Baird in 2021 - Hours & Comp?
Any updated insight to hours and compensation at Baird's Chicago office?
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Does the firm's protected Saturday policy (apparently legit) effectively force analysts to work longer hours during the week? Are 2 AM to 3 AM nights common?
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What does Baird pay for signing, base, and mid/top bucket bonus historically? Does it differ across groups? Any fringe benefits?
Thanks
You will get rocked. Big propaganda around caring and being the best lifestyle shop, just wait until you get there lol. 2am standard log off, 3am regularly, 4am every other couple of days (allegedly).
Are any of the groups particularly sweaty? I'm sure industrials is pretty bad because of deal flow but how does healthcare, tech, and consumer stack up?
Industrials is worst, T&S really bad too, Healthcare bad, consumer is lifestyle. So basically Russian roulette with 3/4 chambers loaded (allegedly)
Are exits there at least and does comp stack up to to blair / hw
^ Also interested
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100%. Buddy there is getting fucked.
Saturday policy is not respected. Late nights (2am or later) are common. Pay is below street. Source: Two friends who work there at the associate level.
Pay is definitely not below street. Assoc makes 175 base with sizable bonus.
What are bonuses at as1 range?
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This is not true. They were very clear when they raised base to $175k that total comp would remain about the same. It's below street comp, above street hours, bad exits, and a significant disconnect between the culture they say they have and what it actually is.
Don't do it. I have a number of friends who worked in their Industrials group and it seems like a total sweatshop shop.
Have a friend in their tech group. His WLB is worse than my friends at Moelis, PJT RSSG, and every other sweaty group you can think of on the street. He works until at least 3am every day with very limited exit opps. He has become completely disgusted by IB after having interned for a different MM and liking it a lot. Would avoid.
lol so it seems like baird is a glowing place to be!
Not to pile on too much here but genuinely the worst human being I've ever had to deal with in IB came out of this office. Dude had absolutely no value add in the process and if I had to work with him on a regular basis I never would have survived my analyst years.
There was a guy on the Healthcare team in the office that was subhuman. I mean that.
Multiple hospitalizations in every group. Rumor is that this was the first year that the MDs had target fees to hit and Baird went from winning ~50% of their pitches (selective) to pitching everything under the sun and losing. Was an absolute nightmare, the bank is severely struggling to retain talent and they are not a "lifestyle" shop by any means. Anyone who isn't in consumer and says Baird has a great culture is either A.) the VP who called me at midnight on a Friday to tell me how much he makes or B.) lying to you about the culture. I can't recommend anyone come here, hours are bad and you're not rewarded with exit ops or comp.
What would you say explains the firm's strong A2A retention? Seems like it's slightly higher / in-line with other MMs. Surely people aren't crazy enough to stick it out beyond a 2 yr stint.
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Those numbers should and will come down. Historically I'd say that they definitely recruited the right type of individual that wasn't recruiting from day 1 (the midwestern kid from big 10 schools). Comp at associate there is really attractive for Chicago / MKE ($175k base) with all cash bonus. Recruiting for PE/exits is a big no-no there, really got to keep it quiet which makes things difficult.
With the drastic change in lifestyle, you will see more normal attrition. Hard to take a LMM PE job and effectively leave $100k on the table to go that route vs staying on at Baird as an associate.
Makes sense, this is helpful. +SB
Sounds like consumer is somewhat bearable and industrials is the most brutal. Would you say tech & services or healthcare is worse? Any major differences in comp or exits across the groups?
They actively discourage pe exits? I feel like people here used to tout baird exits to mm pe
Need to add on to how bad it has gotten there. A number of people from my school used to go there every year. Over the last few years, nobody has recruited there because of how badly the analysts have it there. Every analyst that I’ve spoken to there hates the place. Does not sound good.
Protected Saturday policy is a huge fucking joke and most people here, especially in Industrials and Tech are consistently pulling 3-4am nights. I would advice people to stay away from these two groups. HC and consumer might be slightly better. Comp at analyst level sucks compared to places like Blair.
Guessing differences in comp is due to lower bonuses? I believe all the MMs (Baird, Blair, HL) pay 85k base to A1s. Any idea how big the comp spread is?
Lower bonuses, A1 base is 95k. Starts at 85 if you're right out of school but jumps to 95 after your first bonus cycle (Feb)
Sweatshop.
No joke, total sweatshop.
