Buy Side HK vs Sell Side LONDON

Hi guys,

i am from a top tier school in the UK and would ultimately like to stay in the UK. but the graduate job market has been pretty competitive and i ended up only with 1 offer in the UK. well i would like to stay in the UK and get a few years worth of experience before heading back to asia but it seems that the buyside gig sounds more interesting and perhaps has greater exit opps than sellside research.

I recently got 2 offers

2nd Tier MM Bank, London, Economics/FI/FX Research (rotational programme), salary of GBP41k + 7k signon

2nd Tier Buyside gig, Hong Kong, investment research associate, salary ~28k GBP base and maybe bonus?

Which do you think would be better?

4 Comments
 

Well 28kGBP, after conversion is actually quite an average salary in Hong Kong + taxes are much lower. Some have said that starting salary does not matter.

But if I could perhaps move onto better exit opportunities later with the buyside gig? no?

 
Best Response

Voluptate inventore ex magni. Dolores amet rerum ex autem tempore possimus cumque. Reprehenderit qui non debitis impedit doloremque facere.

Assumenda dolorum quia nam rerum. At labore est ab sunt quaerat ipsum velit nam. Quam molestias optio eligendi. Dolor incidunt sit reprehenderit non adipisci dolorem quisquam. At est earum illo aliquid neque nostrum pariatur. Aut vitae cum voluptatem praesentium ratione velit. Sed ducimus natus et commodi.

Est quod beatae enim aut rerum. Dignissimos dolor ut reiciendis est. Et ut et officiis. Mollitia nisi deleniti eligendi dolores id ducimus.

Invest first, investigate later.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”