Some advisors get into the business because they simply love analyzing and researching securities. Others are drawn to the field because they want to help people reach their financial outcomes. Plenty of advisors reside in both camps and that’s a good thing.
But at the end of the day, advisors want to be compensated for their labor – a reasonable expectation to be sure. Albeit incremental, there’s some positive news on that front as new data suggest that 2025 compensation for financial professionals, including members of the wealth management community, nudged higher.
The 2026 AFP Compensation and Benefits Survey Report, courtesy of the Association of Financial Professionals (AFP), indicates base salaries for financial pros rose 3.7% last year, a modest decline from the 3.9% increase notched in 2024.
Obviously, 3.7% isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off, but it’s better than nothing and there are obviously other ways of compensating financial pros.
Compensation Trends Matter
It goes without saying that in any industry, compensation is vital. It’s the primary avenue for attracting and retaining talent. Today’s young workers aren’t going to buy into “culture” if they feel underpaid. That’s just reality.
Compensation trends are all the more important in the advisory space because the industry faces the quagmire of replacing retiring advisors, which isn’t happening on one-for-one basis. Said another way, retiring advisors outnumber replacements. Compounding that issue is the fact that many new advisors are only around for a cup of coffee before sauntering off to other fields. Improved compensation can a long way to improving those trends.
In addition to base salary, cash and equity bonuses can bolster compensation, but as the AFP notes, there are other issues for financial firms to be mindful of.
“Amid slowing economic growth in the second half of 2025, wage gains softened. However, the continued use of bonus incentives suggests that organizations are leaning on one-time payouts to bolster retention without increasing fixed payroll costs,” according to the association. “But compensation is only one factor in retention. If organizations fail to address the resource limitations highlighted by their teams, they risk burnout and reduced effectiveness in the very functions necessary for organizational stability.”
AI on the Agenda
Not surprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) figures prominently in today’s financial services landscapes and the technology is affecting compensation trends. For example, AI is making redundant some of the entry-level roles employees to get a foot in the door and move upward to more lucrative roles.
As a result, many financial pros are concerned about AI either washing them out of the industry outright or forcing them into positions where they don’t learn the skills needed to advance and earn higher salaries. That gets into concerns about whether AI really additive to finance and treasury functions. The technology has a place in the advisory realm, but certainly as a replacement for the highest-paying jobs, but the industry as a whole has work to do to allay AI-related concerns.
“To retain treasury and finance talent, organizations must address resource constraints and concerns about AI's impact on career progression. By clarifying how AI can augment — rather than replace — human expertise, organizations can alleviate pressure caused by limited resources and help their teams feel empowered by their tools," said Mariam Lamech, Director of Survey Research at AFP.
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