Analyst I networked said that Protected Saturdays are barely protected and that the cultural thing is just propaganda, not that different from other banks. Told me kiss life goodbye lolz...
dunno about comp tho, I heard they start at 90 or 95 base, anyone know bonus?
Also interested. Concrete % of base or $$$ figures would be helpful for mid/top bucket.
Been on this forum for 3 years and this sounds like the worst group outside of Jefferies Houston I have ever seen described on this website...
Hospitalizations? How does that go down? Is it obvious it’s because they are overworked?
Going off of this, are these legitimate hospitalizations in a medical sense? I've never heard of hospitalization in a metaphorical sense so it must be.
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In all honesty, I think Baird sounds much worse than Jefferies Houston. Jefferies Houston has been killing it in the energy game, pays above street, and had great exits when they used to be a thing in energy (MF was very possible from that group). Have also heard the culture has improved and that they have introduced protected Saturdays.
lol wish this was posted by “Analyst at Baird”. Stay safe buddy you got this!
Ok I'm dying laughing knowing full well some peeps that recruited there recently lol. I'm going to chat them up in few months just to see if they're still breathing and/or need a therapist
Can anyone from Baird actually comment on this? Or are they all in the hospital?
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This is an anonymous forum for a reason... although it’s great hearing from friends of friends if anyone actually works at the firm I don’t see why they wouldn’t comment?
lol this post makes me feel better about getting dinged today.
I've heard it's gotten pretty bad. B school buddy says they over-fired for COVID then boom activity skyrocketed and they are scrambling.
That being said, I know that in prior years there were groups that took the Saturday policy very seriously because I hung out with associate friends relatively frequently. Bonuses feel somewhat light but are all cash and a higher base so call it a wash, especially given low COL areas.
Hope they can right the ship because they do strong MM work but need to hire more bodies to manage the deal flow ASAP.
Very helpful, thanks. This might be a shot in the dark but any idea what 2020 bonuses looked like?
Unfortunately don't have hard numbers but pretty surprised by the above poster saying top bucket was 75, because I know for a fact in 2019 there were AS1 bonuses over 100 for sure (this is in addition to the 175 base) so pretend it's equivalent of 150 + 125 except it's all cash which is very much in line with street if not a touch better.
How are the hours at other MMs like Blair / HL / HW
Any place seeing record deal flow like Blair and Baird are going to have rough hours. The difference is how well can these firms hire to adjust or are they going to wait it out with a leaner group.
I wouldn't say any of these top MMs are known as lifestyle shops but that some have fewer d-bags during the rough hours and people tend to stick around.
Have a few friends at Blair and Baird. Both have absolutely horrible hours and their top groups, industrials at Baird and Tech/HC, work past 2/3am most nights. However, culture seems to be far better at Blair than Baird. Everyone I’ve spoken to at Blair that was A->A wanted to stay on whereas at Baird they stayed on because of limited exit opps.
This seems to be a brand-new talking point re: Baird exits and culture.
Past experience and threads have all highlighted pretty decent ones, in line with other top MMs, maybe a touch behind Blair. Have things shifted recently? Hard to see why they'd be different considering they work in the same space.
Also, is this office specific? MKE vs. CHI? Differs from my interactions w/r/t culture being bad (bad hours but good people).
Similar story at hw, long hours (not hospitalization level though), good deal flow, but at least the exits are there and there’s no culture of hiding abt recruiting as it’s actively encouraged
Is it realistic to have plans on the weekends for HW? Like grabbing a dinner with a SO or something on a Saturday?
I currently work at Baird. I would say that there is definitely a lot of truth to this thread, but also a lot of rumor / hearsay. Yes, the hours are about on par with what has been discussed 9-3am is most analyst /associate hours. On the protect weekend, Baird recently extended the protected period to 7pm on Friday-10am on Sunday. I would say the vast majority of jr bankers do not work over the period, especially in the last month or so since the extended protected period.
Thank you, this is very helpful. +SB
Can you comment on any of the following:
Pay, Exit opportunities (major differences between groups?), Pre-COVID Fringe benefits (Ubers back home, meal stipend, etc.)
bump. also curious.
Just bumping my question again. Any info on pay and exit opportunities?
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What group you in?
T&S
Can you comment on exits for analysts. Is it actively discouraged? What percent stay a2a and is that out of desire or lack of better opps
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You're not one of the T&S associates that is staffed on 5-6 active sell-side mandates are you?
This makes me feel better that I still haven't heard back after my first round for their SA roles. Thank you. And is this for their CHI office?
