Follow the money.

Despite the troubles of a few hedge funds over the past few months, managing them can still pay pretty well, especially in London. It was reported this week that one chap scooped ÂŁ11.4m ($20.7m) in the year to last Novemberâ€"actually, a bit less than he had pulled down the year before. And a new survey finds that, right now, London and the hedge-fund business are the most rewarding places in the financial worldâ€"materially, at any rate.

British-based financial professionals, especially those working in London, come out on top in the fourth tow-yearly compensation survey by Russell Reynolds, a firm of head-hunters, and the CFA Institute (the global organisation of chartered financial analysts). Ten countries were surveyed. British investment professionals beat the media total pay packet (salary, bonus, and non-cash compensation) by 40%. Their average annual package was worth ÂŁ115,000 ($217,048 at the time of calculation). The British premium is even greater for those who have worked a decade or more.

Investment professionals in Switzerland ($170m354), America ($170,000) and Japan ($163,199) are in the second tier on pay. Those in South Africa ($134,946), Australia ($131,291) and Germany ($128,217) are on the next level. Overall, professionals in Hon Kong ($114,098), Canada ($100,762) and Singapore ($79,592) earn far less than their peers in the other places surveyed.

It will not surprise The Economist’s neighbours in St James’s, home to many of London’s hedge funds, that, when pay across sectors is considered, hedge-fund managers sit atop the money pile. They pull in total packages of $198,852 on average, well above everyone else. Next come those in mutual-fund management ($179,930). Bankers, pension or investment consultants, and investment counsellors follow. Spare a thought and shed a tear, though, for those working in insurance. They’re on the bottom run at $129,585.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it pays to be an expatriate. American financial firms pay more outside America than their domestic rivals o; foreign employers in the United States pay more than Americans. Expats in Hong Kong, Japan and South Africa have the biggest pay advantage over locals. And a pay disparity between men and women is still plain in most countries, especially in south Africa (where women earn 27% less than men) and Singapore (25%). However, the gender gap is narrow in Japan (5%) and favours women in Germany, where they earn 14% more than men.

Impressive as the numbers are, investment professionals have had better years. Median compensation in 2005 is greater than in 2003 (adjusting for movements in exchange rates), but is still not at the heights of 2001 (when only America, Britain, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore were surveyed). It’s a good living nonetheless.