Wall Street pay: Bankers vs. traders vs. private equity
Bonuses this year were mostly disappointing, but who was disappointed the most? A new salary and bonus survey by overheardonwallstreet.com reveals the differing fates of financial services professionals at different levels and in different roles in the industry. The survey received around 900 responses, from a wide variety of banks and private equity firms.
Compensation was universally down in banking, with bonuses driving the drop. Bonus declines ranged from 45% for directors to 25% for first year VPs – which fits into expectations about who the most important people in a bank are now.
Salaries were generally stable. The highest salary increase went to more senior bankers within their bracket – for instance, more senior analysts and associates. Third year VP salaries went up by 8%, and director salaries went up by 10%.
Private Equity professionals fared much better than bankers – perhaps unsurprisingly – with juniors much more protected than in banking, although VPs had a similar drop in compensation in both.
Interestingly, overheardonwallstreet notes that 70% more associates and 35% more senior associates (Associate 3/4s) received carried interest than last year, which could be an indication of how private equity funds intend to keep junior staff onside.
Although sales and trading had a pretty huge 2022 there were still notable declines in pay amongst staff.
Analysts, associates, and VPs as a whole all noted some significant drops offs in compensation, with first-year associates seeing the smallest fall in pay. The falls were generally evenly spread, and there was no huge standout in terms of pay cut.
Directors on the trading floor, interestingly, noted an overall increase in their compensation packages, owing to a significant (13%, by our estimate) increase in base salary.
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: Zeno.Toulon@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance.
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