Investment bankers are pulling in at least twice as much on average than any other professional job in the City.

That conclusion emerges from an inaugural report into the largest 500 global professional services firms by the Managing Partners Forum (MPF), which shows that among high-earning City types in London, New York, Paris or Tokyo, there is a yawning gap between the merely wealthy and the super-rich.

The report suggests that the investment banking industry has not only benefitted from its ability to ratchet up fees according to the size of deals but also from keeping support staff to a minimum.

Richard Chaplin, founder and chief executive of the MPF, said that by comaprison accountancy firms can employ between seven and ten juniors to every partner, a consequence of the high body count needed to crunch numbers in audit work.

The equivalent ratio in law firms typically ranges between three and five assistants to a partner, a similar ratio to that enjoyed by investment bankers.

The accountancy profession’s need for high numbers of foot soldiers means that even human resource management takes in more per employee, averaging $193,000 for the 104,000 employed in the sector.

Britain punches above its weight on a global scale, with the City acting as headquarters for just over a quarter of the top 100 professional firms by turnover, whereas no other European country reaches double digits.

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