I think there Saturday policy refers to their lower tier jobs that aren’t PE or IB. My school is a few blocks away from Baird, they hire a lot of people for their shitty Corp roles that I think they promote the benefits to IB and PE that wouldn’t apply (in terms of hours on the job).
The “protected Saturday policy” is a part of the junior banker initiative...sooo I think it’s intended for the bankers, wild guess tho
The non-IB roles are all Mon-Fri, 9-5. The Saturday policy is for bankers and was highly protected prior to COVID, but the bank way overreacted to the COVID slowdown and let go of 25% of their bankers (mostly all associates and a some VPs) and the Saturday policy went out the window
Very disappointing to read this bc they constantly spewed this "our culture is our biggest differentiator" and "always protected saturdays" BS to everyone at our school during recruiting events. We all believed at least the second one was true lol.
Sad to read all this. Absent COVID I have only heard great things about Baird.
Other than extending the protected Saturday window, did Baird do anything else during COVID? Pay bump, peloton, matching EBITDA tattoos?
Lots of anonymous A1/2 posting in this thread... Hang in there if you are struggling. I suggest sharing your frustration with management. If you do it in a manner that is professional and collaborative you can at least say you tried.
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Retention bonuses of 10/15/20 for AN/AS/VP paid out in the summer
A lot of this thread is about the Chicago office, but are things as bad in the Milwaukee office?
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I would say MKE is even worse than Chicago because they care more about facetime than the Chicago office.
What group is out of tampa and how big is it?
Analysts across both offices are working till 3-4am 6days a week
Fellas, I have to step in here to defend Baird. I have strong reason to believe that a lot of the anon monkeys are just piling on.
Things are busy here, that's true. But I also can't think of any other bank where the senior leadership is as dedicated or devoted to its employees. If I wanted to call the group head right now, I could. We already e-mail casually about sports and company culture.
I sent the group head a message a few weeks ago about giving people a day off for taking the COVID vaccine, since a lot of folks have side effects. Within four hours, there was a firmwide e-mail saying that the vaccine takes priority over all workstreams and there would be NO ability for any banker to request that a junior work instead of taking the vaccine, or taking a sick-day due to 2nd dose reactions.
Every junior banker I work with is someone I trust and who I would call a friend. My MDs are demanding, but no more demanding than any other firm, and there's no culture of screaming at juniors or slamming keyboards like what you have at other banks.
We've had a dinner stipend since the beginning of the lockdown, and we're getting spot bonuses.
I've spoken to a lot of banks. I interview because everyone should interview. I've turned down legitimate offers from buyside shops, BBs and other MM firms. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be on the sellside.
Happy to take questions if you want a different perspective. Yes, it's accurate that hours are long right now, but that's systemic. As I look for where I want to be for the next five years, there's nowhere I'd rather be than Baird.
I think some of the biggest concerns are hours, protected saturday enforcement, and overall culture of the firm right now. Given how much I've heard about protected Saturdays and a strong WLB, it's kind of shocking to see so much negative outlook coming out of Baird.
Is the protected policy actually enforced? What is all in comp looking like from the A1,A2,A3 levels? What group are you in (if you don't mind answering) and what is the general sentiment across the board from juniors? A lot of these questions have been answered already, but would appreciate hearing from another individual who works at the firm (given the other employee had a lot of not so stellar things to say).
For sure - here's my perspective.
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Can confirm first hand Baird pay is above Street. London culture is great
Can you comment a bit more on deal flow and London comp?
Pardon my French but anybody on this thread saying they pay "below street" is talking straight out of their asshole.
They did pay below street in 2019 after their big acquisition and down year in banking. Bonuses were up significantly for 2020 after they overdid their Covid-related layoffs and were not prepared for the eventual market recovery.
As someone who was on the comp call at Baird and remembers the quote from the senior team of "bonuses are in line with 2019", can comment that your statement is patently false.
By way of context, I'm a VP that started at Baird as an analyst and have seen our culture and junior work / life harmony evolve over time. When I joined Baird, there was no protected Saturday policy, but Baird was one of the first banks to institute this (in my third year as an analyst). It was a great initiative that provided a set time to be away from the phone (at the time blackberry) and computer for some well-deserved recharging.
