RIAInABox conducted a review to determine "how much is the CCO of an RIA firm generally paid?" The 2014 RIA Benchmarking Study from Charles Schwab offers great insight into this question. The study contains self-reported data from 1,132 advisory firms with average assets under management (AUM) per firm of approximately $652 million.

Average RIA Chief Compliance Officer Compensation Ranges. The study reports the following compensation ranges for firms that employ a full time Chief Compliance Officer:

RIA CCO's are Experienced but Rarely Have Firm Ownership.   

The benchmarking study indicates that over one-third of CCOs have more than 20 years of experience:

• Less than 10 years: 25%
• 10 to 20 years: 40%
• More than 20 years: 35%

In addition, the study shows that less than one-third CCOs have an ownership stake in the RIA. Most of those who do have equity ownership tend to be part of the original founding group of principals, or "wear multiple hats" in addition to being the CCO - e.g., directly managing client relationships, or also serves as the COO.

• Total with ownership: 29%
• Less than 5%: 23%
• 5% to 24%: 53%
• 25% to 49%: 14%
• 50% or more: 9%

Furthermore, investment advisory firm Chief Compliance Officers do not frequently hold industry professional designations:

• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA): 7%
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP): 15%
• Certified Public Accountant: 13%

Study Indicates that RIA CCO Compensation Ranges Vary Significantly.    Total cash compensation for a CCO ranges from below $82,000 to over $226,000 per year. As RIA compliance consultants, the key factors we see impact compensation are: 1) size of the firm, 2) years of experience, and 3) geography. Many large RIA firms are concentrated in high cost cities such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Boston which can dramatically skew the compensation figures. The CCO of an RIA firm with less than a few billion in AUM in lower cost cities may find it difficult to obtain compensation reaching the 50th percentile.