<p>Hey,</p>
<p>Does anyone know which I-banking firms offer the best salaries? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>The top I-banks are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril Lynch. JP Morgan is also good. I guess those would offer the most money as they are the most competive with the smartest people.</p>
<p>Actually, the best name firms actually pay at the LOWER end of the scale because they do not need to pay top dollar to retain employees (in terms of bonuses)</p>
<p>Also, salaries are generally the same across top Wall Street firms (GS, MS, CSFB, ML, etc.) You can make 80-110k your first year out of undergrad depending on performance.</p>
<p>i know a rookie at houlihan lockey who just cashed in a cool 140k, not bad for his first year. sometimes smaller firms pay more, but work you to death.</p>
<p>I heard Lazard GUARANTEES $300K for first-year MBAers.</p>
<p>The flip side is that I think it's $300K each year for the first three...meaning there are no big bonuses. Of course, it's more stable and secure though.</p>
<p>There's a difference between a top bank and a top-paying bank. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the top i-banks, and the hardest to get into. The best paying bank is Lazard by far, and almost everyone on the street knows it. The catch is that they also work you the hardest. Lazard guys tend to put in about 10-15 hours a week more than a bankers at larger firms. That may not seem like much, but when you're already putting in 90 hours a week, pushing that to 100-105 is tough. Lazard has a really good reputation though, and often gets chosen over Goldman and Morgan. Houlihan, as someone else mentioned, is also one of the top compensating firms (although it's not even close to Goldman, Morgan, or Lazard in terms of rep).</p>
<p>It looks like Houlihan Lokey is really gaining a reputation though. They have the largest corporate restructuring operation out of all investment banks, fourth highest share of the market in Mergers & Acquisitions, and they are doing well in other areas of investment banking also. I think that the big firms are a lot more vulnerable right now because prestige is now more tied to performance instead of legacy (of course the big firms usually have the best performance also but there are some exceptions).</p>
<p>houlihan is a good firm, they definatly perform well</p>
<p>Houlihan's big problem is that they're stuck with a name that's better for a franchise of pubs rather than an investment bank.</p>
<p>Greenhill was guaranteeing 70k + 10signing + (35-45k bonus. depends upon performance) and stock options. Oh yeah..thats for first years.
Ibanking isnt for me though..i live and die to trade :)</p>
<p>Good point Haithman. There is more money in hedge funds and private equity than I-banking. I was an investment banker for 4 years after I graduated NYU....its not really for me either. It seemed to me that bankers are way too risk averse....its like they're flat out whimps; I have a problem with that since I'm a degenerate gambler myself. In my opinion, its way more fun to pull the trigger than to manage someone else's deal.</p>
<p>I hate to resurrect, but I've been doing some reading...I've been hearing that $70K (including bonus) is the going rate for first-year analysts out of undergrad...but I thought it was like $110K?</p>
<p>I'm just asking cause I was just accepted to Chicago, and want to be able to start figuring stuff out.</p>
<p>It depends JPPS. Performance is key. There are a lot of factors. How vocal and powerful the managing director you work for, the profitability of the group, whether you get good food and remember the food orders of the VPs and MDs all of this plays a role.</p>
<p>Ok, so I guess top i-bank doesn't mean it's highest paying. However, I want to clear something up. Don't people do i-banking because they want the money? And if they want the most money, shouldn't everyone want to go to the smaller boutique firms that pay more? Is there a clear reason everyone likes the bulge bracket firms? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each type of i-bank?</p>
<p>a.) there are more big firms that pay a lot than small firms (there are tons of small firms, but only the "big" small firms such as Lazarus, Houlihan, Blackstone, etc. pay the same as BB firms), and b.) they are small because of a reason: they don't hire much! The prestigious boutique firm jobs are much harder to get than BB.</p>
<p>Redhare, Interestingly most of the top minds dont remain at ibank for too long. They go and start or join existing hedge funds, venture capital funds which are much more lucrative than being an MD at an Ibank. Each hedge fund has its own "culture" of sorts and each is strong is certain fields.</p>
<p>BTW its Lazard not Lazarus. ;)</p>
<p>hehe lazarus. say that in an interview with lazard, watch yourself get thrown out the door hehe.</p>
<p>Haha sorry, long day. LAZARD. Of course I mean Lazarus, I mean who doesn't want to a be a fitting room clerk? Geesh, people so ungreatful for a job these days.</p>