Over the last several years, I've seen certain periods of time where this policy unfortunately gets challenged a bit, and under both periods it was during a time of intense market M&A activity coupled with the firm being under staffed to support significant new business that was won. In both instances, these were times that were really challenging but are growing pains for a firm that has taken meaningful share and moved up market significantly over the last decade. Success however is not an excuse, and leadership has acted in both instances to try and address issues. I'll try to outline a few of the positives to act as a counterbalance to some of the above comments. I recognize that my experience will not be the same as others, as the experience is always different across groups / industries, offices and even in deal teams.
Now, to address improvements at Baird that are underway:
- First of all, leadership is treating this situation very seriously; we have had multiple calls over the last few weeks with consistent messaging. Additionally, group heads send emails every Monday morning to confirm whether or not folks worked on Saturday as no work should be done without approval. We should all be holding each other accountable on this
- Since March, we have hired 23 new junior bankers and are working to add another 15-20 to help with the workload
- Announced one-time retention bonuses paid to analysts ($10k), associates ($15k) and VPs ($20k)
- Mandatory long weekend over the Easter weekend
- Mandatory long Memorial Day weekend with a $500 holiday stipend
- Mandatory long weekend at the end of the summer
- Mandatory five days of vacation every six mounts
- Baird leadership has committed to "leaning in" on compensation this year, and I believe them. The last time we had an intense period like this was 2018, and it was the only time I heard my bonus number and laughed out loud at how good it was. So, I would expect big things this year to offset the personal sacrifice and effort
On broader Baird issues and other topics:
- Culture is still paramount at our firm. If someone is being an asshole, they won't last. Period.
- Pay is very strong, but I recognize we all yearn for "more" especially when we work in a world where bankers, PE partners and executives rake in millions... we will get there ladies and gents
- Exit opps: despite the comments above, they are actually quite good. There may be some skewed perception though since many people who leave may just decide to leave finance and this strange world we operate in entirely. I've seen folks go to to BD roles for better lifestyle, the International Monetary Fund and numerous strong private equity firms in the middle market. Traditionally, Baird tends to send fewer folks to MF because... Baird (being a middle market firm) has more reps and interaction in the middle market... so candidates' relationships and experience are more relevant for the middle market. I've seen exits to firms such as Lone Star, Littlejohn, NEP, Frontenac and AIP to name a few
- Tangential benefits: being a Baird stock holder is an incredible long-term wealth creation tool, and one all mid and senior bankers swear by. Book value that goes up every year and typically a very attractive dividend
- Profit sharing: in addition to the 401(k) match, Baird also distributes profits to employees in their retirement accounts at the end of each years since there are no public shareholders. Employees own the firm
Hopefully some of this context is helpful and provides some insightful information with regards to Baird. I empathize that what we are going through is extremely difficult for most and that the sacrifices are many. However, I also recognize that feelings of malice are likely amplified with the broader world being on its head and the fact that it has been a lot of "work hard" without much "play hard" to offset the grinding. But, I'm confident things will get better... not just at Baird but across the industry. This has been a challenging 12 months for our industry and has put even some of the best cultures to the test. Stress and pressures are high, and we can all do a bit better to empathize with our colleagues (up and down the chain) and try to stay as positive as possible. Keep grinding folks, the future is bright... so will be the bonuses.
This was very helpful? Will Baird be doing a lot of lateral hiring or will it increase the size of intern classes going forward?
Probably a mix of both. We are still actively looking to hire experienced associates in a number of groups, particularly healthcare.
Thank you, +SB!
Would you mind commenting on the strength of groups at Baird? How does T&S, Healthcare, and Consumer stack up to Industrials across deal flow, exit opps, and lifestyle? Are certain groups doing especially well now?
From a deal and activity perspective, everyone is crushed and doing well. We are on track to surpass our 2018 total IB record... by July.
The holiday policy looks insane!
You know it's bad when VPs are chipping in on WSO to try to recruit people lmao...
I'm a little late to the party but why did you delete a ton of posts on this thread and add (allegedly) to some? Doesn't seem like you post anything positive, accurate, or constructive about Baird after reading the certified VP's post. Did you get called out?
Anyone know about their capital advisory group? Getting messaged by their recruiters and I can't find much about capital advisory anywhere.
Just lol at Baird culture
Puke shop in London . Ton of weirdos. Also the head left who spearheaded the firm. Very strange place. No one talks at their desks. Very headphones in type of shop. No one talks except in weird kitchen side chats and silos. People are afraid to speak. It’s like a cult and the people exit to Rothschild ‘to take it easy’. No decent exit to buy side in London ever. It is a horrible place in London and those were the worst two years ever
Shit bro I was about to apply there
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