Thinking of moving further afield in search of higher pay? It may not be worth the bother.

At least, it may not be worth the bother relocating to Dublin. New figures indicate that Dublin’s fund professionals are paid less than or the same as their Scots counterparts.

A fund administrator in Scotland can earn a salary between €28k and €39k (£19k to £26k), according to a survey from recruitment firm Robert Walters. By comparison, their Irish counterpart is likely to be bringing home a salary between €24k and €28k.

However, a senior fund accountant in Scotland earns between €41k and €56k, more or less the same as in the Irish capital.

“In terms of salaries for Dublin and Scotland, there is little difference when you take into account living expenses and other issues,” says Gemma Allen, director of professional services at Robert Walters in Dublin.

The Irish fund administration industry has grown some 15% in the last year and now services funds with assets in excess of €1 trillion, with employment levels of 8.5k. Organisations are moving to larger premises in Dublin and opening regional offices around the country, a trend that’s set to continue throughout the year.

A recent KPMG report found that fund assets domiciled in Ireland grew 31 times between 1995 and 2005. By comparison, growth in Luxembourg funds was just sixfold.

The Luxembourg effect

However, professionals in the Luxembourg fund administration industry seem to enjoy greater fringe benefits than their Irish counterparts.

“It is hard to compare salaries in Luxembourg with those in Dublin as the roles differ a huge amount there,” Allen says. “While base salaries are similar, overall remuneration is very different as their benefits and holidays exceed ours.”

Robert Walters says the funds industry in Luxembourg boomed last year and companies recruited staff at all levels. The Lux market is reputedly still short of fund accountants, settlement officers and senior accountants for trust companies.