People may pooh pooh fund firms, but even the dull and boring crowd are seeing bonuses increase this year, reports the Boston Globe. It also seems that mutual funds are linking pay to performance more closely, perhaps in an attempt to keep managers.

Massachusetts, that mutual fund haven, expects fund firm employees to see overall comp increase 15 percent this year, according to the Boston Globe.

Average fund industry comp should increase 13 to 15 percent from 2005, comp consulting firm Compensation Design Group tells the Globe. Another compensation consultant reports that base pay for a “senior fund manager” is typically $225,000 and bonuses up to 4x base.

Here are the company-specific numbers:

• MFS Investments estimates it will pay bonuses that are 10 percent higher versus last, and overall comp should increase 5 percent over last year.
• MFC Global Investment Management (manager of John Hancock Funds) expects 10% increase in total comp.
• Bank of America’s Columbia Funds group has restructured bonuses so that bonuses can be anywhere from nothing to 6x base salary. Previously, bonuses were limited to 1x base salary, which is typically $150,000 to $300,000 at that fund firm.

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