What Perks Do You Guys Get in your IBD Jobs?

I'm finishing up my summer analyst stint in IBD at my BB bank and I was talking to some of my friends about their summers at their firms and the perks that we'll get as analysts.

My friend told me that at Houlihan Lokey they get Unlimited Metro Card for the mornings, Lunch, Dinner, Phone Bill Paid For, Gym Subsidy, and Cars Home at night. Apparently their meal expense limits is really high too like $40 or something around that. Is this true? Cause that just sounds crazy and I never heard of any IBD shop offering this many perks/benefits.

We don't get anything even close to that at my BB so it seems unfair that they would get all of this.

What kind of perks do you guys get at your IBD shops?

 
Best Response

There are no such thing as perks in investment banking. If you call cabs home at 3am, sad soggy in-office seamless meals, and a metro card "perks" then you should reevaluate things

"Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way. In twenty years, if you're still livin' here, comin' over to my house to watch the Patriots games, still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. That's not a threat, that's a fact.
 

Houlihan has a $50 limit for a non-NYC office.

I'm pretty sure most firms offer free rides home past ~7?, but all of these perks are pretty insignificant compared to an extra $10k in your bonus at the end of the year. As Will Hunting said, most people aren't excited about these perks when they're running on 4 hours of sleep and about to get 3 that night.

 
We don't get anything even close to that at my BB so it seems unfair that they would get all of this.

the carrot is so small it seems they don't even need to put something at the end of the stick anymore

 

HL does have some awesome perks relative to other banks

What I'm most jealous about is that they get to work from home on the weekends and don't need to come in to the office. That's the best thing you can ask for at the analyst level at any bank.

 

Many banks have these perks. I've never seen a free transit pass, but almost every place will let you buy them pre-tax, which basically amounts to a 30% discount. The more important questions should be "how much of my 401k contributions do they match" (probably the first 3-5% of your income), "how many days off will I get, and do I get separate sick/personal days" (especially in states where they have to pay out your remaining days off when you leave), and "do I have a pension" (no, you probably don't). Those other things are cool and save money but are also pretty standard across banking and finance.

"There's nothing you can do if you're too scared to try." - Nickel Creek
 

^Yes exactly this is the important stuff. Although the working from home on the weekends sounds cool

From talking to my friends there, I think they also get to wear jeans on Fridays or during the summer or something along those lines which is also very cool. Seems like a really lax culture to me from everything I've heard

 

True to the free lunch comment, but it seems that that's really only offered in tech companies and trading, and it's fairly standard across all companies in those industries (correct me if I'm wrong on that). So, someone choosing between one tech co and another won't necessarily have to spend much time thinking about that perk when they choose.

"There's nothing you can do if you're too scared to try." - Nickel Creek
 

Man these are some depressing perks.

At Zenefits, we had hella perks. Unlimited PTO. They rented out the entire AMC theatre for premier of Star Wars. Weekly company paid happy hours (up to $100) per person. We had a nap room for if you just wanted to take a nap. Kegs. The most bad ass free food kitchen ever.

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 

Tech companies are a different beast. There is significant supply shortage (particularly for devs) that forces companies to do these things to attract talent.

Banking is incredibly competitive, firms can get away with the basic "perks"

 
Big_Red:

Tech companies are a different beast. There is significant supply shortage (particularly for devs) that forces companies to do these things to attract talent.

Banking is incredibly competitive, firms can get away with the basic "perks"

Only part of the equation. Making the workplace "fun" tends to attract people who aren't entirely motivated by money....and therefore are content to get paid less.

 
UTDFinanceGuy:

Man these are some depressing perks.

At Zenefits, we had hella perks.
Unlimited PTO.
They rented out the entire AMC theatre for premier of Star Wars.
Weekly company paid happy hours (up to $100) per person.
We had a nap room for if you just wanted to take a nap.
Kegs.
The most bad ass free food kitchen ever.

Did your perks include condoms in the stairwells as reported by Bloomberg?
MM IB -> Corporate Development -> Strategic Finance
 

That was in SF. We have a no Latex policy in our office. So we just pulled out. Just like all the investors wish they could.

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 

Unlimited PTO is a trap. The reason start-ups do it is so they don't have to pay you out on accrued time when you quit and they save time/money/effort on the accounting/finance side. It also, generally, makes it significantly harder to actually take time off due to the fact employees often fall into the line of thinking "oh i have unlimited of this, I can use it whenever" and then never do, whereas if an employee had to use accrued days by the end of the year or lose them, then of course they'd actually take time off.

