Comp Question: Equity Research Associate

I am wondering what a fair salary and bonus would be if I were to accept an equity research associate position. I have no Equity Research experience, but I have 1.5 years of solid FP&A experience in the industry I would cover. I am also a CFA level 3 candidate. The positions I'm interviewing for are in NYC.

2 Comments
 
Best Response

You would almost certainly be brought on as a second year associate, so assuming the bank you are joining pays street I would say $90k base. You could try to negotiate for a little more but it all depends on the bank/analyst/HR if they would want to give you anything.

As far as bonus goes, its impossible to say. If you're joining a MM or Boutique (Thats not Bertstein/ISI) it could be closer to $10-15k. If you are at a BB or Bernstein/ISI then it could be $20-40k.

With all of the secular forces (MiFID, Active to Passive, Automation, etc.) affecting Equity Research today, who knows what bonuses will be this year, or what research groups will even be around next year. I would adjust your bonus expectations towards the lower part of the range they give you.

 

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