Equity Research Compensation Progression
Hi I'm currently a sophomore looking to get an internship in Equity Research.
I am wondering if people here have any numbers on what one can expect for salary + bonuses at each job level. Some stats I found online:
- Associates in major financial centers tend to earn between $125K and $200K USD in total compensation, with about 75% of that from their base salaries.
- Post-MBA and graduate-level hires earn in the middle-to-high-end of that range, and possibly slightly above it.
- VP-level professionals earn between $200K and $300K, again with 75%+ from their base salaries.
- Directors might earn between $300K and $600K, with 50-75%+ of that in base salary. At this level, the year-end bonus starts to make a huge impact on total compensation.
- Managing Directors could earn between $500K and $1 million, with base salaries in the $250K – $600K range.
- To earn in the low millions (say, $1.0 – $2.5 million), you’d likely have to be one of the top few Institutional Investor-ranked Analysts.
Ranges seem wide, and I've seen some numbers here and there that contradict each other. Let me know if you have any other recent data points
Thank you
Bump, wondering as well
Not gonna get far in this industry without the RESEARCH aspect of it.
Too many threads on this already on the forum. I’d suggest you research it🙄
Isn’t there a pinned post about this on this sub-forum??
I would say this is generally accurate from my experience though I've not heard of MDs making $600k in base, maybe $400-$450k max however it is fairly unique once you reach that level and not standardized to the extent IB would be on these progressions. Also depends on firm size with BB generally offering highest bases.
Would also say I don't think you necessarily have to be an II ranked all-star analyst to clear $2M+ in a year, banking and cap markets for your space will carry a fair amount of weight as well as whether or not you're a sector head. II rankings definitely help but I'm not sure it solidifies you into the realm of minimum 7 figures each year though it shouldn't hurt. There are also plenty of instances where analysts who are established and reputable but not ranked sign guarantees for a decent clip over a certain number years before reverting to "market".
I’m at a BB and I know one of the better (maybe 80 %tile) analysts had a ~1.3m bonus last year. I believe MD base is 600k. So that would mean ~$2m all in. 2022 was apparently also a tragic year for comp, so probably 30% better than that on an avg year.
My guess is avg Lead analyst gets 750k to 1.25m with high std dev.
I’ve heard of some superstar analysts leaving BBs to go to 3rd tier banks on some massive guarantees. The highest I’ve heard is $5m/year for 3 years (but you need to be at the top of an in demand sector to get that).
Wow I had no idea ER analyst comp could be that high, that’s awesome
Really depends on the sector. I’m the top ranked analyst (by buy-side votes, by a sizable magnitude vs. the #2 team) at a large regional bank but don’t crack the top-10 (around 50 covering analysts) as far as comp as I cover a consumer cyclical sector (lending yes, but not much if any ECM activity) and not a technology or biotech/medical sector.
Then again, I’m fairly certain my companies will still be here in 20 years as it’s far from a boom and bust sector (mostly) and unless I commit a gross offense, my seat is pretty safe for as long as I want to be here.
Anyway…
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