Canada IB vs PE Comp Megathread

I've seen lots of questions on IB vs. PE comp in Canada.  Thought it would be helpful to post what I know.  Full disclosure - I am a longtime lurker posting from a throwaway account.  10 years in the industry working at one of the places below.

Canadian IB Comp (Big 5 Bank)

Base Salary:
Analyst $90k
Associate $120k
VP $150k

All-in:
Analyst 1 $150k
Analyst 2 $170k
Analyst 3 $200k
Associate 1 $250k
Associate 2 $300k
Associate 3 $350k
VP $400k - $650k
ED $700k - $1m
MD $1m+

Comp will vary slightly from above based on ranking ie. low, mid or top bucket for Analysts/Associate and and revenue generation for VP/ED/MD.  I can’t comment on BB or boutique comp, so will let others chime.

Pension Fund PE (CPPIB)

All-in:
Analyst $140k - $200k
Associate $200k - $300k
Senior Associate $300k - $400k
Principal  $400k - $600k
Senior Principal $600k - $800k
MD $800k+

OTPP comp is comparable to above.  Keep in mind that their titling is a bit different because OTPP doesn’t have a “Sr Associate” position.  In other words, a CPPIB Sr Associate = OTPP Principal.  Similarly, CPPIB Principal = OTPP Senior Principal.  CPPIB Senior Principal = OTPP Director.  MDs are the same. 

Smaller pension funds like PSP, AimCo, IMCO, HOOPP, OPTrust, BCI will pay less.  Onex/Altus pay the most - inline with US megafunds.

One final word of caution when comparing IB vs. PE comp.  Investment banks typically promote on a 3 year cycle, whereas large pension funds like CPPIB promote on a 4 year cycle.  In other words if you were 6 years out of undergrad and a direct promote from Analyst>Associate>VP in IB, your comparable tenure at a place like CPPIB might only be Associate or Sr Associate.  

Feel free to chime in below if you have other datapoints.  

______________________

Editing post to add a few confirmed datapoints from the comments below:

All-in comp:
OMERS Rotational Analyst 1st year - $120k - $130k 
CPPIB PE Analyst 1st year - $140k - $160k
Big 5 Bank Capital Markets Rotational Analyst 1st year - $100k
Big 5 Bank ER Associate 1st year - $130k
Big 5 Bank IB Associate 1st year (direct promote from analyst in 2 years) = $220k

151 Comments

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”