2026 US Global Markets Compensation Report: Secondary Markets

2026 US Global Markets Compensation Report: Secondary Markets

In global secondary markets, connected credit and equities ecosystems are broadening competition for talent, contributing to higher compensation and stronger variable pay in the most active areas.
October 19, 2026
Shannon Bade Neason
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A message from the author

Thank you for reading the third annual US Global Markets Compensation Survey. In this year’s edition, Heidrick & Struggles analyzed compensation data from 100 professionals across secondary markets focused on fixed income and equities.

Together with our surveys covering alternative asset management marketing and investor relations and private equity investment and operating roles, this report offers a comprehensive view of executive compensation across both the sell side and buy side of financial services and private equity.

This is the only study dedicated specifically to US Global Markets compensation. We hope you find the insights valuable, and we welcome your feedback.

Methodolgy

In an online survey fielded in the summer of 2026, we asked participants to provide data on their compensation for 2023 performance, paid in 2024 (which we will refer to as 2023), 2024 performance, paid in 2025 (which we will refer to as 2024), and 2025 performance, paid in 2026 (which we will refer to as 2025), as well as 2026 base compensation to date. All data collected was self-reported by the survey respondents and has been aggregated.

Market Context

Global secondary markets are anchored by several connected credit businesses. High-yield credit and loans and distressed products form the liquid-credit side of the broader leveraged and private-credit ecosystem, while investment-grade credit provides an adjacent core-credit market. These businesses represent distinct products, but they also share talent and capabilities across trading, sales, research, syndicate, and relationship management.

The boundaries around that credit ecosystem are becoming increasingly fluid. Renewed activity in leveraged finance has increased demand for professionals with experience spanning underwriting, syndication, investor relationships, and complex financing markets, while private equity firms, private credit managers, and other alternative asset managers continue to recruit similar expertise into capital markets, financing, and origination roles. Debt advisory and capital structure advisory have also broadened as liability management exercises, amend-and-extend transactions, rescue financings, and other complex capital solutions become a larger part of the market. The expansion of private credit has further increased the importance of professionals who understand both traditional financing markets and sophisticated buy-side counterparties.

Structured and securitized credit is especially important in secondary markets. Structured credit and derivatives, asset-backed securities (ABS), and the various mortgage-backed products form a significant ecosystem when viewed collectively. The market’s scale and complexity can be obscured by its fragmentation across collateralized loan obligations, collateralized debt obligations, ABS, mortgage-backed securities (MBS), residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), making the collective structured-credit story more meaningful than any single category viewed in isolation.

Equities form a second coherent secondary market ecosystem spanning cash equities, equity research, and derivatives. These capabilities are distinct but interconnected, linking execution and liquidity with analysis and risk management. They also provide the secondary market counterpart to the issuance activity in equity capital markets and convertibles in primary markets.

For further compensation analysis, including tables with breakouts by demographic categories, see our 2026 Secondary Markets survey compensation tables.

About the Author

Shannon Bade Neason (sbade@heidrick.com) is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York office and a member of the Financial Services Practice.

Demographics

Company information

Forty-three percent of respondents work at international banks, and 36% work at firms with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. Most respondents are at firms where the fiscal year follows the calendar year, with 70% reporting a December year-end.

International banks account for 75% of digital infrastructure respondents, 67% of infrastructure respondents, and 50% of energy and power respondents. American banks account for 50% of healthcare respondents and 44% of industrials respondents.

Institution Type
Firm Type by Sector
Firm AUM
Fiscal Year End

Role Structure and Tenure

Sixty-one percent have been in their current role for 10 years or less; revenue is broadly distributed, although 59% were tied to at least $26 million in 2025.

Team Size
Tenure
Revenue Produced

Demographics by Title

Managing directors and senior managing directors make up nearly half (44%) of respondents, while 60% lead teams of 10 or fewer people. As expected, heads of group are concentrated at the upper end, with 57% tied to more than $50 million in 2025 revenue, including 36% above $100 million. Directors and executive directors are entirely at $50 million or below, while senior managing directors and managing directors are polarized, with 30% below $10 million and 37% above $50 million.

Head-of-group tenure has shifted sharply toward the first decade: 88% have 10 years or less in the role in 2026, up from 50% in 2025, while the share with more than 20 years fell from 21% to 4%. Other senior roles remain more seasoned, with 27% of senior managing directors and managing directors reporting more than 20 years in the role.

Respondent Titles
Revenue by Title
Years in current role by title
Tenure
Head of Group Trend Data

Areas of Expertise and Sector Overlap

Three-quarters of respondents cover the United States, compared with 23% who have global coverage. Generalists are the largest sector group at 31%, followed by healthcare at 18% and financial institutions at 16%; 17% selected none of the listed sectors.

Digital infrastructure should not be treated as a stand-alone secondary market compensation finding in this report. The secondary market population includes only eight digital infrastructure respondents and is 75% concentrated in international banks, making apparent compensation differences particularly sensitive to sample size and institution mix. The primary market results, therefore, provide a more actionable view of digital infrastructure compensation, while the secondary market observations should be treated as directional.

Within the small subset, respondents span financial institutions, healthcare, industrials, energy and power, infrastructure, technology, and media and telecom, reinforcing the directional view of digital infrastructure as a cross-sector market rather than a distinct secondary market talent pool.

Sector Expertise
Regional Expertise
Digital Infrastructure Sector Overlap

Secondary Markets Products and Functional Areas

Loans are the most common secondary market product area at 32%, followed by high-yield credit, structured credit and derivatives, and ABS at 23–24% each. Sales is the leading functional focus at 45%, ahead of syndicate at 26%, trading at 20%, and research and senior relationship management at 17%.

Products
Functional Areas

Firm Performance

Seventy-one percent of respondents report that firm performance increased in 2025, and 72% expect an increase in 2026. Yet 29% expect 2026 to be worse than 2025. International-bank respondents are the most optimistic, with 84% expecting growth.

Firm Performance
Performance Expectations
2026 v 2025
Performance by Firm Type
Expectations by Firm Type

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