CMO Salary Trends in Financial Services: What Firms Are Paying in 2025

Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in financial services requires more than competitive pay—it demands clarity on equity, influence, and executional support.

According to our research across RIAs, private equity-backed wealth firms, and institutional asset managers, full-time CMOs in finance earn between $210K and $450K in base compensation. Bonuses can range from 20–100% based on AUM growth or lead-gen performance.

Equity and long-term incentives are increasingly common. Firms looking to recruit CMOs from outside the industry are offering stock options or phantom equity, particularly in fintech-adjacent wealth firms.

Still, salary alone doesn’t drive results. The best CMOs also need budget authority, a strong internal team or agency network, and a seat at the leadership table. Without these, even top-paid CMOs burn out or fail to produce ROI.