Comments (45)

  • Analyst 1 in IB-M&A
5mo 
[Comment removed by mod team]
  • Associate 1 in PE - LBOs
5mo 

This guy has no idea what he's talking about

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  • Associate 1 in IB - Cov
5mo 

Agreed, I don't know why you're getting MS for this. 

  • 1
5mo 
Jaded Rainmaker, what's your opinion? Comment below:

When I was analyst 1, pay was £45k and costs were exactly the same as today (maybe rent has increased slightly...). Stop complaining and go work on your slides.

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  • Analyst 1 in IB-M&A
5mo 

Costs were exactly the same as today? That's patently false

  • 1
5mo 
Jaded Rainmaker, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Except rent, what are the significant costs that an analyst 1 in M&A typically incur?

Listerine has gone from £2.05 to £2.40? Tesco's finest chicken breasts (for your one dinner a week out of the office) from £3 to £4?

If you want to buy, stamp duty is lower than in the past, and real estate prices in London have been down since 2015 broadly.

GBP is losing value so your summer holidays may be more expensive, fine, but it is hard to feel sorry for you while London financiers are probably the least struggling group in the UK and the ones benefitting the most (or suffering the least) from the new hard right-wing government.

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5mo 
PatrickBateman1, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Actually, as london financier you get screwed the most:

  • Ultra rich people pay 0 tax in the Uk (fiscally resident in Dubai / island of man / other low tax places), but pushes RE prices and CoL up given they spend a bunch of time in ldn and buy properties here
  • lower income people are benefitting from low tax rate till they don't hit the 45k threshold, and are the same benefitting from the public services we pay for (council houses, public transports, universal income, and the worst of the worst: NHS and pension)

Thanks god the government is realizing that and is trying to fix it

Array
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Funniest
  • Associate 1 in PE - LBOs
5mo 

Don't forget your size 50 shoes you absolute fucking clown.

Imagine calling a 40% tax rate "hard right wing".

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5mo 
Anubodi, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Do you only buy Listerine and Tesco chicken breasts ? or did your whole grocery haul increase by ~15-20% since the beginning of the year ?

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  • Associate 3 in IB - Gen
5mo 

Lmao

stamp duty down but house prices up 20% since pre COVID

double digit reported inflation (which is obviously understated)

average household paying 2.5k/yr on energy alone (despite govvie cap)

even big 4 had to raise starting salaries after 10+ years of holding them flat…

5mo 
CompBanker, what's your opinion? Comment below:

You're doing yourself a disservice by comparing yourself to US wages. There is a huge discrepancy between US and UK / Europe for nearly every white collar job that exists. You'll never been a parity on a cost of living adjusted basis (London is damn expensive, I was living there until 4 months ago - not to mention the income tax rates in the UK are brutal compared to the US). Just do your best to earn as much money as you can in your current market, which is likely to be the path you're currently on. If you have an opportunity and desire to change geographies, go for it, but you'll be beating yourself up throughout your entire career if you always compare to the US.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/

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  • VP in PE - LBOs
5mo 

CompBanker

You're doing yourself a disservice by comparing yourself to US wages. There is a huge discrepancy between US and UK / Europe for nearly every white collar job that exists. You'll never been a parity on a cost of living adjusted basis (London is damn expensive, I was living there until 4 months ago - not to mention the income tax rates in the UK are brutal compared to the US). Just do your best to earn as much money as you can in your current market, which is likely to be the path you're currently on. If you have an opportunity and desire to change geographies, go for it, but you'll be beating yourself up throughout your entire career if you always compare to the US.

Euro partners raking it in though. Since the mgmt fee for European funds is the same but their compensation expense  ratio is lower. Plus easier to play games with taxes given territorial taxation 

5mo 
CompBanker, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Post was in IB forums and referenced analyst pay, so I assumed the complaint was IB-based rather than PE? PE introduces a whole new set of dynamics when it comes to taxes and geography.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/

  • Associate 3 in IB - Cov
5mo 

CompBanker

you'll be beating yourself up throughout your entire career if you always compare to the US.

