[2026] IB Hours Ranking

1. Lean boutiques (Gordon Dyal & Co, Tidal Partners, M Klein & Co, Ducera Advisors, AEC Advisors, Allen & Co, Lion Tree, etc.): you are getting absolutely soul crushed. Very little support across the firm, highly lean teams on often big deals. Completely private, many barely have a website, and the reputation and publicity is irrelevant to them. You will be worked very hard, but certainly rewarded for doing so. Top of street compensation. Low base, very high bonus, but varies between firms. Avg 75-90hrs/week, with the exception of Dyal known for 100+/week.

2. Elite boutiques (Centerview, Evercore, PJT, Moelis, Lazard, PWP): still getting completely grinded, working on $B M&A and RX with also very lean teams, but at least you have the marginal support of a graphic design team to help with slides or sometimes outsourcing work to a coverage group if applicable, although rare. More well known in industry and a few are public companies so the reputation of culture and junior experience matters a little more. Top of street compensation as well. High base, high bonus. Avg 75-90hrs/week.

3. Grindy BB’s (GS, MS, JPM): staffed on a high volume of deals that are mostly large-cap. Tons of support with a high number of people on a team (can backfire with too much hierarchy though). Comes with an overhired amount summer analysts, graphic designers, back office, all tons of assistance. Typically middle/bottom of street total compensation in exchange for “brand name” outside of the finance circle. High base, low bonus. Avg 65-80hrs/week.

4: Middle Market + lower BB (BofA, Citi, HL, Jeff, Barc, UBS, etc): you’re still working long hours, it’s investment banking after all. However these firms are very public facing and tend to have policies such as “protected Saturdays” and no Friday night emails and all types of other nonsense, although sometimes ignored. Balance sheet banks have steady deal flow and everything is pretty in check. Avg 55-70hrs/week.