WALTER Scott, owner of the eponymous fund management boutique, saw his pay dip below (pounds) 1m last year after the firm's trading performance bore the brunt of tumbling markets.

The Edinburgh firm's latest accounts show that its highest-paid director, assumed to be Scott himself, received (pounds) 996,000 in the year to April 5, 2003, down from (pounds) 1,185,000 in 2002. Including dividends and pension contributions, however, Scott's total remuneration again topped (pounds) 3m. Total boardroom pay at Walter Scott fell from (pounds) 3.4m in 2002 to (pounds) 2.7m.

The Herald revealed last week that pre-tax profits at the firm, which manages equity portfolios for pension funds and the like, mainly in North America, fell 28% in 2003 to (pounds) 2.9m. Scott stressed, however, that the firm has more than doubled its funds since the year-end to $8bn, with only $1bn of that rise accounted for by recovering share prices.