Good life advice uk/euro boyos.  If you ever try and compare yourself to us yanks, you will just be disappointed. 

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  • Associate 2 in PE - LBOs
5mo 

To paraphrase this: Get used to being poor, Europoor.

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5mo 
gsccfscsvq, what's your opinion? Comment below:

What about the thousands that make 30-40k in London (which is a more realistic salary for most people outside finance)?

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  • Analyst 1 in IB-M&A
5mo 

They at least have WLB

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  • Associate 3 in PE - LBOs
5mo 

Go on and do that then if you think it's better

5mo 
gsccfscsvq, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Bruh, idc about your shitty Wikipedia page. Just saying that most people don't work in high paying jobs and still make it work. That forum is a bubble of people earning 6 figures and asking "can I survive with that?"

  • Associate 2 in PE - LBOs
5mo 

What did you expect? Europe is a middle-income continent with high taxes and limited to no growth opportunities. In some countries like Germany you can offset lower salaries with lower COL, but London doesn't have this advantage. If you want to make money you need to emigrate to the US or Asia. Otherwise suck it up and be glad that at least you still get 25 days statutory holiday.

For comparison, the wealth gap between the US and UK is now equal to the gap between the UK and Poland. The rest of the developed world outside of the US is falling into the 'middle-income' trap that has afflicted Latin American and Southern European countries for decades. You can call it 'Italianisation' or 'Japanification' but the bottom line is that there are few silver linings from an income and wealth creation perspective if you are not an American these days.

  • Associate 3 in IB - Cov
5mo 

But I thought america was terrible?

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Most Helpful
  • Managing Director in IB-M&A
5mo 

I run a team with operations in London and New York. I live in New York but have lived in both. 

Today, New York is quite a bit better from a $ revenue per banker perspective, and therefore $ comp. These things are cyclical though. The 90s and noughties were more profitable in London, the last 14 years New York. Our institutional view is that London is going to weather the market storm (from a banking revenue perspective) better than New York, partly because it was not nearly as inflated. We also see larger growth opportunities in European capital markets because they are more undersaturated. Ultimately, where London becomes the powerhouse is when EM shines which hasn't happened in a long time. But these things are cyclical and I could forecast a massive EM book if / when things settle in the Ukraine. We are still investing heavily in London, more so than any other market. And to address the elephant in the room - negligible impact from brexit

London is an order of magnitude better from a banker quality of life perspective especially as you get more senior - schools, family life, safety, housing, vacations. And at American banks bonus pools for MDs are dollarized. There is zero bid in my team for bankers to shift to NY. Hell even I miss London.

5mo 
Chucks Feed n Seed, what's your opinion? Comment below:

God being a europoor with a US passport is harrowing sometimes when you peek comp numbers across the pond.

I think one issue is that lots of pay is roughly indexed off a ~1.5 sterling - dollar exchange rate. That would still have us below the yanks but it becomes much more equitable.

One group I do envy is the fucking swiss. I know some medium IQ lad in investor relations with 3 YOE on 240k CHF. All with like 20% taxes...

  • Intern in HF - EquityHedge
5mo 

I'm sure the average Londoner has the same hours and WLB as bankers.

  • Intern in IB-M&A
5mo 

A lot of people talking about the U.S like the majority of Europe doesn't see it as a third world country when it comes to living standards etc lol 

4mo 
LondonBankah, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Yes the pay parity is heavily skewed in favour of NY bankers especially after the dollar surge. But it would be ridiculous to claim that an average NY banker works the same hours as an avg London banker. The key term being average. Ofcourse your team could be a sweat shop, but in general NY bankers work under a lot more stress on average. 

  • Associate 2 in PE - LBOs
4mo 

Never seen that in my experience tbh. What I generally saw was that the US guys had less holidays but better average wlb during the week.

4mo 
LVB, what's your opinion? Comment below:

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4mo 
Lockwood, what's your opinion? Comment below:

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