The best paid and healthiest traders in finance – by product

If you’re in sales & trading, life is pretty good for you right now. The world is in a volatile place (which, of course, isn’t great for the world), and your entire career is built on making money – for yourself and for your employer – on that volatility. So, you’re beaming from ear to ear after last year’s bonus season, right? Right?

Click here to join the bubble by eFinancialCareers, our new anonymous community. ✍️

Well, maybe not right. Data from our 2026 Compensation & Lifestyle Report, informed by our global survey of almost 3,000 financial services professionals, also polled a significant number of sales & trading professionals across the world’s financial services centres, including New York, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The picture they painted wasn’t an ugly one. Compensation was up overall in the sector, driven by strong increases in salaries. Bonuses were also up, but the lion’s share of the increase was in strong salary increases. Self-reported mental and physical scores were also up, on average. Traders enjoyed the best compensation per hour worked of anyone in our survey – except for hedge fund professionals.

Not everything was sunshine and rainbows, however. There was significant variation between the professionals selling and trading the various products in the industry – which we’ve summarised as commodities, credit, equities, and macro (trading).

Commodities sales & trading bonuses went down by 37.2%

Commodities professionals responding to our survey had a rough 2025. To start with, their average compensation was down by 14% on average, driven by a 37% decrease in their average bonuses.

However, like last year, they enjoyed the highest average health scores of their peers – with only their colleagues in credit trading matching their overall scores. Both were well above the average for sales & trading, as well as the financial services industry.

The poor performance of commodities compensation was driven by a smaller revenue pool. Data from market intelligence provider Coalition Greenwich said that commodities trading revenue generated by the world’s largest banks shrunk by 2.1% between 2024 and 2025, while all other product revenues increased, usually by double digits. Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities (FICC) revenue increased by 10.5% between 2024 and 2025.

“People are leaving the company,” said one commodities trader replying to our survey, a Swiss analyst working at a major European bank, “but new people don’t come. All work is allocated between the team.”

Credit sales & trading bonuses went up by 28.3%

If you’re in credit trading, you’re probably pretty happy. Your bonus went up more than any of your peers did, and your salary also went up a bit – your overall compensation, therefore, was up by 33% on average. Not bad for a year’s work.

You also enjoyed better work-life balance, and some of the healthiest years of your career. When we polled traders after 2024, they had some of the worst mental and physical health scores of their peers. After 2025, they reported some of the best – with physical health in particular being highly rated.

Credit traders did well in 2025, despite credit not having the very best of years. Coalition Greenwich noted that the global credit revenue pool only increased by 2.3% between 2024 and 2025, but other sectors that are tied to credit (such as securitization) increased by 12.9%.

“I believe I am paid fairly,” said a Germany-based credit trader responding to our survey. “My compensation reflects my skills, experience, responsibilities, and the value I bring to the organization,” he said, and also noted that his physical health improved as he has been “more intentional about maintaining a healthier lifestyle.”

Equities sales & trading bonuses went up by 20.6%

Equities traders, much like their cousins trading credit, also had a strong 2025. Aside from the 21% average increases in their bonuses, they enjoyed significant salary uplifts – and in the end, the average compensation package for an equities trader in our survey increased by an impressive 40%, the highest of their peers.

Self-reported health scores also increased for equities professionals. From an average self-reported score of 6.8 in 2024, the average equities professionals in our survey reported an average health score of 7.1 in 2025. That was the still below the global average (and the average for traders), but it’s still an improvement. 

Coalition Greenwich noted that global equities revenue increased by a very solid 21% between 2024 and 2025, with all product groups within equities (such as cash & derivatives) reporting significant increases. There was more money going around to pay equities traders.

One equities trading reporting to our survey, a New York-based director at a European bank, said that he was paid fairly after a 26% bonus increase. “Up 15% for the year seems in line with how much we beat budget by,” he said.

Macro sales & trading bonuses went up by 23.4%

Macro traders in our survey also did well. They enjoyed the second-highest bonuses increases on average, but salaries were not as up as other products. The average macro trader’s compensation in our survey therefore increased by 32% between 2024 and 2025, which was still a tidy sum.

Macro traders also had an unfortunate distinction within sales & trading: they were the only group of traders who saw their average health scores decrease between 2024 and 2025. There was s decrease in both average mental and physical health scores. 

The relatively lackluster performance compared to other product traders was a surprise. Coalition Greenwich noted that global revenues for G10 rates trading – the bedrock of macro – were up by 16.9% between 2024 and 2025, the highest product increase of the FICC product groups. G10 FX trading revenues were also up by 15.2% in the same period. 

A Santander macro trading associate in our survey was pretty upbeat about her meagre 36% bonus increase. “Lower vs comparable effort in other financial centres. QoL [Quality of life] good though,” she said.

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, WhatsApp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Signal: sarahbutcher.22  Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. 

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: comments are moderated intermittently by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You must take sole responsibility for comments you post on this site. We will take reasonable steps to weed out anything that we consider to be offensive or inappropriate.