I know Merrill began telling people their numbers today. I would be interested to find out where they came in at, given that they have been one of the hardest hit firms. If you have any insight please share.
Thanks
| +324 | UBS Tech MD hires Son (from no-name college) as an Intern | 54 | 14h |
| +89 | [Official] 2026 IB Analyst Bonus Megathread (with 2025 Consolidated Pay and Perks/Benefits) | 12 | 1d |
| +75 | Evercore Intern Seizure | 16 | 14m |
| +54 | Is DCM actually underrated ? | 20 | 11h |
| +46 | Are all Tech / TMT groups sweaty? | 33 | 6h |
| +41 | UBS Groups Ranked by Future Outlook | 20 | 5d |
| +41 | JPM M&A is Gone??? Purely Coverage Banking??? | 20 | 19h |
| +37 | Am I behind? 31 Year Old Analyst | 9 | 23h |
| +36 | Losing my personality in Banking | 5 | 1d |
| +32 | UVA McIntire vs Cornell Dyson for IB | 19 | 3d |
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.
At MER, the base comp will stay flat for 2008. No base comp increase for this year, even if you got promoted last year.
I have not heard where bonuses landed.
Good to know. The only thing I heard so far was a rumor that the stub was $60K.
I heard from both Goldman and Bear that stub was $45K, same as last year. No way Merrill paid $60K to anyone for stub...
Ok, I'm new to Associate level lingo.
45K/ 60K as an Associate Bonus?
What do you mean by 'stub'?
Associates get hired in July but get their annual bonuses at the end of the year. In order to get Associates on the annual bonus cycle they give them a "stub" bonus after 6 months and then their first real bonus 1 year later (18 months after being hired).
do analysts getting promoted directly to associate in july get the same stub at the end of their first six months and lose out on the sign-on bonus? seems unfair if thats the case
No. Third year analysts get paid their full year in July, a sign-on, and the stub. They are also given a 4 or 5 week vacation right before they begin in the fall as a first year associate.
Skins1 just to clarify, was the $45k a trading or banking stub? I am referring to banking.
I would expect the $45k number. I was very surprised when I heard the $60K number given that last year all the banks seemed to be $45k.
ibanktoo--it was for both. Pay for associates directly out of b-school across both S&T and IBD is absolutely identical. $45K was the stub level last year for new associates, and it looks to be the same this year (again, I've only spoken to people at Goldman and Bear, but if they both paid the same, then I highly doubt anyone else will deviate from that amount).
Cool, thanks for the confirmation
Rumors I've been hearing are high $45k, low $35k
And as to the $60K for ML comment.....umm, NFW
any info for first full year associates?
From what I've heard to date, the numbers at the top of the range for Merrill are very competitive with the top of Goldman's range. Perhaps a few dollars less, but not by much. And I don't get the sense that Merrill gamed the curve much. I don't hear as much nowadays as I used to when I was a staffer, but I've heard enough to think that IBK came out just fine.
Unfortunately, like everyone else, Merrill has already started its RIF process and some people were affected in the days leading up to announcement of the numbers. So the good news on bonuses across the street in IBK/IBD/IBC-M&A groups will in large part be tempered by some very painful and traumatic layoff processes.
Architecto dicta amet perferendis sed rerum eos corporis. Autem repellendus et praesentium optio quos quam officiis. Esse voluptatem vero qui explicabo minima non. Aliquid cum aut a 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...