ETF growth widens pay gap; operations most underpaid

Blackwater’s 2026 Global ETF Salary Index finds rising ETF flows and a wave of active and more-complex product launches are outpacing the specialist talent needed to run ETF platforms. The report gives average total compensation across ETF businesses as $378,000, with trading at $573,000 and operations at $214,000, and it highlights wide regional differences.

Regional pay varies. The Americas register the highest average at $471,000, followed by EMEA at $340,000 and APAC at $318,000. The index notes that broad, generic pay bands no longer compete for ETF-specific skills and that pay premiums are concentrated where results are most visible, such as trading, capital markets and sales.

Operations are the most underpaid critical function, the report finds. Teams that handle launches, trade settlement, reporting and client support average $214,000 in total compensation. Blackwater links the gap to growing product complexity: as issuers expand active strategies, fixed income exposure and less-liquid holdings, operational tasks require more oversight and specialized workflows.

The report reports rising retention pressure in operations, particularly at vice president and director levels, and says nearly half of ETF professionals surveyed believe they are underpaid. It warns that operational shortfalls can become platform risk when turnover or skill gaps affect settlement, compliance or client service.

Blackwater urges ETF executives to align pay with where revenue is generated, liquidity is protected and platform risk is managed. The report calls for firms to identify pay misalignments, protect roles that keep platforms running and reprice critical functions before competitors or operational failures force changes.

The index outlines practical consequences for firms that do not act: slower launches, higher error rates in trade processing and weaker client support during market stress. It adds that competition in the next ETF growth cycle will include talent infrastructure as well as product sets, and recommends targeted compensation adjustments and strategic hiring across trading, capital markets, sales and operations to handle increasing flows and complexity.