Hey,
I know there are other posts about this, but it's all scattered and I wanted a consolidated thread. The question:
What are the advantages of working in London over NYC or HK?
Any response would be appreciated..
thanks!
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1) you'll be able to see more than 20 meters in front of you 2) earning the pound makes long weekend shopping trips to NYC a possibility
If you want more serious reasons, i'd have to say that I don't think there is much in it (both are obviously huge in opportunities) and to choose whichever you like more. Can't comment for HK though as I don't know.
Maybe take into account that the rise of eastern europe as an EM implies the rsie of london, as a lot of big european (particularly russian) listings recently have been on the LSE. They do call London the financial capital of russia after all.
If you work in London, you get to shop on Jermyn Street for your shirts in pounds sterling not dollars.
far better hours, far better pay far more prestigious than HK
Pay scales are standardised sans exchange rates across banks as Analysts. While helpful, it'd be fairly stupid to make a decision based on this, particularly given potential cost of living differentials you haven't considered.
Where do you get hours are better? I didn't think so when I was doing a triple all nighter when I was an analyst. What does help is that it is in the culture to take holidays, you have access to all of Europe (which, depending on your industry, is where you will largely be travelling) and it is a cool place to work as it is the geographic centre of the financial worlds (NY, EU, Japan).
hours are really better? also, lot of people told me that there is A LOT of traveling involved. Can anyone confirm this? I know there will be traveling, but how often? and where to?
also, as for far better pay, isn't this offset by the super high taxes and cost of living?
Super high taxes?? Where do you think this is, France? London taxes are far less than NYC combined federal, state and city. I pay 27& of my base in taxes and social security, the equivalent in NY would be nearer 34%. My nominal base is bigger, taxes lower which means my post tax take home is about 50% higher than the person doing my job in NY which more than offsets any higher COL.
I think you're forgetting your bonus is taxed at 40%...certainly not 27%
and london will keep growing as a financial capital of the world.. (unless SOX req. are lowered for foreign filers)
screw SOX!
london is great if you're an EPL fan
if you work in the front office of any large bank is c. 41%.
Pay is not standardised everywhere.
Your base is the same everywhere, obviously taking into account the effect of exchange rates. Thus, when I started, £35k = €x which = $ y and AUS$ z.
Bonuses differ for everyone naturally. If you have info to the contrary I'd be interested to hear it.
NYC, London vs. Singapore, HK (Originally Posted: 12/21/2010)
Question straight and simple:
Today, generally speaking (meaning regardless of the business line), when it comes to choosing where to work in view of getting the best "career booster", which financial places would you say are the best: the "historical" leaders, NYC and London, or the "rising" leaders, HK and Singapore?
If you wanna stay safe, stick with NYC or London.
If you know you want to eventually end up in Asia for the long run, HK and Singapore. I personally love HK and Singapore and would love to give it a shot working there full-time. I interned in HK for a summer and loved the experience/culture.
I wouldn't necessarily call the latter "rising leaders" though. NY and London will always be the top financial hubs.
NYC & London are prob better for your career, HK and SG (esp HK) are more fun.
Just my opinion though. I've lived in London and HK, visited NY and SG.
PE lifestyle in London vs. US (Originally Posted: 02/23/2012)
Hi all,
There's a lot on the site about MF vs MM PE and NYC vs other US.
What's different in London/ Europe? Still 90 odd hours in MF and 60-70 in MM? Pay in MF ~25% more in MF?
I know the recruiting method is very different, so I assume some of the above is as well.
Any info would be great (not just the issues mentioned above)
Thanks!
I work in PE in London. What level are you talking about - Analyst, Associate etc?
What makes you think Recruitment here is so different?
i heard its pretty much the same.
Well recruitment in NY starts 6 months in to your N1 programme. As far as I know the system in Europe is more like you do your 2 years THEN start applying to join in 6m (not 18 like the US). Please correct me if I'm wrong?
I guess I'm talking about associate level (after 2/3 years BB).
true from my experience.. Real recruiting kicks off after 1-1.5 yrs in the job
Also happens all year round. Not like the US where one PE firm kick starts the process, and all of a sudden everyone is like
Recruiting is also a lot more language specific, ie a given fund may be looking only for French/German speakers or whatever one year in order to make sure they are adequately covered language-wise.
Would anybody have any insights on the PE lifestyle in London? Hours, flexibility, weekends?
Thanks.
From what I have seen, the PE lifestyle does not differ much from the US to Europe. In both cases, people work incredibly hard and sometimes long hours (during a deal etc.). I have no idea about MM PE in the US, but in Europe MM PE can be as demanding as MF. No idea about travel etc.
