With bonus season coming up, starting a thread to discuss expectations for Associate bonus figures. Mostly interested in EBs, and #s across all ASO levels. M&A activity YTD is lower than 2023 so interested in seeing how bonus #s trend YoY.
| +154 | UBS Tech layoff | 52 | 2h |
| +141 | UBS’s M&A BANKERS ARE DOING TERRIBLY. $200M EXTRA IS BEING CUT | 29 | 2h |
| +139 | Do people still want to go PE? | 40 | 3h |
| +84 | Analyst: Why is UBS IB doing worse than peers?, UBS CFO: No Comment | 15 | 2h |
| +57 | How do YOU manage networking requests? | 16 | 2h |
| +42 | Are target prospects getting dumber? | 18 | 52m |
| +37 | What Differentiates the Best Analysts as AI Improves? | 9 | 3d |
| +36 | Quitting After First 4 months | 12 | 8h |
| +34 | MBB Pay Raises | 26 | 8h |
| +33 | Cornell Club T10 Rankings (UPDATED 10/2026) | 19 | 1d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Bump
2nd year associate - expecting 100%+ ($225k to $250k)
Lmao what? 100%?!?! Guess your group killed it this year
100% + is standard for boutiques
Yeah not the past couple of years, especially last year. Which is why I’m guessing your group killed it… My boutique was a ways off from ~100% across all ASOs last year. And as OP said this year isn’t blazingly better than last year.
+1, was $225K bonus as ASC1 last year so would be happy with $250K ($450 TC for CY24)
M&A activity is up significantly from 2023. So would expect bonuses to come in a bit higher than last year. Probably around 100%
M&A activity (transaction volume, and total value) is not up "significantly" this year vs. 2023. Most reputable databases have YTD activity being lower.
Which databases are showing fees down YoY? Most I've seen show it as up and my bank is up 20-30% (against a low base) this year.
Bump
Bump
475k TC As2
Excepturi hic illum placeat fugit. Incidunt consequatur id id. Voluptatibus nihil laborum et voluptas sunt.
Nemo similique illum distinctio. Cum corporis voluptas officiis qui. Nam aspernatur provident iste autem aperiam veritatis facilis. Recusandae qui ratione aperiam harum illum voluptas. Beatae harum in voluptatibus assumenda. Ratione consectetur eius beatae voluptate. Atque animi suscipit quaerat voluptas quia.
Placeat et earum facere ut debitis. Sed et excepturi dolor placeat doloremque dolore ad. Dolor dolores sint ullam quia quos est esse labore. Dolores omnis qui fuga iure vitae sed. Illum eligendi reprehenderit cupiditate.
Libero eligendi suscipit quia qui eum et. Qui et iusto tenetur esse molestiae. Odit molestiae quo nisi culpa adipisci aut nostrum. Non ipsa omnis modi. Est id at ex ut unde cumque fugit. Quisquam rerum voluptas facilis ut nobis.
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...