig 5.1
The survey identified that amongst the group polled, financial services firms show a slightly
higher proportion of women with 21% of the workforce compared to non-financial services
(18%) and management consulting (18%). Upon drilling down into the financial services sub-
sectors, private equity businesses were the most ‘balanced’ organisations by gender followed
by payments, clearing, custody and counterparty.
18. 18
Function
Fig 5.2 From a functional perspective, women have equal proportional
representation in regulatory control (50%). HR (36%) and
operations and middle office (34%) functions are also more
evenly balances than other functions. Females are least
likely to be found working in strategy & consulting (11%) and
technology (11%) functions.
Joblevel
Fig 5.3 The results support the notion of a “glass ceiling”. Only 17% of
managing directors and 16% of directors surveyed are female.
Women were found to be more prevalent at analyst/executive
levels.
19. 19
Age
Fig 5.4
When looking at age, there is little difference between the average age of men and women. The
median is exactly the same.
Qualifications
Fig 5.5
Men are more highly qualified than women with 37% who have a post graduate qualification
compared to one quarter of women.
Average Age = 36.6
Median Age = 35.0
Average Age = 36.9
Median Age = 35.0
Qualification Female Male
A-Level and below 6.5% 4.1%
Polytechnic 3.9% 3.2%
University 64.9% 56.2%
Post Graduate 24.7% 36.6%
Parents
Fig 5.6
A substantial 88% of women who responded to our survey are
working mothers. This further demonstrates the family focus of
Singapore.
88%
20. 20
LengthoftimeinSingapore
Fig 5.7
Length of time Female Male
Less than 1 year 1.6% 5.0%
1 - 2 years 6.5% 5.4%
2 - 5 years 21.0% 18.1%
5 - 10 years 21.0% 28.5%
10 - 20 years 4.8% 7.3%
More than 20 years 6.5% 6.2%
Native Singaporean 38.7% 29.6%
Our findings shows that there is a sharp drop in both male and female residents who have
lived in Singapore for more than 10 years. The majority of non Singaporeans leave within a
decade of living in the region.
Visastatus
Fig 5.8
Visa status Female Male
Dependant’s Pass (Dependent of S visa or EP) 7.9% 1.1%
Employment Pass (EP) 31.6% 44.0%
Permanent Resident (PR) 50.0% 41.8%
Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) 0.0% 4.9%
S Pass 10.5% 4.9%
Work Permit 0.0% 3.3%
When looking at the visa status of respondents, half of the women are Permanent Residents,
whilst the highest proportion of males only have an Employment Pass. Just 1% of men are on
a Dependant’s Pass compared to 8% of women. This suggests that couples tend to make the
move to Singapore for a man’s job, rather than the woman’s.
Residency
Fig 5.9
Intend to apply for permanent residency Female Male
Yes 63.2% 58.9%
Unsure 21.1% 23.4%
No 15.8% 17.8%
Women are more positive than men about staying in Singapore for the long term. 63% of
women compared to 59% of men state that they will apply for permanent residency with 18%
of men and 16% of women who will not.
22. 22
6. Age
Everybody gets older! How does this impact Singapore
workers?
Joblevel
Fig 6.1
Job title Average age
Analyst/Executive 33.1
AVP/Manager 35.9
VP/Senior Manager 39.7
Director/Executive Director 43.3
Managing Director/Partner 40.2
Other 35.9
As one might expect, the average age for each job level steadily increases in line with seniority.
The exception to this, is at director/executive director level where the average age is 3 years
older than at the managing director/partner level.
Gender
Fig 6.2
Almost 18% of female respondents are aged between 20 and 29 years. This is double the
amount of men (9%).
The sexes are similarly balanced between 40 and 59 but 63% of men are aged 30 - 39 years
compared to 51% of women. No women over 60 were represented in the survey results.
Gender 20 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 - 59 60+
Female 17.9% 51.3% 23.1% 7.7% 0.0%
Male 8.8% 62.8% 22.1% 5.4% 0.9%
23. 23
Salary Band
Average
age
20 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 - 59 60+
Less than $50,000 32.7 29.5% 8.6% 4.3% 4.3% 0.0%
$50,000 - $100,000 34.3 65.9% 44.9% 20.7% 21.7% 0.0%
$100,000 - $150,000 36.5 4.5% 28.0% 18.5% 17.4% 0.0%
$150,000 - $200,000 40.7 0.0% 9.1% 19.6% 13.0% 33.3%
$200,000 - $500,000 43.1 0.0% 9.5% 30.4% 43.5% 66.7%
$500,000+ 44.8 0.0% 0.0% 6.5% 0.0% 0.0%
Salary
Fig 6.3
Businesses pay for experience. Nearly all (95%) 20-29 years olds working in Singapore earn
up to $100,000 a year. In contrast, two thirds (67%) of those over 60 earn between $200,000
and $500,000 per year.
Residency
Fig 6.4
Intend to apply for permanent residency Average age
Yes 34.5
Unsure 35.8
No 40.5
The average age varies quite considerably when looking at permanent residency. Those who
intend to apply are on average 6 years younger than those who do not. This suggests that
Singapore is seen as a better choice for those at an earlier stage of life. Those in their forties
are not as interested in staying long term.
24. 24
AboutAstbury
Marsden
We specialise in recruiting uniquely talented people in business technology,
business transformation, regulatory and assurance functions and specialist
technical skills. We intimately understand the dynamics of the financial
services, energy and professional services markets; making sure we know the
people our clients need to occupy critical roles throughout their business.
We help clients determine the people they need and then we find the best of
them.
We have a global perspective and we are territory-neutral. We look
for market identifiers that we recognise, and apply our experience and
intelligence to solve the challenges they face. Our regional hubs established
in Singapore and London allow us to serve our clients across Asia and
Europe.
You can find more out at www.astburymarsden.com
Singapore
Mark O’Reilly
65 Chulia Street,
OCBC Centre, #43-01
Singapore 049513
+65 6709 5151
London
Adam Jackson
33 Cannon Street,
London
EC4M 5SB
+44 (0)20 7065 1222