 

Maybe people don't want to be a quant. They want the suits, work hard play hard life where they can flash it on instagram. All that time spent to get into a target school and then ace the interviews has to pay off somehow.

 
Name Of Profit:

Maybe people don't want to be a quant. They want the suits, work hard play hard life where they can flash it on instagram. All that time spent to get into a target school and then ace the interviews has to pay off somehow.

Doesn't work hard play hard imply having free time? I mean would you rather play hard at 150 mph on the track or play hard by getting sloshed at Emmett O'Lunney's after a long day of banking**?

**:My answer at 5:30 PM on a Friday is sometimes different than my answer at 8:00 AM on a Saturday

 
IlliniProgrammer:

Why do people want to do banking again?

I see your GS IBD, free Yale Club membership, and free rides home, and raise you 50 hours/week of free time and a higher total comp.

Are we really comparing quant qualifications with some guy with a finance/accounting/econ major + (Maybe) MBA? lol.

 
QGKZ:
IlliniProgrammer:

Why do people want to do banking again?I see your GS IBD, free Yale Club membership, and free rides home, and raise you 50 hours/week of free time and a higher total comp.

Are we really comparing quant qualifications with some guy with a finance/accounting/econ major + (Maybe) MBA? lol.

Because tech firms and prop shops treat everyone like part of the team, including their (excellent and well-qualified) accountants and finance people.

Furthermore, most of the people reading this thread are college students excited to stay late and get a free car ride home at 10pm. They can still change majors and be excited to get a free lunch and be out the door to catch some waves at Santa Cruz before sunset. TURN BACK AND STUDY ENGINEERING NOW ITS NOT TOO LATE!

You guys basically get a better deal than I got, just going in the opposite direction. (Finance -> Tech)

 

One time, my boss gave me a high-five. It was awesome. AND we get free K-cups and napkins.

 
juniormistmaker:

Nespresso?!? You guys fancy AF. We've got shit k-cups.

You all should try working at a European office. The standard office includes a bean to cup coffee maker loaded with both espresso beans, regular beans, hot chocolate, and milk paired off against a carbonation machine (that works great with sodastream flavor bottles).

 

Everyone back in college wants to be working at a bank and enjoying the perks of money

Everyone working at a bank wants to be back in college and enjoying the perks of free time.

Working in IBD basically feels like the day or two before finals on a fairly continuous basis. You are working like crazy.

Working in S&T feels like the day of finals on a daily basis. You are well rested but there's a lot of pressure.

Now you understand why so many 25 and 30 year olds in banking are happy about the prospect of winter or summer vacation.

 
IlliniProgrammer:

Working in IBD basically feels like the day or two before finals on a fairly continuous basis. You are working like crazy.

Working in S&T feels like the day of finals on a daily basis. You are well rested but there's a lot of pressure.

Complete with the periodic crisis where you close your eyes, put your face in your palm, and wonder if peacing out of there for good is that bad of an idea.

 

Perks: Stress knots, weight gain, pale skin, existential crises, life path regrets, feelings of inadequacy, career switching fantasies, reading "I'm OK-You're OK",

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********
 

At my BB, the only perk that I think worth having is the global hotel discounts. I can stay 5* hotels in Paris or any big cities for half the price or sometimes up to 60-70% off. Though I get to travel only 2-3x a year.

 

Non-IBD. 40-45 hr weeks, 12-1pm release summer Fridays, box season tickets to sporting events, 6 weeks paternity leave, sponsored HHs every few weeks (leave at 3-4pm), 8% 401K match on 6% contribution, flexible work from home policy, 22 vacation days, & 100% paid part-time MBA. Very good, imo.

 

PE Firm:

--50-55 hours a week max --Monthly travel (may or may not be a perk depending on your perspective) --Free goodies (think North Face apparel) --No Saturday/Sunday work --Jeans and Sneakers every day --iPhone Macbook and iPad --Fully paid phone bill --Fully stocked gourmet kitchen --Nespresso/Keurig Machines --4 weeks paid vacation (technically "unlimited" PTO) --Full health/dental --401K Match --FSA --Company off-site to an exotic place once a year --Company outings to sporting events --Corporate Discounts --Contests for groups within our firm, where the winning team gets an all expenses paid vacation --Company Happy Hours --Dinner/Cars when working late --Free lunches on Friday --Work from home policy --Fully paid MBA/Continuing Education

Array
 

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"Be the Disruptor, not the Disrupted" - Clayton Christensen
 

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Array
 

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