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This text initially appeared on Enterprise Insider.
Psst! How a lot was your bonus?
On Wall Avenue, your end-of-year paycheck can usually point out your standing at work. But, understanding the place your bonus pay ranks in comparison with friends isn’t so easy.
In an effort to shed some gentle on Wall Avenue pay tendencies, recruiting agency Prospect Rock Companions surveyed greater than 900 funding bankers about their 2024 salaries and bonuses.
The survey was performed between December 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025, utilizing Prospect Rock’s banking business contacts. It is the third yr Meridith Dennes, the agency’s managing associate, has performed it.
“It is all the time been so cryptic,” Dennes advised Enterprise Insider in regards to the Wall Avenue compensation construction. “The entire level of the survey is that compensation is rather more nuanced than what individuals discuss.”
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Survey respondents included bankers from all ranks, from analysts as much as vice presidents and managing administrators, and throughout a large number of protection teams, and companies.
Prospect Rock Companions gave BI permission to publish choose slides from its full survey. The outcomes shared right here recommend that so-called elite boutique banks (suppose Evercore, Lazard, and Centerview) noticed complete compensation will increase of between 11% to 68% throughout all roles. Whole pay for associates at elite boutiques rose a mean of 31% for first-year associates and 33% for second-year associates. Managing director compensation at elite boutiques jumped from about $1 million in 2023 to over $1.7 million in 2024, a rise of 68%.
These bonus insights come as Wall Avenue waits with bated breath to see whether or not the M&A rebound many business specialists predicted for 2025 will totally materialize or fizzle out.
“There’s a lot uncertainty — geopolitical danger, the impression on the non-public sector of DOGE cuts, tariffs, and the rate of interest atmosphere — which may trigger a variety of turmoil available in the market,” Dennes mentioned.
The funding banking hiring surge that began on the finish of 2024 continues, nonetheless, Dennes mentioned.
“I, as a recruiter, am seeing a rise in job requisitions coming in, nevertheless it’s a lot more durable to search out expertise than what individuals need,” she mentioned. “Extra firms who have not used recruiters within the final two years are popping out of the woodwork now.”
2024 compensation overview
2024 comp throughout all ranges Prospect Rock Companions by way of BI
This portion of the survey offers the typical 2024 compensation for survey respondents in any respect funding banking ranges.
Probably the most junior staff — first-year analysts — averaged a base pay of greater than $110,000. The information additionally suggests that almost all analysts earned a bonus that equaled about 50% of their base pay in 2024.
Increased-level bankers — vice presidents and up — usually earned bonuses equal to or greater than their base pay. The largest features went to group heads, who’re normally managing administrators and companions. They noticed common bonuses of greater than $1.7 million.
What bulge-brackets are paying associates
Whole common bulge-bracket comp, 2023-2024 Prospect Rock Companions by way of BI
Bulge-bracket companies are the most important banks, which are inclined to deal with the largest offers and, subsequently, have the most important funding banking groups. These companies have a tendency to incorporate Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup.
Associates are the second-most junior rank at an funding financial institution after analysts. This chart reveals that associate-level survey respondents who work at bulge brackets earned between $176,000 and $221,000 in base pay for 2024. They reported greater bonuses in 2024 over 2023.
What middle-market banks are paying associates
Whole common middle-market comp, 2023-2024 Prospect Rock Companions
Center-market bankers are inclined to concentrate on smaller shoppers, usually these with annual income of beneath $1 billion. This cohort included banks like William Blair, Piper Sandler, Oppenheimer, and Baird, Dennes mentioned.
The common 2024 base pay for affiliate bankers at these companies was decrease than at bulge brackets — however not by very a lot. The common 2024 bonus for every place was much more for this cohort than for survey respondents who work at bulge brackets.
What ‘elite boutiques’ are paying associates
Whole common elite boutique comp, 2023-2024 Prospect Rock Companions
Affiliate-level bankers who work at “elite boutiques” take the cake for the best common 2024 base pay and bonus, reporting greater numbers than their friends at bulge brackets and middle-market companies.
Elite boutiques are thought of the top-tier boutique banks that may compete with the large companies. In 2024, Evercore, Centerview, and Lazard, for instance, snagged prime 10 positions on the league tables for each international and US M&A recommendation, based on M&A tracker LSEG.
Survey respondents from this group work at companies like Evercore, Centerview, Lazard, PJT Companions, and Moelis.
Extra particulars on ‘elite boutique’ pay
Prospect Rock Companions
These banks are inclined to focus solely on funding banking versus bigger companies, which can have client banking and asset administration companies. Some boutiques additionally concentrate on offers inside a selected sector, like media, telecom, or healthcare.
Which means they usually have stronger execution skills, mentioned Dennes, and subsequently greater price revenue per banker on their leaner groups.
“One of the vital findings is the clear correlation between elevated compensation in 2024 and recovering deal volumes,” she wrote in an outline part of the survey’s findings. “This restoration seems most pronounced at elite boutiques, the place compensation is immediately tied to deal efficiency and income technology.”
Pay by business group in 2023 & 2024
Compensation for level-two banking associates by protection space Prospect Rock Companions
Second-year associates, whose 2024 comp is described on this part of the survey outcomes, are bankers who’ve been within the subject for wherever from two to 5 years, relying on whether or not they began in funding banking as an analyst or had been employed out of an MBA program.
The biggest group of respondents on this group described themselves as M&A generalists. The survey says this cohort averaged $187,000 in base pay and about $134,000 in bonuses final yr.
Different well-paid associates on this group labored in enterprise companies, restructuring, and DCM.
Some total comp is down from years in the past
Common complete comp and its adjustments Prospect Rock Companions
The report reveals how common comp has modified since 2022. In some instances, it wasn’t for the higher, like for vice presidents and managing administrators.
For context, international dealmaking hit greater than $3.16 trillion in 2024, which is up 10% over 2023, however nonetheless decrease than 2022 volumes of $3.45 trillion, based on offers tracker LSEG.
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