Lowest Comp You'd Take For Lead Coverage
Curious to get the forum’s take on this.
I’m a little over 3 years into equity research at a small boutique shop in the Midwest. The “value prop” when I joined was pretty straightforward: work hard (honestly, just breathe and show up), do what’s asked, and you’ll get your own coverage in ~3 years. Fair enough.
I did exactly that. Took on every model, every channel check, every random fire drill. Got promoted twice. Now I’m officially stepping into lead coverage and in the process of initiating on ~5 names to start. I was genuinely excited to build something.
Then comp discussion happened.
Base: $65k
Bonus: $18k, set at the beginning of the year and paid quarterly (so basically deferred salary, zero marginal incentive).
All-in: $83k.
I walked out of that meeting feeling shocked and, honestly, a bit betrayed. Not because I expected to be paid like a top-decile II-ranked analyst — I get that if you’re not getting votes, you’re not bringing in revenue. But launching coverage, building models from scratch, writing initiations, marketing to clients, developing management relationships… that’s real work. And it can take years to build credibility.
At $83k all-in, it’s hard to justify the grind.
For context:
- I’m in a smaller Midwest city.
- There’s one large regional bank with some ER presence here (most of the team sits in NY). I’ve applied ~15 times across ER and non-ER roles. No luck.
- They pay closer to low-end NY comp, which would be amazing for this area.
- A guy at my firm (1 year less experience, not materially better IMO, just covered a “hotter” space) made the jump to that bank, stayed local, and nearly tripled his salary.
I’ve also been applying to associate roles in NY. Not getting traction. Not sure if:
- It’s harder because I’m not already there.
- It looks bad to go from promoted Analyst back down to Associate.
- The market is just tight.
Other local option is probably IR somewhere, but that feels like giving up on the buyside/true research path.
So here’s the real question:
If you were 3+ years in, being handed lead coverage and expected to build a franchise from scratch… would you do it for $65k base / $18k bonus?
At what comp level does “building your own franchise” actually make sense?
Trying to figure out if I’m being entitled — or if this is objectively too low to justify the effort and opportunity cost.
If i were you i would change your resume address to Chicago, and focus on applying to market rate associate roles in Chicago (middle market, wherever). Find an alumni connection in ER to talk to for every application.
Your problem is you’re not in a competitive market today
I'm down for taking risks but I mean one look at my U-4 and they'd know I'm lying lol.
you will be fine. resume is a marketing document.
Make your headline say Chicago, and then just don't put a location for your current job, if you're that worried about it
when you do a background check after offer use the correct location
point is positioning yourself as someone who does not need to relocate to take the job. No hiring manager is going to hire a relo candidate unless they cannot get someone local.
Honestly who cares which location you're at. Research is research, so regardless if you live in SLC Utah or NYC, your priority rn should be to go to a place that will pay you.
Dude wtf kind of research shop pays entry level salary and expects you to take on coverage. You need to leave that place immediately. Try to hold out on getting coverage if you can and spend all your time trying to lateral into a legitimate shop.
You know it’s real bad when going to Baird would more than double your salary since they’re already known to pay like shit. Leave immediately
I’m thinking it’s Cleveland over Milwaukee.
Damn so he’s talking about who, KeyBank?
65 base in research is insane.
started at 51 3 years ago!
I know it's been said already, but you need to leave that firm immediately. Your total comp isn't even close to entry level associate comp - you're quoting numbers I heard back in 2010/2011. On top of that, the amount of work you have to do to cover stocks your bonus should be more than double your total annual comp.
A young lead analyst covering stocks shouldn't do all that work for a penny under $250K at even the lowest-tier research firm out there.
Don't just 'apply' to these jobs - you need to be reaching out to people
Appreciate the feedback — probably worth adding more context.
Part of the challenge is it’s honestly hard to know how “good” I am in an absolute sense because the bar at my firm isn’t that high. I stood out and got promoted quickly, but a big reason was simply passing my FINRA exams and showing up consistently. That alone differentiates you here. There’s a general lack of drive that’s kind of infectious, so it’s tough to benchmark myself against strong peers.
Structurally, we don’t have IB. If you’re competent and breathing, you’ll eventually make analyst because someone has to cover the names and try to earn votes. So the title progression looks solid on paper, but it’s more out of necessity than a rigorous development track.
My prior boss’s coverage was also pretty scattered. I might overlap on a few names when applying elsewhere, but rarely an entire sector, which makes my background look less clean than someone coming from a tightly defined vertical at a larger platform.
I’ve also been proactively reaching out to lead analysts who have associate openings on their teams. I can usually get an initial conversation, but I haven’t been able to get past that stage. Not sure if it’s the non-NY location, title optics (analyst applying to associate), platform signaling, or some mix of all three.
If you’re getting initial conversations and then nothing else, then yes it’s your competency or knowledge or personality that isn’t working. People don’t care about the title downgrade thing; it’s obvious you aren’t at lead analyst experience yet for a larger shop. Keep reaching out and do it aggressively since that’s what you need to in order to leave. Say you have hit your ceiling at your shop and are ready to move on to greener pastures.
Northcoast or Edgewater?
lol Northcoast, Edgewater, Cleveland Research, Longbow, they're all on the same BS. The only way the business model works is by squeezing anyone not a partner.
I remember applying to Cleveland research, they had quite an in depth interview process for what is supposedly mediocre pay? Lol
Is this your third year of experience / out of school? I would definitely put your efforts into moving to anywhere else lol that pay is atrocious for being a coverage analyst, especially needing to build up everything. You mentioned your boss looking to get votes - is II / extel a big thing at your firm?
I was going to say how's craig hallum going for you but apparently there are other tiny midwest shops that underpay.
Network with analysts, whenever you apply for a job at a different shop, find who the lead analyst is, reach out to them with your resume and give them the who you are what you want and why you. it will greatly improve your success rates.
Never heard of salary this low…..even for an entry level associate. You may as well leave for a corporate job and try again at a real research shop in a few years. A lead analyst role after 3 years is on the earlier side for a post graduate without other experience. Frankly you want to spend time working at a more reputable shop, working with reputable analyst to know the ins and outs of ER.
Update: I've accepted a corporate IR role at a local firm. I feel content leaving ER...no money...no future.
congrats man, hope you get your time back
Fugiat ipsum officia minus ipsam omnis molestiae. Quod nihil sapiente aliquid. Qui dolorum earum in molestias soluta ad. Harum vitae cumque animi dignissimos. Et iure impedit omnis et sint perferendis. Placeat et ab ea hic quas. Quod quae temporibus dolores qui iste rerum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Amet rerum vel ullam debitis. Nobis dolorum exercitationem voluptatem rerum. Voluptas et eos eligendi vero voluptatem error. Quis qui molestiae quaerat quam blanditiis. Corrupti aspernatur a qui quasi reiciendis vel. Pariatur omnis magnam consectetur ut magnam iste. Quo quae blanditiis porro voluptas voluptatum possimus.