As far as recruiting goes, I have seen 1st Year Analysts at BBs starting to interview for PE after 6-8 months on the job, many of them for MF (Triton, One Equity, Permira, etc.), so I am unsure if the 1-1.5 years rule applies universally.
Sounds like a horror story, but the company still seems to be doing quite well, looking at the PEI300.
London or NYC- where´s the better workplace ? (Originally Posted: 06/28/2011)
So much lay-offs in US, is this normal ?
Why do the US BBs prefer hiring Asian and European people ?
Are the present lay-offs the result of the self-regulating processes after the 2007 crisis. Remeber the golden times 2005-mid 2007 ?
In 2007 GS turnover reached up to $88 billion, expected turnover for 2011 will be lower than $40 billion.
I´m not clear about my theory, but i see the US-BBs fleeing Dodd Frank Act measures(Especially PPT). Also the HF Industry, which was mainly registered at the Caymans, tends to flee to Malta, Cyprus and Switzerland.
The future counterpart of asian financial markets(HK and Singapore) is definitely London. There are some weaknesses concerning London in attracting market participants (Taxes, regulation, bad politicians), but they´re doing pretty well, market domination in FX and Futures.
London has gone down as well - but yes. It's tires with the emerging markets are very strong and its tax laws are very pro business/investor. I know personal income tax is high but the corp rate is low, ,companies dont pay any VAT and employees dont require health coverage. Top it off with the fact the rich all file non-resident returns and dont pay tax there anyways.
In regard to regulation - they are a strict as the US - but they are very sensible and predictable. The public in the UK seems to understand a logical business argument for a government policy - the same can not be said about the US public where every policy turns into all out war.
In regard to jobs - London has a large talent shortage - it will always be easier to get a job there.
In the "golden times 2005-mid 2007" almost anyone from a half decent school with a 2:1 (apx top 50% of class) could get at least MM ibd interviews.
Pay at NY/London/HK offices (Originally Posted: 06/18/2010)
Can anyone confirm the pay for incoming analysts at these locations? Heard
NYC: 70K + Bonus London: 65k + Bonus HK: 70k+ Bonus + Housing Stipend
Do you end up making more money in HK then?
I'm assuming these are all in USD. Otherwise, that HK salary would be really low (at 7.7 HKD/USD)
no you don't. The stipend is taking out from a part of your bonus, so you end up making approximately the same amount( say 110k to 140k) total
my bro is working for a major BB this summer in HK and they are giving him free housing...
salary is pro rated the same at approx 70K USD
yes these are all USD numbers. Sorry if I wasn't clear.. I'm asking for FT. the summer interns get it good with housing covered!
how much is the stipend?
your comparison doesn't make any sense unless you include price levels in each country to determine your personal expenses. fx rates do change
housing stipend is inclusive in your salary in HK.
I am confused now - the stipend is from your salary or from your bonus? how much is that, would you say? 20k?
i had a document from a data company saying that HK pays the anaylsts about 700k-900k HKD a year (including everything)...
don't forget tax
HK 15% US 35-40% (approx) UK 45% (approx)
at the end of the day you take in much more in HK, esp if you're not a US citizen
Are you pulling the UK numbers out of your ass? Up to 40k pounds the tax rate in London is around 25%, and it kicks up to around 45% in the 40k+ bracket so as an analyst the effective rate should be around the US rates.
As for analyst pay in London, I know 6 to 7 people who got offers this year and it goes from 42k to 47k pounds (62k to 70k US without the signing bonus).
The exchange rate is really bad right now so it does not look good but I don't think it can get much worse.
BB base salary in HK last year was 545,000 HKD (~70k prorated). Bonus also tends to be higher by 5-10k in HK because the amount of revenue per banker is higher than anywhere else in the world (most of the revenue is derived from lucrative ECM IPO's/Follow-on's). All in, you're looking at in excess of $1MM Honkies a year- not bad eh?
Throw in the 17% and you're making bank in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. CoL in HK definitely has a wide range- in general, it's on par with NYC if you want to live up a "banker" life-style. Difference is, whereas in NYC a junior banker more or less needs to live a frugal lifestyle, in HK, you can really have a good time (top clubs, bars, restaurants on a regular basis).
Beautiful weather, beautiful women, high QoL for bankers, diverse expat community, and incomparable location in SE asia. What's not to like?
what beautiful women, you mean expats or locals?
hk is the best!!. But yeah, you are still getttng taxed american dollars after your 90k. which isnt much so you will end up saving much more in HK anyways
UK standard this year 46k pounds plus 6k signing bonus US 70k USD (+10 sign on) Germany 65k EUR
UK is slightly higher but then taxes are also quite high. HK seems like your best bet.
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